How does saddle width affect your horse’s spine?

A wider saddle is not always better.

Saddle fit is an important topic that is often overlooked as it plays into proper biomechanics and potential movement limitations. A properly fitting saddle allows your horse to move their bodies properly while an improperly fitting saddle can negatively affect the way your horse moves. The thoracolumbar spine has a large range of motion that it goes through when the horse is cantering. The thoracolumbar spine encompasses the 18 thoracic vertebrae, 6 lumbar vertebrae, and the five fused sacral vertebrae. Lets look at a study titled “Kinematics of the thoracolumbar spine while cantering in horses fitted with a saddle of three different widths”, which you can find here. Don’t let the technical title throw you off, we are going to break this paper down for easy understanding. 

The researchers looked at how the movement of a horse’s spine is affected by a narrow, correctly fitted and wide saddle. This study was carried out on 13 horses at the canter. All horses were ridden by the same rider to control for the effect different riders would have on horse movement. The saddles were assessed for proper fit by five qualified saddle fitters; this was done to ensure that there was no question as to the proper fit of the saddles used. The saddles used an adjustable tree and from the correctly fitted point they were then altered to too wide and too narrow for each horse. 

The researchers used inertial sensors, which typically use accelerometers and gyrometers to measure inertia (movement) in the vertical, horizontal, and axial planes (up/down, left/right, and rotational movement). These sensors were placed in eight locations on the horse: the poll, whither, thirteenth thoracic vertebrae, eighteenth thoracic vertebrae, third lumbar vertebrae, sacrum and the left and right tuber coxae (points on the pelvis). Data from these sensors was collected from each of the three saddle widths at a canter on the left and right rein. The statistical analysis performed on the data (which will not be given in detail here) is appropriate, and therefore the results will be reliable. 

The results of the study found that, when compared to a correctly fitted tree, both the wide and narrow fit saddled actually decreased the vertical (up and down) range of motion for the 13th thoracic vertebrae. The narrow and wide trees also decreased the mediolateral (left and right) range of motion of the 18th thoracic vertebrae and 3rd lumbar vertebrae. Decreases in the amount of rotation were found for the 13th thoracic vertebrae and 3rd lumbar vertebrae were found with both narrow and wide saddles when compared to correctly fitted saddles. Finally, the researchers also found a decrease in the flexion/extension for the 18th thoracic vertebra with both the narrow and wide saddles. 

What can we take away from this study? Saddle width does affect the thoracolumbar movement of your horse’s spine. More specifically, narrow and wide saddles reduce the thoracolumbar range of motion compared to correctly fitted saddled. The researchers also recommended that veterinarians should consider saddle fit in horses who display back issues. More work is needed in this area to understand why these changes in spinal range of motion are occurring. So, getting your horse’s saddle properly fitted by a qualified saddle fitter is worth the cost as it allows your horse’s back to move better than a narrow or wide fitting saddle. A properly fitted saddle may even help horses with back issues, as well as help prevent back problems from developing. Not sure if your saddle is allowing your horse to move to his fullest potential? We can perform a biomechanical analysis on him to see if your saddle is allowing your horse to move his best.

Reference:

Mackechnie-Guire, R., et al. (2019) ‘Kinematics of the thoracolumbar spine while cantering in horses fitted with a saddle of three different widths’, Equine Veterinary Journal, 51 (S53), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.13_13152