When people first started riding horses, sometime late in the first millennium B.C., according to archaeologists, they did so bareback. The evidence for this, experts said, is in skeletons unearthed from the Eurasian steppes of ancient horses and riders, whose damaged bones bear the evidence of the lack of shock absorbers.
A few centuries later, as cavalry warfare emerged, rudimentary saddles evolved from pads strapped to horses’ backs to something more substantial, to keep riders on their mounts in battle, according to the book “Early Riders: The Beginnings of Mounted Warfare in Asia” by Robert Drews.
Today they can be high-tech works of craftsmanship, blending materials like handcrafted leather work and Kevlar struts. But above all, they must fit properly to ensure harmony between horse and rider. For about 30 years, the Society of Master Saddlers, a licensing association based in England, has trained master saddle fitters to do the job. Custom-made saddles can cost about $4,000 or above.
Lizzy Freeman, of North Yorkshire, England, is the marketing, media and partnerships coordinator for the society and a registered saddle fitter.
She said it takes three years to become a registered saddle fitter and seven before a person can apply to become a master — if a board of the fitter’s peers approves. The society has about 300 fitters across the world.
She explained what goes into making the perfect match for horse, rider and saddle. The interview has been edited and condensed.
Why is it so important to fit a saddle properly to a rider and their mount?
The main thing is the horse’s welfare when they’re working. Saddle fitters optimize the fit, depending on the different needs; the horse needs to be in balance, and in order to do that, the weight is distributed evenly through the weight-bearing area of the rib cage, but the main crux of it is how the horse is feeling.
The rider’s fit is important, too, because if you have a saddle that is too big or too small for the rider, they wont be riding effectively and the partnership won’t work.
There are various methods to ensure a fit. Some saddle fitters take chalk and draw on a horse’s side to see where the parts of the saddle, like the rigid core, or tree, and the back, called the cantle, fall. What is your process?
If a customer approached a saddle fitter wanting a new saddle, the fitter would come out with a selection of various saddles that would fit the description of what the rider is looking for. They watch the horse moving without a saddle, walking in a line and trotting up in a straight line. Then they would try on all of the appropriate saddles that they’ve taken along with them to the fitting. It has to tick boxes — the length of the tree, the balance, the contact. There are 15 things that we check.
Then the fitter would watch the horse go through various motions and make sure that there is nothing untoward. It fits if the horse is working relaxed, and it doesn’t look that there is any stress to the horse that is coming from the saddle.
We advocate checking the saddle twice a year. Horses change all the time; it’s about making the slight adjustments that make a difference to the horse.
What is the consequence of a bad fit?
A horse that has been in something that has been potentially nipping or putting pressure in an inappropriate place, can change how they move and impact their welfare. I personally remember one horse we changed saddles on that, even with the new saddle, didn’t look very comfortable. Then all of a sudden, when he was being ridden, you saw him breathe out as if to say, “Oh wow, this is so much better.” You saw this whole horse suddenly release, move so much freer and take a longer stride.
It’s like how we don’t walk very well in high heels, but we still do it — yet as soon as you change into a comfy pair of shoes, you walk differently. I guess it’s the same for a horse. They’ve managed and they’ve compromised as much as they can, but when they have something better, it’s like, “Wow, what a relief that is.”
When you see them working and they are looking as if they’re enjoying their work, there’s a huge satisfaction to that. The satisfaction is of the horse being comfortable rather than: “Yes! We sold a saddle.” At the end of the day, horses aren’t designed to be ridden, but we do, so we want to make sure they are as comfortable as they can be.
Sarah Maslin Nir, a staff reporter for The Times, is the author of four books on horses.
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