Saddles and girths: What is new?

- There is a high frequency of ill-fitting saddles in the sports horse population.
- The dimensions of horses' backs change over time, therefore a regular check of saddle fit is required.
- Back dimensions may transiently increase with exercise, but this is inhibited by ill-fitting saddles.
- The most important reason for a saddle to consistently slip to one side is hindlimb lameness.

Several studies have shown that there is a high prevalence of ill-fitting saddles. Many riders do not have saddle fit professionally assessed on at least an annual basis. Back dimensions can change considerably over the period of a year and therefore saddle fit should be assessed several times yearly, especially if work intensity has been altered. Saddle fit should be evaluated before and after exercise because back dimensions can change during work. Ideally, horses should be ridden in individual purpose-fitted saddles, rather than the same saddle being used on several horses. There remains little scientific rationale for the use of pads and numnahs under a saddle, except to temporarily improve saddle fit, and the use of numnahs that exert pressure on the spinous processes can be detrimental to performance. Although saddle slip consistently to one side can be associated with poor saddle fit or asymmetry of the horse's back, the most common cause is hindlimb lameness.