I recently came across a client who had an issue that seems not uncommon. Rider balance is a hot topic nowadays, and often when you look at pictures of riders from behind, they are not sitting quite straight (not even top riders!)
When I had the saddle on the horse, the tree fit, the panels were level (this particular saddle had Flair panels filled with air), the rider was sitting on both her seat bones apparently in balance, so statically everything looked ok.
Then the horse started moving. The saddle did what it was supposed to do; it stayed in place for the moment, and I was totally satisfied with what I saw – how the saddle was working for the horse and rider. For about two minutes. Then the rider started sitting “crooked” in the saddle. Nine out of 10 times the problem begins in the pelvis and legs. Most riders compensate in the lumbar part of their back. Then the upper body – most of the time they have a rotation somewhere in their back, one of their shoulders is higher than the other shoulder and on that side they have their hand higher. The saddle began to obviously twist to the right side the more she rode. Read the full article here.
~ Jochen Schleese CMS, CSFT, CSE, courtesy of Saddlefit 4 Life
