For many years, saddle fit has been thought to be a myth and there are still people that feel that way. Our company has been operating for over 10 years and we still see people who had no idea about saddle fit or they don't believe it is a real thing. Everyone has a right to their own opinions and you don't know what you don't know, but we have seen total turn arounds with using correct fitting saddles. 

I am going to use myself as an example. I practically grew up on a horse and my family was involved in many different disciplines/aspects. As a kid, I just had my one saddle and that is what I rode in. I used it on many different horses and saddle fitting was never even thought that crossed our mines because we truly didn't know about it. When I started working for Saddle Up almost 6 years ago, my mind was blown. I had realized none of my saddles at the time, nor through my childhood, had fit any of my horses. I could think back to behavioral issues, back issues, saddle sores, and other situations that I now understood why they were happening. We just thought the horse had an attitude, but that wasn't the case. I sold all my saddles and started totally fresh. I had never experienced such happy, willing, and driven horses until I got a proper fitting saddle. 

We see many different people, horses, and situations come through our doors and our main goal is to keep everyone happy and safe. A poor fitting saddle can put your life in danger and also cause extreme damage to your horse. One of the most common things we do encounter is muscle atrophy due to an improper saddle fit. 

What is muscle atrophy?

Muscle atrophy is the wasting (thinning) or loss of muscle tissue

Muscle atrophy is when the muscles on a horse' back are broken down and damaged. The muscle basically wastes away due to an injury or most commonly, an ill fitting saddle. We mostly see it behind the shoulder and wither, but it can occur along the whole back. If a saddle is too narrow, it changes your horse's back shape and depletes their muscles. 

When a horse is experiencing pain, they go into "self repair" mode. This means if your saddle is pinching or putting negative pressure on the back, the horse will stop using those sore muscles and they begin contracting them. With this happening, circulation starts to be impacted and oxygen is reduced to the affected area. The muscle will start to un-develop and atrophy will come into place. The pain will also cause them to move in an unnatural way. It changes their gait and causes certain muscles to be over worked or worked improperly. When a horse looks like this bottom picture, the muscles have been atrophied due to a saddle not fitting. It is not something to be taken lightly. It is extensive damage that has been done to a back that has literally killed their muscles. 

We see so many horses come in with significant dips behind the shoulders and the owners believe they are just narrow or high withered. That is not true. What used to be a filled in normal back, is now damaged muscle. The back should have a smooth transition, not a dramatic dip or hollow spot. Another thing we see that goes hand in hand with this is damaged hair follicles. A lot of times in the dips or hollow spots, we will find hair loss or white hair from the saddle pinching the horse. Many people think "the white spots mean they are being worked or ridden", but that is far from the truth. It is from your saddle causing them pain. The hair turns white because of the extensive damage and the loss of oxygen to that specific spot. You can work to rebuild the muscle, but it is not an easy fix and sometimes the muscle never grows back 100%. The white hair however, is permanent damage and will never go away. 

Sadly, many people don't even realize what is happening when their saddle doesn't fit. Horses are very willing and obliging animals. They deal with so much, like extensive pain, just for our pleasure. So many horses out there have backs that have been ruined. This is why saddle fit is so important and is a real thing.

There are other signs you can watch for to see if your saddle fit may be an issue.

Listen to your horse and keep an eye out for the following: 

• Biting
• Bucking
• Kicking
• Pinning ears
• Swishing Tail
• Decline of performance
• White spots on back
• Uneven sweat pattern on horses' back after riding
• Horse tenses when the saddle is placed on it's back
• Constantly needs re-adjusting
• Causes you to sit down on your horse’s spine
• Cinch needs to be over-tightened
• Sliding forward or backward
• Muscle atrophy 

If you are unsure if your saddle fits, it is always a good idea to have it checked. We are always here to help and we really hope this educates our customers on how important saddle fitting is and how damaging an improper saddle fit is to your horse. A correct fitting saddle is the key to optimum performance, safety, and communication with your horse.

If you are wanting to learn more on muscle atrophy, these articles are very informative and each give a different perspective. 

https://equinewellnessmagazine.com/muscle-atrophy/

https://dynamicsaddlefitting.com/saddle-fitting-10...

http://wefitsaddles.com/hrf_faq/what-is-muscle-atr...