Getting the best from your new saddle

When you choose to buy a ReactorPanel Saddle you have a 4 week trial which we will happily extend with prior arrangement in which to assess whether the saddle is for you, during this time we are happy to return to change the saddle style or refit as the horses often change shape quickly and the last thing we want to do is to stop this adjustment, usually the visit is free of charge.

Despite this we occasionally get trials fail because customers don’t fully understand the changes their horse goes through as like changing a horse to barefoot from a lifetime of shoes there needs to be a period of adjustment in which the horse learns to adjust to a new way of going , starts using different muscles and therefore muscle mass changes, sometimes quite quickly. There is always a period of adjustment to any new saddle but with a RP saddle the changes in the way a horse moves are more pronounced. Hence I felt the need to write this post to draw attention to what you can expect , what to do and also what not to do to to assist your horse in his/her adjustment period and hence have a successful trial .

So the most important first point is to try not to do too much , the most common reason people can have problems in the trial period is because of delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS . It’s tempting if your horse gets that elusive right lead canter they could never get before or they can now do their lateral work on both reins to overwork those movements, think of if you suddenly went to the gym after not exercising for few years, you would get sore and uncomfortable. Also when horses suffer from pain from an ill fitting saddle the first thing they do is hollow away from pain, this in turn causes lack of muscle and atrophy, causing a vicious circle over time, horse feels pressure and pain, hollows away, muscle atrophies, then saddle fit problem is exacerbated. Therefore when this pressure is removed the horse needs to learn to move again and slowly starts to repair the muscle, this can result in a lack of consistency in gait and also soreness . Here’s a super article on DOMS. https://www.aspireclinicwa.com/post/your-horse-might-have-doms-but-what-is-it .

However if you work your horse in a sympathetic way and allow time in between training sessions as above your horse will build muscle, often quickly. He/she will also start to move in a more correct way which will often mean that your saddle will need adjusting. we recommend that we see you within a mandatory 3 months of the fitting of a new saddle but often horses can need a refit within the first month, that is why we offer a free revisit and adjustment within the first month and a free adjustment subject to callout charge within 3 months as we want you and your horse to succeed towards your goals and recognize that things will change .

Also if your horse is lacking in muscle due to atrophy there is a good chance he is also lacking in feeling through the back due to lack of blood flow and oxygen to the muscles causing nerve damage. Horses also become accustomed to a saddle causing back pain and some stoic horses just ignore it. If you then remove the source and replace with a saddle which allows the horse to move correctly again the pain is removed and the muscle recovers. Again this can cause DOMS and a horse that previously hadn’t complained because of lack of feeling or the fact that they are stoic might now let you know they are uncomfortable because they now have feeling in the back due to the return of oxygen, blood and nutrients to the muscle or the fact that they now realise they don’t have to feel this way. Horses that have built significant muscle might also be telling you that their saddle is starting to feel bad again and it’s time to have it widened. Please see the blogpost Remedial Horse Help on our main saddle exchange site https://www.saddleexchange.com/saddleexchangeblog

So please enjoy your new saddle, we are here to help and can always be contacted for advice . We fit horses from your happy hacker who gets ridden once a week to endurance horses of the highest level so the chances are we have seen what you are experiencing before and we can reassure you if we are familiar with what you are describing. We also have quite a few customers and friends who are equine vets and therefore have very experienced people we can turn to for advice if necessary.

The most common requirement would be a revisit and a refit or we can always give remote help 😊