LB Equine Training and Rehabilitation

07/07/2024

Conformation or Posture?

A question we all ask ourselves when looking at our horses standing square,

We can't change conformation defects in our horses, but we can change their posture and how they choose to carry themselves.

Poorly fitted saddles can cause a horse to work in a poor posture, making conformation defects even more complicated to try and fit a saddle to and if not corrected can cause serious damage to our horses topline.

Below is the lovely Ginger, I have had the absolute pleasure working with over the last 9-10months, you can see Ginger has a huge shoulder, gives the illusion of being croup high with an over exaggerated forward girth groove..... every saddlers worse nightmare! By having a saddle that wasn't allowing for the wither to come up and in turn stopping the horse from being able to use her thoracic sling has giving Ginger poor posture and stopping her very dedicated owner to progress with her trainning .

So what did we do?
Changed the saddle that allowed Ginger to be able to lift up through the wither and engage her thoracic sling, this meant changing every part of the saddle to make sure it was right for her at all times- from the head plate, to the panels to the tree.... over the last 9-10 months this horse has changed tree shape twice, changed head plate 4 times and even changed panels!
As her posture has improved with the correct work, saddle fit and management, it has changed the shape of her back completely.
To be able to have a saddle that is completely inter changeable is so important, this allows you to change with the horse as he or she changes shape. As you can see in the pictures below she has gone through a huge posture change over the last 9-10months.

Ginger has been one of the trickest horses I have had to fit, but by the far the most rewarding, it is seeing these kinds of changes that inspires me to always try and do better for our equestrian friends.
Let's raise the standard of saddle fitting, our horses deserve it. ❤️🐴

09/06/2024

What a day.....busy, busy, busy this month with lots of WoW saddle fits, but when you see such a huge transformation in a horse.
clients words..... " I could cry, that is the best he has gone in 7 years" and to watch them both go around with the biggest smiles on their faces, make it all worth while.

Once again WOW Saddles making all the difference in horses way of going.

I have limited availability left for June and taking bookings for July.

I believe every horse and rider deserve to feel ultimate comfort in their work together 🙌🫶

18/04/2024

And the journey continues to become the Best saddle fitter in Sussex! 🤩

My trustee sidekick approves 👌

03/09/2023

Absolutely love working with WOW Saddles and watching how with the right work the horses really change 👌❤️

Here is the lovely Obi, who, in just 3 months has gone up 2 head plate sizes since my last visit.
I was expecting quick changes once we got his WoW saddle fitting perfectly, but wasn't quite expecting 2 head plate sizes up!
The WOW has allowed him to use his back and start to develop an topline.... filling in all the gaps and angles.
His a lucky boy to have the most amazing dedicated owner, who has put in the work to help him develop.

Results like this make working on an sunny afternoon worth while 🤩

03/09/2023

Here is the lovely Obi, who, in just 3 months has gone up 2 head plate sizes since my last visit.
I was expecting quick changes once we got his WoW saddle fitting perfectly, but wasn't quite expecting 2 head plate sizes up!
The WOW has allowed him to use his back and start to develop an topline.... filling in all the gaps and angles.
His a lucky boy to have the most amazing dedicated owner, who has put in the work to help him develop.

Results like this make working on an sunny afternoon worth while 🤩

12/02/2023

Something I feel very strongly about.......
Saddle fitting in the unback/just backed young horse.

I will never understand the concept of "just wack any old saddle on when backing"
We wouldn't just expect a young toddler to learn how to walk in "any old shoes" so why do we expect a young horse to learn how to lift its back or carry the weight of a rider with a saddle that doesn't really fit?

To me, its probably one of the most important stages in a horses life to get the saddle fitting right, how can you expect them to develop muscle if the muscle don't have room to move or expand?
A young horse is forever changing with coming up through the withers, delevoping more back muscle and their back changes shape.

Here is a perfect example with Wizard: he has now been in some kind of work for about 10 months, long reining, lightly backed and having little holidays when needed.
He has had his saddle checked 3 times in the last 10 months, each time having minor adjustments from the head plate, to panel and girthing changes.

And most recently, he is showing the biggest change...... he has changed tree shape.
He has come up through the wither, back has developed which means he has gone from a flat tree to a semi curved tree....
This would explain the slight unbalance of the saddle recently and tightness I've been feeling when riding but not seen on the longreins. And this is just 10 months of the lightest work!

Lucky for wiz he is in a WoW saddle so I'm able change the seat for him whenever he needs it.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is get your saddle checked regularly, especially in the early stages and invest the money in the right saddle to start with. You can never go wrong investing in the right place as early as possible, for your own piece of mind and your horse's health.