[Consider This] Saddle Fit Case Study: Endurance Horse

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Endurance.Net

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Aug 4, 2015, 10:11:48 AM8/4/15
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Schleese.com - Full Article

by Jochen Schleese CMS, CSFT, CSE

My interest in endurance riding has come through my association with some top US Endurance Riders – who I am happy to work with in keeping their horses sound over the long distances ridden in these races. I have seen this sport grow from its crazy first decades to the well regulated and exciting sport that it is today. Now, much more so than in the beginning of what has come to be known as “the modern sport of Endurance Riding”, the American Endurance Ride Council (AERC), the governing body of the sport here in the United States and Canada, has matured into an organization that definitely focuses on the well-being of the horses first, and I very much appreciate this as I have unfortunately been witness to how some riders in past years have treated their mounts. That type of abuse and disregard for our amazing equine athletes is a rare occurrence in the sport these days thanks in large part to the AERC.

I talked to a rider and the owner of her horse being ridden a few weeks ago in a 55 mile ride, who has a Schleese saddle, and who said that within a month after the last saddle fitting the horse completely lost its top line and was extremely sore-backed, both over both shoulders (white hair patches) and especially behind the 18th rib. Both claimed that the white hair patches arose because we apparently use synthetic wool to flock our saddles rather than real wool. They said that synthetic wool will eventually ball up and become hard, whereas real wool does not. It was these hard balls of synthetic wool that caused the white patches on the shoulders. A video of what was going on with the horse was included, of which I post a couple of stills (so please excuse the quality).

What endurance riders do on a weekly basis is the absolute extreme of riding. Maintaining the saddle fit of an endurance horse is so tricky because there are so many elements at work: fluid loss, caloric consumption, muscle stress, metabolic rate etc. It stands to reason that the physical changes the horse (and rider) undergo in a 55 mile ride are quite severe. We mustn’t forget that this level of exertion and athleticism is not necessarily a natural condition for the horse – and also that the horse was never meant to be ridden! It takes an extreme maintenance and training program for both horse and rider to be able to achieve these kinds of goals...

Read more here:
http://www.schleese.com/Blog_25_Saddle_Fit_A_Case_Study_with_an_Endurance_Rider_July_2015

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Posted By Endurance.Net to Consider This at 8/04/2015 08:11:00 AM

Endurance.Net

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Aug 4, 2015, 10:11:50 AM8/4/15
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SMW

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Aug 4, 2015, 11:04:34 AM8/4/15
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Wow, so it is impossible to fit endurance horses because what we do is so "extreme" an "unnatural" and the riders fault unless a "custom saddle fitter" comes to readjust ever few weeks?  LOL  I wonder home many times that nice older Stubben of Potato's was "refitted" to his nice mare.... :)

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Lynn White

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Aug 4, 2015, 11:56:00 AM8/4/15
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I've never seen a Stubben sore the back of a horse...just wish they would make the seats for the female hip bones.   I believe Schleese is kind of anal towards movement of dressage horses.  They make saddles with seats that support the female anatomy.   I've made a conscious effort to never sit very long in a Schleese because they are so comfortable I'll want to buy one and I can't afford the price tag.   

I think what makes our sport so foreign to saddle makers of other disciplines  is that we are always in that balance between horse comfort and rider comfort. We place a huge emphasis for saddle fit, but unbalanced riders make for sore horses.

Laney Humphrey

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Aug 4, 2015, 12:17:36 PM8/4/15
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And, as riders/owners, we do have a responsibility to keep the horse
in sound, healthy condition. The photographs in Schleese's article
show a very thin horse with no muscle mass to support a saddle and
rider.
There are many saddles that don't sore horses' backs and some (a few,
in my opinion) that are built to support the female rider's anatomy.
The hunt for the right one can be long, expensive and frustrating
though.
Laney Humphrey
12921

Karen Sullivan

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Aug 4, 2015, 12:20:45 PM8/4/15
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...as another thought, Schleese has written an article absolutely
destroying treeless saddles-which makes me doubt his credibility.
Many, many horses have competitive AERC miles and Tevis finishes in
treeless saddles and show no back soreness afterward.
Karen

Lynn White

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Aug 4, 2015, 2:05:28 PM8/4/15
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Schleese makes a great saddle, but the bottom line is they are in the business to sell saddles.  They remind me of my first farrier who was probably the best iron shoe farrier in the Magic Valley.  The guy was a first rate craftsman at hot shoeing but had definite opinions on booting.  He decided that he didn't like shoeing my mare so I ultimately took control of the hoof needs of my horses.  I think if I told him I had thousands of endurance miles iron-free he'd get so mad  that little vein in his skinny neck would burst.

I think people just get myopic in the way they see traditional mechanics of movement and refuse to entertain the seemingly  radical options of approaching challenges.  Thank goodness for people who are innovative and people with faith to try and buy the new ideas. 

Ebeyrider

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Aug 4, 2015, 4:01:22 PM8/4/15
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Treeless saddles with PANELS were not even available when Schleese did that study🏇

Terry
May the Horse be With You

Ebeyrider

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Aug 4, 2015, 4:04:16 PM8/4/15
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I have more than 3,000 endurance competition miles on my Freeform treeless saddle with PANELS. The panels are what keep the saddle off my roach-backed horse. Panels on treeless saddles were not even available when Schleese did his "study".


Terry
May the Horse be With You

Karen Sullivan

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Aug 4, 2015, 7:36:22 PM8/4/15
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yes, good point....but many riders, including Karen Chaton, had
thousands of miles in Bob Marshall sport saddles in skito pads or
toklat pads with inserts...with good success....
Karen

Chris Martin

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Aug 5, 2015, 12:43:49 PM8/5/15
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Let's see, pretty sure Haggin cup receipent was in a treeless as was 200 # Garret Ford on his 7th place finish at the Tevis cup. Lots more where that came from, look on front page of Tevis news and Heather on her Tevis win last year

Lynn White

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Aug 5, 2015, 1:09:44 PM8/5/15
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John Crandell rode Heraldic for quite a while in a Freeform.  I remember seeing the pictures.  Then again Heraldic is a freak of a horse. 

On Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 10:43 AM, Chris Martin <webta...@gmail.com> wrote:
Let's see, pretty sure Haggin cup receipent was in a treeless as was 200 # Garret Ford on his 7th place finish at the Tevis cup. Lots more where that came from, look on front page of Tevis news and Heather on her Tevis win last year

Raven

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Aug 5, 2015, 2:24:36 PM8/5/15
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Chris. ...do you know which treeless saddles they used?

Raven
Sent by my Samsung Galaxy Note
Please excuse any typos.

On Aug 5, 2015 11:43 AM, "Chris Martin" <webta...@gmail.com> wrote:
Let's see, pretty sure Haggin cup receipent was in a treeless as was 200 # Garret Ford on his 7th place finish at the Tevis cup. Lots more where that came from, look on front page of Tevis news and Heather on her Tevis win last year

Chris Martin

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Aug 6, 2015, 11:30:34 AM8/6/15
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Yes the FreeForm saddles have been on winning horses multiple times. Mostly with Renolds Racing. Jeremy won it twice on a FreeForm, Heather won it last year in a FreeForm, and Crandall switched mid way I think, but the ended up crossing the line in the FF?, I think. Rusty was in a FreeForm for his win, Garrret Ford was in one this year as was Kevin's horse Far for the Haggin cup. There is a treeless saddle survey floating around out there that I did not save but would like to find again. MONK was in a FreeForm when he won the 2009 FEI/AERC championship ride in 2009. We had to switch to a heavier saddle for FEI.
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