So I’ve been looking for a new dressage saddle. Had a rep out today and he insisted that there should be a bit space(bridging) when the horse is standing naturally so when he collects the saddle will be flat on his back. I was very skeptical about his theory since my horse doesn’t even know what collection is at this point and he’s very hollow when he goes into the canter(ex-foxhunter and never spent a day in a dressage ring before I bought him). I’ve always thought that saddle should have even contact throughout the whole panel?
What brand did he represent?
I’ve had fitters tell me this and some tell me the opposite. I can tell you my pony is 100% certain that she hates…and I mean HATES…a saddle that bridges. Her current saddle does not bridge to start and she has no problem collecting and using her back. A very slight bridge on a horse you know really round up in their back may be OK. I put the saddle on and tickle under the belly to see what happens when the back comes up. Even doing that though (where standing in crossties with a saddle that slightly bridges but fills in when her back comes up) she still went awful in those saddles. She’s never hollow as she was hollow the whole trial on 3 different ones. I never even got her to get her back up to fill the bridge. Everything that touched with no bridging? Totally fine. I’m sure every horse is different but mine says no bridging thank you very much!
This is not one I’ve heard before. I have seen horses, while standing, whose saddles looked like they were absolutely perfect, absolutely hate said saddle. Also seen horses whose saddles didn’t look like they fit very well at all absolutely love them. (I think the second situation is less common.)
But a horse changes shape so much when they’re moving, lifting their back, etc, that I wouldn’t judge saddle fit solely standing still. Did you try the saddle on the horse and ride in it? How did it feel? Do you have an option for a trial period?
Yes I have heard this but I agree with the poster that said there is so much movement and shape change that it is hard to predict without use. And see how it makes the horse feel as opposed to what it looks like.
I know that rocking is very bad and will not correct in proper frame.
Their backs really do come up but if there is too much pressure in the wrong spot it will be hard for your horse to get round.
[QUOTE=Can’tFindMyWhip;8928890]
What brand did he represent?[/QUOTE]
Butet
[QUOTE=Dutchmare433;8928925]
This is not one I’ve heard before. I have seen horses, while standing, whose saddles looked like they were absolutely perfect, absolutely hate said saddle. Also seen horses whose saddles didn’t look like they fit very well at all absolutely love them. (I think the second situation is less common.)
But a horse changes shape so much when they’re moving, lifting their back, etc, that I wouldn’t judge saddle fit solely standing still. Did you try the saddle on the horse and ride in it? How did it feel? Do you have an option for a trial period?[/QUOTE]
He absolutely hates the slightest bridging. He gets very stiff and hollow under the saddle and never really round his back up.
It really depends on where there is uneven depth in the panel, and the horse’s conformation.
I had one horse that had several GOOD saddle fitters reflock his saddle; at a standstill and in motion it fit him on paper flawlessly. He HATED it. HATED IT. I really cannot stress how much he hated it; unfortunately since we knew the saddle fit we assumed it was behavioral for a long time as he was 100% sound. Wish I had of known then what I knew now… this was many years ago.
He ended up going really well in a Kieffer Aachen that bridged in the back - the front gusset and panel was very flat and even and the saddle fitter left some ‘padding’ off of the back panel; he had a very flat, broad back and this worked really well for him. For years.
My current horse hates a set up like that.
I am a saddle fitter. Anyone who tells you a saddle should bridge either doesn’t know what they’re talking about or is just trying to make a sale. This is a big red flag! Run far, far away!!
[QUOTE=Lusoluv;8929158]
I am a saddle fitter. Anyone who tells you a saddle should bridge either doesn’t know what they’re talking about or is just trying to make a sale. This is a big red flag! Run far, far away!![/QUOTE]
Can the bridging be corrected by flocking? I’m curious because I really love the saddle itself but if nothing can be done to correct it I will look for another one.
[QUOTE=emilyzwz;8929148]
He absolutely hates the slightest bridging. He gets very stiff and hollow under the saddle and never really round his back up.[/QUOTE]
I think that’s your answer about this particular saddle and possibly about this fitter.
[QUOTE=emilyzwz;8929284]
Can the bridging be corrected by flocking? I’m curious because I really love the saddle itself but if nothing can be done to correct it I will look for another one.[/QUOTE]
Butet is a French brand. IME, all the French brands use foam panels, not wool flocking. Butet says nothing about their technical specifications on their website. But you cannot reflock a foam panel. You can only use shimmed pads to alter the fit.
In general, you would not be trying to correct substantial bridging with flocking, even on a wool panel. Bridging is a sign that the tree itself is a mismatch for the shape of the horse’s back. The tree is too straight for the curve of the back. If you had a saddle that did fit, but the wool flocking had been compressed a bit and was causing a tiny bit of bridging, that could be fixed by reflocking.
You need an indepedent saddle fitter on call to learn from.
You need a curvier tree saddle. Do NOT buy a saddle that bridges. My saddle bridged on my TB which he hollowed his back, couldn’t round up and we ended up with kissing spine, although bridging is not considered a causal effect, it wasn’t there (or a problem) before bridging saddle.
[QUOTE=Lusoluv;8929158]
I am a saddle fitter. Anyone who tells you a saddle should bridge either doesn’t know what they’re talking about or is just trying to make a sale. This is a big red flag! Run far, far away!![/QUOTE]
I am NOT a saddle fitter. But, THIS ^^^
I don’t often say this, but, idiot. Needs to go take some basic equine (or any animal really) anatomy/biomechanics classes. In the case of the horse it would be helpful for them to learn and SEE just how much, or little, a horse’s spine moves and in which directions.
Do they not realize that the back is not just static, unmoving? That’s the problem that most of us have. We MAKE our horses go bracey and locked up. Due to our riding and ill fitting tack. Give yourself a head start and get a saddle that fits the horse now, not 5 years down the road. Gads. If your horse is bracing now in canter, having the saddle bridge is NOT going to help!
OP, trust your instincts. People get sucked into these scams so often. If they’d just listen to their own gut. YOU know your horse best. Do what’s best for them.
I have had a couple of horses who lift their back so much that at a standstill, when not lifting their belly, the saddle the horse liked, bridged…slightly.
I have also seen a seemingly perfect fit, on a standing horse, bridge like crazy on a fox hunter who went hollow.
I will say I never found a horse who liked a rocking saddle though.
Back when I did sell saddles, over a decade ago, watching the horse go in the saddle was very important. How did it sit, did it move, all three gaits, and the work and type of riding had to be taken into consideration.
Static and active fit can vary so much. I don’t like a saddle that bridges as some people and horses don’t know how to get a horse to lift its back and as mentioned above, some lift their backs a lot. In general, if the saddle is lighter in the center, I’m okay with that but would not want to see a gap. Conversely, I don’t want more pressure there. The tree has to be the right shape. Flocking can only do so much and with a French saddle, you don’t even have that option. Chances are, if it is bridging, it’s either too narrow, too angular or too flat a tree.
I was taught that the flocking in the panels of a well made and well fitted saddle will compensate for the changes in the horse’s back during a ride.
That is the reason for the panels, and why the tree does not sit directly on the horse’s back.
It is why the leather of the panels must be pliable and the flocking must be soft and conform to pressure, then be resilient enough to return to it’s original shape.
Hard/rigid panels = sore backs. No matter how well they conform to the standing horse’s conformation.
. I am a saddle fitter. Anyone who tells you a saddle should bridge either doesn’t know what they’re talking about or is just trying to make a sale. This is a big red flag! Run far, far away!!
We have a winner! Finding a saddle that doesn’t bridge is the first and most basic step of saddle fitting.
Find someone competent.
