Jennifer Smith DVM / Back in the Saddle, LLC

04/06/2024

I am headed to Eugene Tuesday June 11th. Please let me know if you need saddle fitting or bodywork and are along that route.

21/05/2024

NSC Rhomeo 17.5” 32cm (wide tree), short knee rolls. $2995

14/05/2024

27/03/2024

Used 17.5” Rhomeo monoflap r3 panel, medium knee roll, 32 cm (wide) tree. $2995

27/03/2024

When should you get your saddle checked?

I sat here writing a long post about when you should get your saddle checked. But there were about seventy five trillion items on the list... and I bored myself writing it, so you guys would have fallen asleep before you got a quarter of the way in.

So instead I'm going to shorten it to two items:
1. If it's been 6 months or more since your last saddle fitting.
2. If you have at any point thought 'I wonder if I should get my saddle checked?' whether that's cos your horse looks different, acts different, or there is some other change in you, your horse or your saddle.

Because worst (best?) case scenario your fitter comes out and tells you nothing needs doing... that's much better than your horse telling you a few weeks later that you TOTALLY should have had it checked. By going lame/bucking you off/costing a tonne of money in chiropractor fees/needing the vet.

Hello? Are you still awake? If so, it's only cos I shortened the list for you.

24/01/2024

“My saddle is down in front.” It changes moment by moment, rider to rider- the balance of the saddle. It sometimes feels impossible to get right and maintain…

11/01/2024

This is a great read of wool vs foam.

06/12/2023

I have 3 very high quality western wool felt pads available for a steal of a deal! Very lightly tested during design process. $99 each, local pick up in Tigard, Oregon. 1” pure wool felt. 32x31”. One rectangular, one round cut, one rectangular with shim pockets (shims not included on this one).

25/10/2023

How often should you have your saddle checked? Well that all depends on the other aspects of your horses 'circle of influence'.

Did you know the changes in your horses workload, environment (including seasons), illness and injuries are just some of the areas that can cause your horse to change shape.

Your saddle should be checked at least twice a year (spring and autumn) but also after any changes to his circle of influence.

Horses can change shape incredibly quickly, sometimes in as little as 2-3 weeks and so developing your understanding of saddle fit, how to identify issues and regular contact with your saddle fitter is vital to maintaining a healthy, happy horse long term.

10/08/2023

Custom Saddlery 17.5” Icon Star MW ish tree. $2495

12/07/2023

This information is so good! There is so much misinformation about saddle fitting, and technology is often terribly misused and the resulting information poorly interpreted.

In this month's Saddle Research Trust newsletter, Dr Michelle Quinlivan, summarises the Technological Advances in Saddle Fitting that were highlighted at the last SRT conference.

You can read the article in full here:https://files.constantcontact.com/5053f732801/d01423bf-843e-47b4-9e80-534213279663.pdf

12/07/2023

All athletes require supportive care to stay healthy. Always. Horses and humans.

✍️

There is something veterinarily imperfect about most horses who have been through training. Training leaves evidence in the body. And athletes occasionally get hurt. Maintenance, like joint injections, Adequan or Legend, etc, is not evidence of a problem being covered; it’s evidence of someone giving a damn and helping their horse feel their best while trained. I am neither shocked by, nor afraid of, a horse that’s received maintenance in its journey up the levels. I am deeply afraid of horses whose ads claim “needs no maintenance!,” because I do not believe that to be true - I believe it has RECEIVED no maintenance.

08/06/2023

This is so important to figure out.

Der Gesundheit der Halswirbelsäule des Pferdes kommt eine tragende Bedeutung zu. Das Krankheitsbild der Equine Complex Vertebral Malformation (ECVM) stellt immer mehr Pferdesportler, Besitzer, Tierärzte und Züchter vor Herausforderungen. Viele Fragen sind nachwievor ungeklärt: Wie viel Variation an den Halswirbeln ist normal, ab wann sind die Gesundheit und Leistungsfähigkeit beeinträchtigt, welche Umweltfaktoren begünstigen die Entstehung dieser Krankheit, wie genau wird sie vererbt und wie soll man in der Pferdezucht damit umgehen? Um nachhaltige Entscheidungen treffen zu können und die Gesundheit des Reitpferdes zu priorisieren, haben sich elf deutsche Pferdezuchtverbände mit Forschung und Wissenschaft zusammengeschlossen und ein Forschungsprojekt ins Leben gerufen. Mehr Informationen findet ihr auf unserer Website in den NEWS: https://bit.ly/3Njw7d1
Fragen zur Studie können Sie gerne unter [email protected] stellen.

🇬🇧The health of the horse's cervical spine is of paramount importance. The clinical picture of Equine Complex Vertebral Malformation (ECVM) is a challenge for more and more equestrians, owners, veterinarians and breeders. Many questions are still unanswered: How much variation in the cervical vertebrae is normal, at what point is health and performance impaired, which environmental factors favour the development of this disease, how exactly is it inherited and how should it be dealt with in horse breeding? In order to be able to make sustainable decisions and to prioritise the health of the riding horse, eleven German horse breeding associations have joined forces with research and science and launched a research project. More information can be found on our website in the NEWS: https://bit.ly/3Njw7d1.
Please feel free to ask questions about the study at [email protected].

🇬🇧

25/05/2023

A really interesting picture for anyone out there looking for a new saddle…all of these trees are Albion MW trees all for different models. Meaning a greater variety to fit different horse shapes but does also mean that if you buy a second hand saddle privately it may not always fit how you would like.

We are more than happy to discuss the best tree shape and model for your horse and are also happy to fit second hand saddles.

02/05/2023

This is a timely share. This is a horse I saw today who is having girth interfere with the elbow. The elbow is making contact with the girth hardware on every stride in every gait. Girth length and design is so, so important!

02/05/2023

“Let’s keep our girths as high as Snoop Dog”. This is great!

08/03/2023

***Position has been filled, we had several wonderful applicants!****

We are hiring!

Do you love horses and want to be part of a small, dedicated team who are passionate about horse health care?

Come work for us! Currently seeking part-time help for a veterinary assistant/office assistant position. Potential to become a full time position as we continue to grow!

Email Dr. Moneta [email protected] or our office manager, Mandah [email protected] for a full job description.

Will consider applicants who are mostly interested in being a dedicated office assistant if you are not able to be a veterinary assistant.

We look forward to hearing from you!

13/02/2023

Equitopia’s Saddle fitter from the UK, Georgie Welge, is one of founders of Master Saddle Fitters International (MSFI) and has worked as a saddle fitter for more than 12 years. In this post, she…

02/02/2023

The pliance®-s system measures the dynamic pressure between the horse, the saddle and the rider. How does the rider sit? What does the horse feel?

26/01/2023

14/01/2023

**THURSDAY RESEARCH MEME**

In a new series for 2023 we will be sharing an evidence based nugget of information each week. Our goal is to advance knowledge from an evidence based perspective. We have a wide range of MEME’s covering multiple areas of equine sports science.

Todays MEME is relating to girth length/buckle height - here the girth is too low 🤓

Read more a previous grith blog - https://www.centaurbiomechanics.co.uk/blog/?ID=18&dbId=2152

07/01/2023

So true! And find out your fitter’s reputation for making your existing saddle work vs trying to sell you the latest and greatest.

29/11/2022

Perception of width is often very wrong. Great read!

Once again, I'm re-posting one of the first blog entries, in an effort to make this blog more useful to the first-time horse owner. (By the ...

16/11/2022

***LET'S TALK ABOUT SADDLE STIFFNESS ***

Pretty much all the saddles we use fall into two categories – those with a tree and those without. Such a polarised position. When faced with such a situation this should suggest to us that there are advantages and disadvantages to both i.e. neither is ideal. And one major factor behind this I would suggest comes down to saddle stiffness. Stiffness is the extent to which something bends or deforms under load. The opposite of stiffness is flexibility or compliance.

If you have ever picked up a conventional tree’d saddle and tried to bend it from cantle to pommel you will know they are quite hard to bend. This means they are relatively stiff. They are also relatively stiff across the gullet (pommel). The stiffness comes primarily, around ¾ of the total, from the tree with some contribution from the webbing. The rest of the stiffness comes from the leather and foam or wool. How do we know this? Because it's something that can be measured: if a saddle is loaded with weight and the amount the saddle deforms is measured then we can calculate the stiffness. The loading can either be in the seat or across the stirrups to measure stiffness when in a 2-point position. By comparison, treeless saddles are much easier to bend – they are less stiff (more flexible).

So what are the advantage and disadvantages of stiffness and flexibility? Let’s start with a conventional tree’d saddle. Because the saddle is stiff, the rider’s weight can be distributed more evenly over the horse’s back. But everyone is now shouting “what about those pressure mat images? they don’t look very even”. The reason these images are not perfectly even is because of a variety of factors including, rider position and movement, horse-back shape changes during locomotion and asymmetric and/or poorly fitting saddles.

We also need to mention that when the horse and rider are moving we should really use the term force (weight x acceleration i.e. movement of horse and rider). So when moving riders effectively “weigh” 2-3 times more than they do when sitting still on a non-moving horse.

A treeless saddle can conform better to the shape of the horse's back. It can also move in close contact with the horse's back as the horse's back shape changes as it moves. This sounds perfect? But there is a limitation. It doesn’t distribute the rider’s weight as well as the tree’d (stiff) saddle. Also, when the rider adopts a 2-point or rising position, all the force is focussed across the gullet/withers.
So treeless saddles are more flexible and accommodate the movement of the horse's back better but don’t distribute rider forces as well. Tree’d saddles are stiffer and distribute forces better (more evenly) but don’t accommodate changes in the horse-back shape during locomotion. Neither is therefore ideal. The ideal is a saddle that accommodates changes in back shape as the horse moves AND a saddle that distributes rider forces evenly. But they don’t exist.........yet!

Please Remember - You may agree or disagree with me or others but I do not tolerate rudeness or aggression on this page. Thank You.

29/10/2022

This is so true. It also demonstrates the limitations of tracings in saddle fitting.