Jochen Schleese's Blog – December 2009 Archive (3)

Saddle Fit and Blisters

I have had a client who questioned the appearance of blisters after riding, which then disappear again after about 20 minutes. I suggest the following might be happening. The spinal vertebrae have three processes. Between the spinal processes, you will find the spinal dorsal ligament system . There should never be any pressure on the spinal vertebral processes, however, if you have a saddle which has a too… Continue

Added by Jochen Schleese on December 30, 2009 at 11:30am — 2 Comments

Saddle fitting at the pommel

This blog is in response to Valerie’s question from a few weeks ago:

If the question is relating to the pommel area specifically, I have pretty much already addressed this in a previous blog about withers clearance. There are exceptions to this rule for mutton-withered horses and extremely high withered horses (many saddles have lots of clearance on top of the withers, but… Continue

Added by Jochen Schleese on December 15, 2009 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Saddle Fit - Going Back to Nature?

The current trend in riding, as in most other things, seems to be “going back to nature”. Riders everywhere are interested in current discussions about whether or not to shoe, whether or not to ride bareback, whether or not to “chemically” supplement your horse’s diet. According to documented statistics, the following life expectancies show the opposite to be true:

• Life expectancy of the wild horse (for example Mustang) is 5-7 years.

• Life expectancy of a horse ridden by an… Continue

Added by Jochen Schleese on December 2, 2009 at 10:00am — No Comments