This week, while musing over my new found security in the saddle I suddenly thought, what about the frictional grip of the saddle to the horse?

When I started riding pads were not considered necessary for English hunt seat or saddle seat saddles.  I was told (and read) that a properly fitted saddle made of vegetable tanned leather with wool padding did not NEED a saddle pad if the bottom of the saddle was cleaned with saddle soap after each ride with occasional oiling.  Over time the wool stuffed panels of the saddle would mold themselves to the horse’s back.

Back then fitting the saddle to the horse was a much more casual affair than it is now.  While it was recommended, I did not run into a single person in the hunt seat circles that had their saddles evaluated and re-stuffed every year.  The riding schools did use pads, often canvas ones (often with a lining of goat hair covered with a mesh), the synthetic fleece pads were still somewhat of a luxury item.  The horse stock I rode were Criollos in South America, and in the USA horses of TB, ASB, Morgan, “Mustang”, and QH blood, mostly part-breds.  In the riding stables there would be a variety of saddles, and while much care was taken to make sure that the pommel did not rub on the withers, or did not sit up too high, I do not remember reading or hearing many discussions about other considerations for good saddle fit for the horse (except that the saddle not be too long for the horse’s back.)  It seemed to be generally assumed that a good English saddle that reasonably fit the horse‘s back, made of decent leather, and regularly cleaned with saddle soap and regularly oiled, would adjust to the horse’s body.  Saddle sores were evaluated both from the viewpoint of the fit (and cleanliness) of the saddle AND the viewpoint that the unsteadiness of the rider’s seat could cause saddle sores.  Saddles were re-flocked when lumps occurred in the padding of the panels.  Pads were mostly used to try to correct the fit of a saddle that was slightly “off” for that particular horse, and the pads were mostly made of wool felt, leather, and folded wool blankets with an occasional sheepskin fleece pad.  Were the horses back then as comfortable as they are now?  Probably not, but people rode for centuries in English saddles without today’s obsession of exact saddle fit on horses that have normal backs.

As to my personal experience my first saddle (came with the horse) was an old Borelli old English hunt seat saddle (no knee rolls), a cheap Argentine saddle that cost around $70 USD new in 1970, with cheap fittings.  Then my parents got me a new Stubben Siegfried from Kauffman’s saddlery in New York City.  When I did not fit in the Argentine jumping saddles old Mr. Kauffman was called out, he saw me in the Argentine saddles, I think he called my riding teacher, he told me I had the thighs of a 6 foot tall man, and then managed to convince my parents that it would be best for them to spend twice as much as they had expected ($225.00 USD in 1970) to get the Extra-Forward Stubben.  I am still riding in this saddle.  I have used this saddle on many different horses.  I have never had the panels re-flocked because no lumps ever appeared in the padding.  Eight years later I got a Crosby Wide Front that fit my first horse a little better, and again I have never had the saddle re-flocked, and again I have used it on several different horses.

As my first horse got old (late 20’s) my saddles started not fitting quite right, so I used a Western wool triple fold saddle blanket.  Before I ran into the Corrector saddle pad this was my favorite saddle pad of them all.  It gripped both the horse and the bottom of the saddle, and the saddle stayed nice and stable.

As I was riding Mick in the EZ-Fit saddle last week I was remembering all of this.  Mick’s back has not gotten any better when I ride in my Stubben Siegfried with the Corrector saddle pad, and after several rides in the EZ-Fit with its non-slip pad I started wondering if the Stubben’s lack of adherence to Mick’s back was causing his back to stiffen up.  I really like my Corrector pads, and the horses seem to prefer them to the other saddle pads I had tried on them (quilted cotton, and synthetic fleece, since I was riding at two stables I had not been using my Western saddle blanket.)  But even with the Corrector I feel some shifting of the rear of the saddle on the horse’s back.  So I asked Debbie if I could try my Stubben without the Corrector or regular saddle pad since I have been using the old-fashioned saddle soap on the Stubben for the last two months and the leather on the bottom of the saddle has gotten slightly sticky.  She listened to my thinking and agreed.

When I got home I started getting little niggles in my mind that Mick might not like this completely.  Then I remembered that the tapes of my seat saver would not be covered by a pad and would irritate Mick’s back.  There is no way I can ride my Stubben without the seat saver, after 40 years the padding on the saddle seat had worn through and before I got my seat saver I was sitting on the saddle tree with just the thin seat leather between it and me, causing deep, long lasting pain to my fundament!  Then I remembered my triple fold Western Saddle blanket, dug it out, brushed it off, and found no problems.  So next week I will use this saddle blanket instead of the Corrector and see how Mick reacts.  At least the tapes for my seat saver won’t bother him!

Just as the old-fashioned saddle is giving me frictional grip in the saddle I think that the old-fashioned saddle soap helps the frictional grip of the leather of the bottom of the saddle to the horse‘s back.  Thinking back I think that this extra stability of the saddle was why I cheerfully cleaned the bottom of my saddle each time I rode without a pad, and once I got brave enough not to use a saddle pad I did not use a saddle pad for several years.  But later on, when I switched mostly to using the glycerin saddle soap, the saddle did not feet quite as stable on the horse’s back.  After my car wreck (head on collision, drunk driver plowing into me) my lower back was giving me terrible pain when I rode, and I did not ride very much at all.  I tried several pads under my jumping saddles, and one day, desperate for a solution, I bought an OLD Western A-fork flat seat saddle, and I got the triple fold wool blanket a month or so later to use with it.  This wool blanket quickly became my favorite saddle pad and I used it every time I rode my horses, with all my different saddles.  It grips the horse’s back and it grips the saddle leather at the same time even when I use the glycerin saddle soap, greatly increasing the stability of the saddle.  After several months my lower back stopped bothering me as much and I was able to advance some in my riding until the exhaustion of my then undiagnosed Multiple Sclerosis got worse and defeated me.  At this time I was riding a fiery Paso Fino mare, a very spirited 7/8 Arab 1/8 ASB mare with a screw loose in her head, my first horse (Anglo-Arab gelding in his 20‘s), and two pure Arabs I was breaking to saddle (stallion and mare) with occasional rides on a 12.2 POA gelding.  They all liked my wool blanket no matter which of my four saddles I used so long as the saddle fit reasonably well.

I am hoping that by combining using the old-fashioned saddle soap on my saddle with the superior grip of my wool saddle blanket that the rear of my saddle will not move as much on Mick’s back.  I think that this saddle movement, lightly rubbing across Mick’s back when he moves, is triggering muscle spasms in his back.  Hopefully the warmth of the wool blanket will help relax his back muscles too. 

Next week I will see if this works.  I REALLY hope it does!  I want to get back to riding Mick in my Stubben instead of the EZ-Fit, as it is getting cooler so I will be able to do more than just sit on his back.  I cannot afford to buy a custom made saddle for a horse I do not own, so I have to come up with a different solution  for Mick, one that will make him comfortable enough so he can move correctly.

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran