Elite Equestrian magazine July August issue 2020

BIT,

or no bit?

By Alessandra Deerinck

The choice of tack, more often than not, is driven by its efficacy in terms of intensity of the pressure exercised on the horse, but If we become detailed and efficient in our communication to the horse, we can widen the scope of our choice.

TRAINING & Showing

When we are in the presence of a horse, or any other live individual, they perceive our behavior and act accordingly towards us. This is the reason why we have studied the social interaction between human and horse and formulated Human Horse Sensing as a detailed method that can be applied to any equestrian discipline. It works through behavior in a way that makes immediate sense to the horse, without requiring to train them for it. Training a horse for a purpose is an additional resource, but we should not just limit our interaction to what he has been trained for.

The first step to be efficient in the communication with horses is to understand their instinctual behavior and we teach to do so on the ground and in the saddle. When we can understand the equine behavior, we also have to learn to modulate our movements in a way that horses can always immediately understand us, and most importantly we need to see and take in consideration how horses respond to our actions.

Such modality makes the interaction become cooperative, like a dialogue where human and horse both contribute. The meaningful elements of the communication are not words, but movements, and their direction and frequency are key points that the horse can perceive by sight or touch, and understands them instinctually.

Riding a horse puts us in a positionwhere we occupy part of the horse’s space, the communication with the horse happens mainly by the way of touch, through pressure and release and is mediated by the tack we choose to use. The saddle is where we seat, and the bridle allows us to reach the head of the horse. In the past issue of Elite Equestrian, we talked about proper bit design, now we would like to talk about the way to make contact with the horse’s head using a bitless bridle.

Rider and horse both need to learn the elements that are meaningful in the communication by touch. We teach the rider to gage his contact by its direction, frequency of request and most importantly to distinguish between the kind of interaction (cooperative or competitive) they are having with the horse. To prepare the horse to be ridden in a bridle, with or without the bit, we work to have him respond to our request that is made on the ground with the lightest touch, using a longe line. The goal is to have the rider learn to use the lightest touch by tension and by release, and to get the horse to respond to the direction of the impulse we send him, in a prompt and detailed manner, always without applying painful pressure or a fixed side rein. The horse learns to respond to the lightest tension of

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the reins when we ride. He will comply with our request not by avoiding the pressure, but by following the direction of the tension or release.

What is very often overlooked is that the structure of the tack we use determines the direction of the pressure not just its presence or intensity. When talking about bridles or choosing which one to use, the anatomy of the equine facial region should be always kept in mind. In order to efficiently communicate with the horse, we need to learn how to properly gage our contact through touch, and one of the ways to handle it in a detailed manner is to consider its direction and length of time relatively to

Interaction becomes cooperative.

the anatomical location where the horse receives it. The head is where all of the sense receptors are located and the horse orients it to perceive the environment, but also to properly move his body according to what surrounds him. When we ask him to position his head according to our instruction, we need to be conscious of these key facts. There are disciplines that require the horse to have a certain body carriage, and some riders achieve it by constraining the horse with tack or hard contact, but a horse that accepts the presence of the rider on his back, would naturally assume a correct head and body posture to achieve the correct carriage if the rider is sitting properly. Most importantly, the horse perceives all of the rider’s movements, not just what we would like to send as our input to the horse. Furthermore, causing painful pressure inside the mouth, or on the facial region will make a horse reactive and possibly defensive, which reflects on its carriage, and can cause a conflict instead of a cooperative interaction between rider and horse. In the learning process, an instance that has a negative content will not be something that the horse

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will look forward to experience, and will definitely have a negative influence on the relationship between human and horse.

Having the bit in their mouth can seem a harsh situation, but the horse can chew on a bit, if his mouth is not shut by a tight-fitting nose band, and this gives him a saying in how the contact we are applying impacts him. So, if we think that using a bitless device that lays on the horse’s face instead of being in the mouth is a better solution, we should think twice. A horse cannot handle a metal bar or a hard and tightly fitting noseband in any way other than just resigning to its presence and action. If applied tightly the bitless tack affects the physiology of the area, can cause swelling, and constant pain in the process of carrying our communication.

There are many designs

of bitless bridles

The cross under type of bitless bridle has the reins passing through rings connected to a loose fitted noseband and connected to the crown of the bridle.

Just like with any kind of tack, there are many designs for bitless bridles, and some of them still operate by putting pressure on the facial area and expecting the horse to seek comfort by moving away from the pressure, and therefore complying with the request. The Hackamore has its name from the English word that came from jaquima, that means bridle in Spanish. The Hackamore operates by putting pressure on the muzzle instead of inside the mouth, and the same happens with the Spanish bitless device called bosal, which means noseband. Both these devices can cause swelling on the horse’s facial region just because of their presence. Continued More... on page 68

To Order: www.bitlessbridle.com Or Call: 877.942.4277

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Myths of Saddle Fitting Methods

8(and yes, I’m warning you - these are controversial!)

Story & Photos By Jochen Schleese, CMS, CSE, CSFT ©2020 Saddlefit 4 Life™ All Rights Reserved

There are several major problems

arising in today’s modern saddle construction, because of the fact that: a) People are getting heavier (larger) b) There more horse owners than horse’men’ (and women) around now (which means much of the inherent knowledge about horse husbandry may have been lost) c) Horse’s saddle support area is getting smaller (horses are being bred with shorter backs which leaves a smaller area for the saddle) d) The structure of saddle trees and saddle panels have deviated from proper function. The side rails of the saddle trees are too narrow for proper weight bearing surface area, and the panels are generally much too soft to afford any real support to the too narrow rails. Panels need to be firm for support.

All of these challenges work together to result in more and more back issues – for both horse and rider!

I have often heard riders say, “I have been using my saddle for x number of years. It fits me perfectly and fits every horse I use. Never had to get it fitted.” I have to really bite my tongue on that one but usually just manage to smile and say. “Lucky you”. Most people do not realize the possible damage they may be doing to themselves and their horses, but the fact is that there are still saddles on the market that actually inhibit the development of the horse, and as such – they may actually be right. Their saddles may still fit the same as it did when they first bought it. But, the analogy here is sort of like the Chinese custom of binding the feet so that they will not grow. Doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do…(tradition aside!) Fitting the saddle properly should have less to do with opinion and more to do with science and the laws of nature. There was a time when people argued and swore that the earth was flat – there are still people who would argue that there is no physical difference between the male and female pelvis when it comes to saddles! (Scary – and some of these are even equine professionals!)

Now let’s look at the various methods that the saddle is then fitted to the horse.

Fit #1 - The Clothespin Fit. Seen in Jumping, Dressage, but mostly for Polo

TRAINING & Showing

Let me explain my theory on this, and please recognize that my ‘opinion’ on this has been substantiated with the use of various diagnostic tools, as well as being supported by the simple fact that the horse will change in conformation as it matures; especially at ages 3, 5 and 8. It would be doing the animal a huge disservice and potentially causing unnecessary pain and long term back damage to not to have the saddle adjusted to ensure continued health, comfort and performance, which is why we recommend at least annual checkups for saddle fit. Dr. Joyce Harman in her book “The Horse’s Pain Free Back and Saddle Fit Book” actually states at one point that, depending on the discipline, saddle model, and riding style that adjustments may need to be made as often as monthly! (although once a year is pretty much the minimum requirement for most saddles).

The most common dilemma in saddle fit seems to be whether the saddle needs to fit the horse first or the rider. The short answer is that the saddle needs to fit the rider first, and here is why. Colonel Alois Podhajky, the director of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna from 1939-1964 states, “It is of the utmost importance not to cause the rider any discomfort. With a cramped posture it is impossible to achieve a pliable seat. Without a pliable seat it is not possible to achieve oscillation in a horse’s back. And if its back cannot oscillate, the horse will suffer pain and will not be able to collect”. The point? The saddle has to fit the rider as well as the horse. Which means, among other things – the saddle has to be gender appropriate.

This type of fit is often seen in polo saddles, where the saddle actually is designed to ‘lock’ onto the spinal processes. Polo ponies often have atrophied back muscles, and usually 6-8 ponies are used in a game because they simply are in too much pain and not strong enough to continue. They have too little musculature to compensate. The saddles with this type of fit will put excess pressure on the multifidus muscles and spinal nerves, which is what leads to muscle atrophy in the back.

Some saddle manufacturers and their trained saddle fitters still maintain that a saddle is fine with a relatively (1-2 fingers) narrow channel. The tree is often too long and flat (resting on the shoulder cartilage and lumbar area) and sits with minimal weight bearing surface on the longissimus muscle. In this scenario, the saddle barely moves because it is ‘clamped’ on the spine (other than perhaps to twist during motion as it is ‘kicked back’ by the bigger shoulder.) This saddle actually rarely does need to be adjusted because bone structure, cartilage and ligaments do not adapt and change their conformation through training like muscles do – and the muscles really won’t change much because the horse simply is not able to use his muscles properly to develop a proper topline with a saddle that fits like this. The saddle doesn’t need to be refitted as no development happens.

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Fit #2 – The Bridge Fit

Fit #4 – The Treeless Fit (Bareback Pad)

These addles are built for contact only at the front and the back of the saddle support area, and some equine professionals believe that by increasing the pressure at the front and the back the saddle becomes more stable and the horse will bring up his back during movement to result in full panel contact. This is a false assumption, as multiple diagnostic tools have proven. Massive pressure in the front and back remains – dry spots, white hair, etc. result at the front and the back, but rarely in the middle. The horse’s back should be loose and supple and should swing left to right and up and down. If the back is in pain this movement doesn’t happen and the horse becomes a leg mover rather than a back mover. Same as in Theory #1 Little fitting required, since the saddle barely moves as the horse’s topline doesn’t change positively. We see atrophy under the cantle and behind the shoulders and deformation in the lumbar-sacral area.

Fit #3 – The Hyperextension Fit

This type of fit is specifically used on saddles which are purposely built to allow the hollow back look which is popular with saddle seat, “big lick” and Tennessee Walker enthusiasts. The rider’s weight sits primarily on the lumbar area. They literally prevent the horse’s back from engaging by disallowing the ‘wave of motion’ through the horse’s back. They prevent spinal mobility and don’t allow the horse to canter. This creates a false elevation where the hindquarters cannot step under and carry the weight. The back hollows and the shoulder blade rolls further back to create the artificially high lift in the front leg. The saddles have extremely narrow gullets to not allow the back to come up. Or is anyone going to argue that this is a natural type of gait for a horse? And don’t even get me started on the ‘training methods’ that still seem to be pervasive to achieve these looks.

The person who changed the name of bareback pads to treeless saddles is unquestionably a marketing genius.The word saddle traditionally infers the inclusion of a tree. The tree’s job is to act as an interface to support the rider’s vertical spine over the horse’s horizontal spine and distribute the rider’s weight over a larger surface area on the horse’s back. Without the tree, you have no support for the rider and little weight bearing surface. There has been no scientific publication to date or veterinary endorsement which approves the use of a treeless saddle.

While admittedly there have been some radical improvements in treeless saddles over the past couple of years, there are still many issues I have with them. I know they have their advocates, and they may work for a while, but in the long run they will still result in concentrated pressure points on the horse’s back (mainly below the seat bones on the spine and ligaments – and this has been documented in scientific press). The rider’s weight is effectively doubled on the horse’s back as there is no support for the rider’s pelvis. Therefore there is no pliable seat and the horse will suffer for it.

Fit #5 – The “Modern Sport” Fit (sometimes a combination of Fits 1, 2 and 3) This is where the premise

of fitting a saddle according to ‘fad’ sometimes overtakes the more common sense logic of ‘function’. I remember when I first came over to Canada from Germany and saw my first show jumping competition. Most of the riders were using extremely small, flat saddles that I later learned were called ‘close contact’ – in direct opposition to the bigger, bulkier jumping saddles I had been used to in Germany. What I couldn’t understand was the fact that almost without exception there was keyhole pad upon rubber pad upon felt pad under the saddle – basically negating the concept of ‘close contact’. But everyone was doing it because the elite was riding this way.

Unfortunately, this is part of the concept that ‘one size fits all’. Saddles are bought because top riders endorse a particular product (for whatever reason) – and not necessarily because they are right for the individual or actually fit either horse or rider.

Continued...

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That’s what I mean by fad. These saddles are often placed too far forward (on the shoulder cartilage) because they may be too long for a certain horse. This is the worst fit of all of the fits, as the saddles rest on the shoulder cartilage, lumbar spinal processes and ligaments. As explained previously, the horses do not move properly through the back, but mainly through the legs. The false show trot, also known as resulting from ‘rollkuer’ in dressage, or false elevation as shown in the Big Lick impresses the uneducated masses. These types of fit create long term damage to spine, nerves and joints with little obvious muscular pain, as there is little or no weight being carried by the back (longissimus) muscles – as it should be.

Fit #6 – The “Specialty” Fit

The fit for specialty saddles actually uses a combination of various fit methodologies to work. It is different from saddle to saddle. These are saddles which are generally used in specific disciplines, such as racing, side saddles, or parades. Each of these saddles of course require different fit considerations given their specialized uses.

Each specialty saddle requires the understanding of the fitter of the biomechanic movement of the horse and the goal and use of the saddle in each discipline. While the general premise of how a saddle should fit given the requirements of both human and equine anatomy doesn’t change, there are specific ‘opinions’ of saddle fitting which are a must for these disciplines which fly against the usual rules. Racing: the jockey stands in the stirrups. The greatest area of contact will therefore be in the front of the saddle. Parade saddles (drum saddle): Must rock extremely to accommodate the rider sitting in the saddle to lift the drums away from the horse’s shoulders. Side saddles: the tree is completely different on the left and right sides, and the stuffing needs to be totally asymmetric. Both legs are on one side of the horse.

Fit #7 – The “Fake Adjustable” Fit

The ‘fake’ saddle adjustment is often practiced on saddles which are not really built to be adjustable. Home-made hydraulic tree machines are being used on wooden trees which are not meant to be spread under the rider’s weight over the horse’s withers. The part of the saddle over the horse’s withers is called the pommel. On a traditional English wooden tree it has a thin metal plate on the bottom of the pommel (small radius) and a thin plate on top of the pommel (larger radius) connected by around 16 rivets along its length. If a hydraulic press is used to spread or narrow the pommel of the wood tree, the rivets will pop and the metal will rip – resulting in a broken tree. Wood trees are used in saddles in all price ranges so you have to know what’s in your saddle.

Most saddle companies advertise their saddles as being adjustable. Unless the saddle can be adjusted in tree width independently from the tree angle, (orthopedic adjustment on left and/or right); narrowed or widened over spinal clearance; increased or decreased flocking in panel; billet alignment correction/adjustment; panel contact area widened/narrowed/lengthened/shortened) the saddle cannot be balanced properly on the horse and it cannot be truly considered adjustable. In motion the saddle will not stay in position front to back or left to right, and the rider will never be able to sit over the balance alignment point of the horse.

Saddles which are DIY with interchangeable gullet plates can give the impression of being adjustable at any time to accommodate changes in the horse’s conformation; unfortunately these gullet plates only change angles, and not width. The tree as well may suffer in its integrity in conjunction with constantly changing gullet plates, and adjustments are confined to only a handful of predetermined angles. If a saddle fitter can only work on the stuffing this does not do your horse justice and is known as a ‘fake’ adjustable fit. “Adjustable” does not always mean adjustable – so do your homework! Know what’s in your saddle and what your fitter can actually do.

If the saddle can only be adjusted in tree angle and by adding stuffing through a slit in the side of the panel, this very often causes more pressure on the horse’s back after the adjustment. The pressure can actually cause atrophy. The paradox is that capillary ischemia is proven to be caused by as little as 4.67 kPa (kilopascals) of pressure; many of these saddles have readings deemed “acceptable” of far beyond 11+ kPa! (again – documented in the literature; not just because I say so!)

Fit #8 – The “Tree Lift” Fit

The reasoning behind the name “tree lift fit” is that a saddle with a properly fitting tree has to support the rider’s pelvis and distribute her weight – but in movement it needs to allow the horse’s back to engage and come up by lifting away from the pommel (shoulder) and cantle (loins) area. This type of functional fit specifically accommodates the anatomy of both the horse and rider to ensure optimum comfort and protection against long term pain and possible back damage. The tree has rear-facing tree points to ensure that if properly placed behind the shoulder there will be no cartilage damage. The gullet channel is wide enough to not impact spinal processes, and the rider’s weight is properly distributed within the saddle support area of the horse’s back (on top of the rib cage and on the belly of the longissimus dorsi muscle between the base of the withers and the 18th thoracic vertebra).

Continued on page 72

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WESTERN Dressage:Preparing to Show

By Lynn Palm Palm Partnership Training™ Building a Partnership with your Horse

Dressage is for every rider and any horse, no matter what age, level of education, and what your goals may be. It is simply a natural training method for the horse and rider that leads to great success. So if you are a western rider, dressage training will help you bring out the best in your horse and you as a rider.

Western Dressage is a huge step in the right direction to improve the western rider’s education and skills. Be careful if you try to ride a dressage test; you will get hooked because it is so much fun.

Now that you have studied some of my suggestions about getting yourself ready for the show ring, let’s focus now on the horse. Keep the following in mind as you prepare for your first Western Dressage show.

1. Train with patience and understanding about your horse as an individual and not just comparing him to other horses.

2. Understand what is required in each level and test. Know your horse’s confidence level and how he will handle what would be asked for in a test. Aim for willingness and consistency.

6. Don’t give in to peer pressure. Don’t let others, such as family members, friends, trainer/coach, or other competitors talk you into thinking that you need to do more then you are capable of doing or want to do. Don’t attempt to reach goals your horse isn’t ready to handle. Stay on a realistic path and set achievable goals.

7. Prepare for your show at home. Find out exactly what you need to do in order to sufficiently warm up to practice for the level you plan to show in.

8. Prepare the warm-up you will do before you enter the ring. Practice what to do and what direction to turn down the center line to start your test.

9. Prepare your tack and clothes ahead of time, and know how long it takes you to get ready. You can rehearse at home.

TRAINING & Showing

3. Evaluate your horse’s fitness. Become educated so you know what is your horse’s best weight and muscle tone.

4. Evaluate your horse’s soundness, both his overall soundness and the soundness of his legs and feet. Know and work closely with your vet and blacksmith so that your horse is healthy and sound. It takes a great deal of knowledge and time to make sure your blacksmith is trimming or shoeing your horse correctly and for your vet to know this too. Aim to keep the limbs of the horse sound without medications if possible.

5. Set time lines for you and your horse to prepare for yearly goals. Set them and if you are not reaching them, reevaluate them without getting upset and taking it out on the horse.

10. Make packing lists for horse feeding and care, tack to show in, and clothes you wear to compete in. This will keep you from worrying that you’ll forget something.

11. Make travel plans and time lines of when you are going and for how long.

12. Prepare your vehicle and trailer for safe travels. Please refer to our traveling DVDS available on the website.

13. Decide with confidence, excitement and what I call “the eye of the tiger,” to go to the show and have a great time and success.

I hope these tips will give you confidence and encouragement to show. Your horse will tell you if he’s not ready by a poor responses if the challenge is too difficult for him. So listen to your horse and go for it. Get out there and tell your friends: Dressage is for everyone in the horse world!

For more information on clinics and training materials, please visit www.lynnpalm.com or call us at 800-503-2824.

EE

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