“Good balance is indeed a cornerstone of good riding..” Will's observation that the saddle has improved his ability to be centered and in tune with his horses is worth reflecting upon.
It's not entirely obvious what a saddle does to help a rider feel balanced. Could it be, in part, its influence on the horse’s ability to balance intrinsically?
Let's consider the fundamental and universal gestures that all horses, regardless of conformation, need to make on an ongoing basis in order to achieve a balanced state. The illustrations point these out.
In the relationship between the saddle and the horse’s back, it is somewhat counterintuitive that downward pressures and load forces applied by the rider, stirrups and girth would or should solicit a lifting response through the horse's withers and back along with a lowering of the croup.
It seems logical that any saddle that in any way disallows these gestures will make equine balance more problematic and difficult to attain. From experience we know that horses with poor or compromised balance are less fun, less safe, more difficult to ride and it is harder to maintain a consistently centered feel. When they are able to use their back correctly, their backs are softer, their gaits are smoother, making them more comfortable to ride.
The correct relationship between a stable leg position and the rider's hips is less dependent on all manners of support structures which riders use for extrinsic balance and much more dependent on subtle features that both support and allow the centered feeling that Will describes.
Our efforts to correct or improve a horse’s balance often create discomfort or pain, increasing resistance, loss of rhythm, regularity and predictability ---despite our best efforts. If the horse complies and lifts his back, he is pained for his efforts. The end result is inevitably a hollow, stiff or immobile back.
This is the source of a great deal of frustration. There are myriad responses; more coercive training methods, vets are called in to mitigate pain, equine talent is unrealized and saddle manufacturers are called on to install all manners of additional support features in their saddles in order to mollify the unsafe feeling of galloping and jumping at speed with a horse whose balancing mechanism is compromised. Sadly, this is all too often what we witness even at the highest levels of competition.
Understanding exactly what a horse needs from the various components of a saddle in order to make these balancing gestures easily is not well known. It's complicated! As Sir Winston Churchill reportedly said "there is no greater secret than that which lies between a man and his horse.” Neither has it been thoroughly investigated; monies to research solutions to this most basic conundrum have been diverted to marketing and sponsorship. The installation of Bluetooth wizardry does nothing to meet the horse's needs.
Understanding what horses need from saddles has been the singular focus of my most intensive investigation for the past 30 years. My conclusion is that, while complicated, it's possible to build a saddle that not only allows, but elicits the natural balancing gestures of horses.
This has required the iterative development of highly engineered components that are far more advanced and sophisticated in both their ergonomics and their ability to correspond accurately to the macro and micro movements of horse in dynamic balance.
When horses are able to use their natural gift of balance, everything gets easier. As Will suggests, riders feel more centered and in tune with their horses. Training goes forward with less resistance and horses stay sounder.
There is much more to say about saddles and rider balance, but for now, let's consider the role your saddle may be playing in your horse's ability to find his own balance with ease.”
-Tad Coffin