Schleese Saddlery Service

Schleese Saddlefit 4 Life^®

Custom English Dressage Saddles

Celebrating 20 Years of Successful Solutions for Horse and Rider

Let us help you select the
perfect saddle

Discover the Benefits for Trainers and Students

Let us help you arrange a saddle fit session in your area

Pre-Register for your Saddle Fit Session

The Balanced Horse

This balanced frame is the basis of all equestrian disciplines, with the exception of horses asked to work
on the forehand, such as Western cutting horses. In this frame, the horse is able to carry weight equally
on the hindquarters and forehand. A horse in this balanced frame will usually have his legs straight under
him which means less stress on the suspensories, hocks, stifles, knees, poll and hip. In dressage, it can be
piaffe one second, lengthen the stride the next.

In the balanced horse, the humerus is at 45 degrees, as are the femur, scapula, and pelvis. The cannons,
both front and rear, are perpendicular to the ground.

In the unbalanced horse, the humerus and the pelvis are somewhat less than 45 degrees, while the femur and the scapula are somewhat more than 90 degrees. The cannons, both front and rear, are facing inward. This position of the cannons will cause stress to the knee in front, and the hocks behind. This downhill conformation causes a horse to move with difficulty, unable to carry very much weight, and can lead to multiple lameness problems.

In conclusion therefore, the angles between the humerus and femur indicate the muscular conformation of
the horse. It becomes evident what needs to be addressed to change those angles to accommodate the
discipline you are interested in.

Horse Anatomy

The importance of understanding a horse’s anatomy cannot be overemphasized. Riding is a sport that relies on the athletic ability of a horse, and it only makes sense that a thorough understanding of the muscular/skeletal build is helpful. If your saddle does not allow your horse freedom of movement under your weight, it will be difficult for him to develop the muscular confirmation that your discipline requires.

The information given herein is simple and intended to give a very cursory overview of these implications as they pertain to saddle fit, and not meant in any way to go into comprehensive detail. Much of what is stated is based on the knowledge and opinion of our certified master saddler, based on years of personal experience and consultation with veterinarians, physiotherapists and chiropractors.

The above picture illustrates the similarities between human and equine anatomies. Although the horse does not have a clavicle (collarbone) connecting the shoulders, and a hoof has evolved where the middle finger should be, the muscular/skeletal structures ate still very similar. Of course, the major difference between horse and human is that the horse is built on the horizontal plane; the human on the vertical.

However, both of these beings share the same aging and conditioning pitfall: gravity. The horse becomes
swaybacked and the human looses height because of compacting vertebrae.

By using the above picture, we are able to use analogies and comparative descriptions when referring to a
horse’s static position or biomechanical movement. When comparing it to movement in a human it van be
more easily understood.

Shoulder

You will rarely find a horse with both shoulders muscled the same. Most horses are left handed, and have more muscle mass on their left shoulder. Therefore with a symmetrical saddle, the right shoulder may be moving correctly, but since the left tree point offers more resistance to the motion of the left shoulder, that shoulder may move more vertically instead of back.

The resistive motion of that shoulder has another downfall. Because this shoulder does not exercise the thoracic trapezius (wither muscle) evenly, the wither muscle behind the good shoulder will be better developed. The non-fitted saddle may therefore fall to the left, causing an even greater impediment on the movement of the left shoulder by the left tree point.

A mentioned earlier, the horse does not have a clavicle, or collarbone. A horse often may have not only one shoulder more muscled; it can also have one shoulder more forward than the other. As the symmetrical saddle moves forward due to the energy of the moving horse, the saddle will move further in the direction of the forward shoulder. The rider’s reactive response to this saddle falling in one direction will cause that rider to place more weight on the opposite seat bone. To complicate matters, the rider will often compensate for straightness by leaning with the shoulders in the opposite direction to make up for the dropped hip.

Supraspinous Ligaments

The supraspinous ligaments are a tough fibrous tissue that run on each side of the spinal processes of the back. Connecting the hip to the poll of the horse, these ligaments are responsible for holding the horse’s head in the neutral position. Because these ligaments have a set length, the head and neck can remain relaxed when the back is up. However, when there is too much weight on the horse’s back, the back will sag. This lengthens the path of these ligaments, which will cause the head and neck to rise. In this position, the horse will experience stress in the poll area. To complicate matters in the dressage discipline, where a horse is asked to be on the vertical, this pressure becomes even worse. This underlines another reason why the horse’s back needs to be up at all times.

As the horse is moving forward, his hips will follow the motion of the movement of the diagonal legs. This in turn will cause these ligaments to move back and forth along the spine with the horse’s motion. This path along the spine must therefore remain clear of any pressure. If not, this will cause the ligaments to shorten their path, again placing stress at the poll, or even causing resistance in the movement of the hip. In the saddle, the horizontal panels (panels that sit under the saddle on top of the horse’s back) have to far enough apart (gullet width) to allow these ligaments the freedom to move with the diagonal motion of the horse. If not, it will be the pressure of these panels against the ligaments that will shorten the movement of these ligaments, thereby creating poll stress and shortness of stride.

Another complication here is when a horse has one shoulder that is more forward than the other. The saddle will have a tendency to shift toward the shoulder that is more forward. This twisting action of the saddle will then cause the rear of the saddle to twist at the cantle (back of the saddle) across these supraspinous ligaments. This places more pressure on the ligament on the opposite side of the forward shoulder. This in turn will cause the horse to either tilt his head or hand on the rein.

Trapezius Muscle

The thoracic trapezius, or wither muscle, is probably the most complex muscle of the horse, also known as
the ‘submission’ muscle. Many mammals use this muscle to carry their young. Gently carried in the mouth of the adult, the youngster is put into the fetal position which renders it motionless. This is where the stallion bites the mare to immobilize her during mounting.

Important: In the following paragraphs, we make reference to the width of the gullet plate of a saddle. This should not be confused with the width of the gullet, or the width of the tree. The width of the gullet (or saddle “channel”) is the distance between the horizontal panels. The width of the tree on the other hand, is basically the distance between the bottom of the tree points. Most saddles have a medium gullet plate, but can have a tree size anywhere between very narrow and very wide. It is generally about 29 cm (approx. 11.5”).

The trapezuis also delineates the path of nerves passing to the forelimbs and internal organs. When a massage therapist talks about meridians, a large percent of those nerves pass through this muscle. It is extremely important that the saddle does not put any pressure on this muscle. Pressure on this muscle places the horse instinctual submission. This equates to resistance and sometimes a lack of forward movement. The part of the saddle that can present a problem here is called the gullet plate, and
often veterinarians refer to this as the “vise grip” of the saddle.

The width of the trapezius muscle is usually indicative of a breed of horse, or a stage of development, and
is referred to with respect to the position of the humerus/scapular bones.

As mentioned before, most saddles have a medium gullet plate. For some warmbloods the symmetrical saddle can distribute equal pressure from the top of the tree point to the bottom, causing the least amount of pressure on the wither muscle.

However, in the young warmbloods, thoroughbreds, saddlebreds and other high withered horses, the medium gullet plate will drop down on the skeletal process of the wither causing a lot of discomfort to the horse. If you want to position the saddle off the skeletal proportion of the withers, you will have to narrow the tree points inward (a narrower tree). This pinching action will lock the shoulders and prevent them from moving naturally. For this type of horse, a saddle will need to have a narrow gullet plate, with the tree adjusted to the correct tree width.

This is the paradox of a narrow wide tree, or wide narrow tree, and can be illustrated as follows: take your hands and put them in front of you, palm to palm as in a prayer position (fingers up). Spread them apart in this position, still essentially vertical, but 6 inches between them. This is a wide narrow tree. Place them again together, this time spreading only the bottom of your hands about 4 inches apart, and leaving the finger tips together. This is in effect a narrow wider tree.

The last groups of horses are the wide-withered horses; including Arabs, Morgans, Lipizzaners, Andalusians, Friesians, some Draft crosses, and some young Warmbloods. The ramifications of a medium gullet plate on this type of wither, is that the entire weight of the saddle and rider is on the wither muscle.

With the medium gullet plate, there is no tree size that will adequately fit this type of wither. The horse
will require a wide gullet plate, with a tree adjusted for the correct width of his shoulders.

As a horse builds musculature, the width of the gullet plate and width of the tree will change. An example here is a young thoroughbred built heavy on the forehand. The humerus is collapsed, shoulder straight, camped under (legs lean to the rear of the horse, instead of squarely under). This horse would now require a narrow gullet plate with a narrow tree. As the horse is allowed to move without resistance, the back muscles will develop, pulling the humerus up, which will in turn move the shoulder back and position the front legs under the horse. This shifting of weight from the front to the rear of the horse is what is referred to “coming up in the wither”. The saddle will remain a narrow gullet plate, but he may now need a medium tree. As the horse develops through lateral and collection work, his trapezius will develop mass, and more of his weight is shifted to the rear. Now the saddle’s gullet plate may need to be widened, and the saddle tree may need to be narrowed – something that is not readily doable with most English saddles. We call these disposable saddles, since they are not able to change with the needs of the horse.

The human analogy here is Arnold Schwarzenegger (or any major body builder, for that matter). Most men’s necks come off their shoulders perpendicularly, or at 90 degrees. The trapezium muscle lays flat to their collar bone. However, in Arnold’s frame, the trapezius comes directly off the tips of his shoulders, and attaches on a narrower angle, somewhat below his ears. This is where much of the confusion arises concerning seeming muscle atrophy along the wither muscle. Instead, correct muscular movement causes correct muscle mass. For the trapezius, this equates to the angles becoming narrower (not atrophying), requiring a saddle to fit that narrower frame.

As you can see, it is extremely important that saddles have the ability to change both gullet plate width and tree size, as the horse correctly builds muscles. If not, the saddle becomes the training block for the developing horse.

Abdominal

The abdominal, or stomach muscle, is the largest and least understood muscle of the horse. However, it is also the most essential. In studying the biomechanics of any animal, you will find that all motion is made possible by interaction between two forces. In this case, the stronger the stomach muscles are, the stronger the back muscle can be. The best example is the swaybacked horse. This condition is due to weak abdominal muscles.

The human analogy here is illustrated with people who have back pain. A prescribed remedy includes exercising the abdominal to compensate for the overworked back muscles, which are doing all of the work holding the body erect.

The bottom line is: if a horse can move freely, taking into consideration the different angles of different breeds and various degrees of conditioning, the saddle should not interfere with the movement if it has been correctly fitted.

Horse Anatomy – Biomechanics of the Humerus and Shoulder

The muscle inserted in the femur is the Latissimus dorsi (back muscle). The position of the humerus tells a lot about the horse. It tells how developed the back muscles are, and how much weight of the horse is being carried on the forehand. The panels of the saddles should fit entirely on this muscle.

When a horse is moving correctly forward, the axis of motion of the fore leg is at the top of the humerus. As the humerus straightens, it pulls the latissimus muscle. Each time this limb moves correctly, it builds strength. As the muscle builds strength it builds muscle mass, which in turn pulls the humerus back. This development of the back muscle is what is responsible for bringing a horse off his forehand. This is how the development of the frame of a horse is accomplished. The result of the biomechanical movement of the humerus forward will cause the shoulder to move back.