|
| |||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
Copyright © New Rider 2010 All material on the Newrider.com website is copyrighted. Express written permission must be obtained to use anything you find here. |
||||||
| Location: | Starting Out | Tack |
Saddles
There are several types of saddle specialised, for example, to dressage or jumping. You are most likely to meet the general purpose saddle which is usually made from leather although modern synthetic variants are available. The saddle distributes the rider's weight across the horse's back muscles but importantly should not touch its spine which should be free from direct weight.
The tree is the foundation at the core of any saddle. The tree can be made of laminated beech plywood, plastic and fibre-glass and can be either ridged or spring tree which has a strip of flexible steel let into the tree at the waist (the front arch).
Webbing bands on which the stuffing and leather of the seat are carried are stretched along the tree. These must be neither too tight nor too loose if the seat of the saddle is to have the right dip with its deepest part in the correct place.
The tree is also the problem with many saddles. It has to made exactly symetrical and balanced else the whole saddle will be flawed. Unfortunately there are too many saddles in circulation which are fundamentally unbalanced due to mis-shapen trees and other constuction faults like stirrup bars and girth straps mounted unevenly. At best this will put the rider into a crooked position and make the horse difficult on one rein more than the other. At worst it will lead to muscle wastage, premature arthritus and behavioural problems in the horse.
A modern sythetic tree like the Sima Tree from the Thorowgood saddle range can be made to repeatable machine accuracy and overcome some of the inaccuracies in other constuction methods.
Inside a Thorowgood Saddle
|
|
Materials key |
| Colourfast, all-weather, easy care covering | |
| Closed cell foam prevents moisture penetration | |
| Luxurious deep foam seat cushion for rider comfort | |
| Precision moulded, high strength SimaTree saddle tree | |
| Stuffing which takes the shape of the horses back | |
| Super soft knitted nylon allows the stuffing to mould quickly | |
| High strength nylon webbing is securely stapled over the tree | |
| Easy-grip girth straps have a non-stretch nylon web core |
The girth (a wide webbing strap) attaches to the girth straps located under the saddle flap and fastens around the chest of the horse. It holds the saddle in place.
The panel is the padding and material placed under the tree and is the part of the saddle which comes into contact with the horse.
A full panel reaches almost to the bottom of the saddle-flap and is lined all the way down. There is sometimes a short sweat-flap called the under-flap between the panel and the girth straps. Knee and thigh rolls are also attached to this panel.
A half panel only reaches halfway down the saddle-flap and sometimes has a large sweat-flap. Both types should be fitted with buckle guards to prevent the panel form being damaged by the girth buckles.
Panels are lined with various materials;
- Leather is easy to clean and lasts a long time if it is well looked after and the saddle used frequently.
- Linen is a cloth lining, which dries quickly and wears well but not easy to keep clean.
- Serge is absorbent, but does not wear well and is also difficult to keep clean.
- Synthetic materials are the easiest to maintain and are hard wearing.
The stirrup leathers slide onto the stirrup bar which is just under the skirt of the saddle. These are designed such that the stirrup leathers will pull off in case of accident. Bars, which are not open-ended or are in the form of a 'D', are not safe unless worn with safety stirrups.
Numnahs are fleecy cloths placed between the saddle and the horse's back to give extra protection and to absorb sweat. Saddle cloths do a similar job though are often a 'plainer' material.
Always check the girth, straps, stirrup leathers and buckles before you mount for sign of damage.
In our Kinder Way to Ride series of pages Heather Moffett discusses why the design of most saddles is flawed and forces the rider into a poor position.
Next - bridles.
|
|
| |
|