‘Tis the season for buying young horses. Along with the excitement of bringing home a new hooligan to cause you further stress and worry, come questions of when to start the youngster, and whether it makes sense to invest in a fitting saddle. Short answer? yes. Just because your horse is young or about to be backed doesn’t mean they aren’t entitled to a fully fitting saddle. Infact, they are actually more in need of a fitting saddle than in 10 years time and I’ll explain why.
I imagine some of you will go on to say “When my young horse is used to a saddle or has been fully backed, I will get him a good saddle”. Which to be honest, is comparable to saying, “When my child learns to play sports properly, I will get her a pair of running shoes that fit her feet and she can make do with whatever size I can find for now”. Not a great comment when you put it that way.
Three years is recognized as being the optimum age for a horse to be started under saddle. However, their back shape will undergo major changes in their muscle, skeleton and neurological processes between the ages of three, five, and eight, and these changes will affect the saddle support area massively. During this time (approx 3-4), the topline changes, the withers come up, and the shoulders broaden upwards and move back. Finally, the horse’s growth plates close from the ground up, finishing in the spine (where the saddle sits) when the horse is six years old, no matter the breed or height of the horse. So comes the question- if theres so much change to come up until approx 6-8 years old- why bother getting one fit now if you’ll just have to keep changing or re-fitting?
A young horse’s saddle should have the freedom of motion to move downward and forward, even when his centre of gravity is still pretty far back. A well-balanced saddle plays an important role in helping the horse to learn from a young age because the problem is, once a saddle punches or hurts a young horse, it is very difficult to regain that trust and regain the freedom of movement you had. And often it comes back to bite you in the form of “bad” behaviour when the work progresses. Another way of thinking about it, is that I always wonder how young horses are supposed to prove themselves if the athletic equipment we ride them in doesn’t fit well. How are they supposed to be loose and relaxed and supple whilst also learning the basics of having a great weight on their spine if their saddles are pinching and uncomfortable? Just food for thought.
Further down the line, should you choose to buy a “backing” saddle, Often, bad behaviour stems directly from pain caused by a saddle. If a young horse is fitted properly through his development, pain can be kept to a minimum, allowing for positive development of muscle. Behavior learned in the first year under saddle is behavior that a horse is going to demonstrate throughout its life. Which means either the all too frequent passing about of a bad horse, or, consistent Physiotherapy/vet care and a complete ridden overhaul.
So yes, please, go and buy yourself your dream horse- it’s christmas after all! But please, don’t scrimp on the saddle just because he’s young. He deserves it, he’s relying on you to show him that his working life will be pain free.
