Tag: saddle fitting


Proper Saddle Fit

5th November

Good morning this is Will Faerber and Karen Loshbaugh from Art2Ride and we are coming to you from our clinic in Whitehouse, Ohio. Karen will now show us a little saddlefitting demonstration since we have had so many requests for it on our website.

Yesterday when we watched this horse it couldn’t move because the saddle was impeding the horse’s movement, especially in the shoulders. As a trainer, the last thing we want to do is make it difficult for the horse to perform what we are asking of him. They become unhappy and resentful because we are asking them to lift their back and carry themselves when their saddle is restricting them from doing that, which can be quite painful for them. So if you hit on certain areas of the horse’s back (which we call negative reflex points), the horse …



Dr. Robson – Back Stretches

3rd September

We are going to use Montana and Montana’s owners to demonstrate how to do a hip tuck, which is a really good exercise for two reasons.

One is to assess if the patient has a sore back: we are going to trigger a reflex point on her topline and if she resists, swings away, moves into us or acts like it’s uncomfortable that helps us determine that maybe she still has a sore back or croup. What we are actually looking for is a contraction of the abdominal muscles or her core muscles. If she is able to do the tuck, that tells me as she lifts up that she is engaging her core and is able to lift and round and come beneath with her hind end which we can do statically from the ground. This is also of course the …



HIPPOHorses

3rd September

This is Dr. Joanna Robson demonstrating correct saddle fit on a western saddle. Montana will be our model for a brief discussion on evaluating the angle of the saddle tree.

Montana’s owners had some concerns about her saddle fit and when we placed the saddle on top of her back, setting it back behind her shoulder, what we noticed (which you can see in the video) the little pressure over the horn (the top part of the saddle up here) and the front part of the tree pinches down on top of her shoulder blades. If I bring my hand in at the top, I can’t even get it between the top of the tree and the side of her shoulder blade. This has a potential to do a number of things: It can shorten her stride by literally blocking her …




From the Blog!

Join me as I post weekly blogs covering many topics relating to Classical Foundation Training. I have intentionally left out the word "dressage" because many people have a negative association with the prevalent "crank and spank" approach or that it is a sport for only those who are afraid to jump.

Dressage as it is meant to be is an understanding of how to best optimize a horse's movement and ability to carry a rider, surely a benefit for any horse, any discipline. It is also important in maintaining your horse's safety, soundness and sanity.

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Program: Marnie: 2021 Yearly Submission

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Marnie gives her yearly update for 2021.

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Program: Ryanne: 2021 Yearly Submission

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Ryanne gives her yearly update for 2021.

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Program: Marie: 2021 Yearly Submission

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Marie gives her yearly update for 2021.