Suffering In Silence

By Jochen Schleese

Each year riders, trainers, and horse owners spend fortunes (literally) on veterinary attention, farrier work, pharmaceuticals, supplements, and physical therapies, all in an attempt to keep their horses healthy, sound, and performing their best. They invest time and money in finding their own boots, breeches, helmets, and chaps to ensure what they wear in the saddle is safe, comfortable, flattering, and right for the job at hand.
And yet still many balk at thoroughly understanding and examining the most basic and fundamental means of connection with the horse in most equestrian sports: the saddle.
Master saddler and saddle ergonomist Jochen Schleese says it is time to think intelligently about saddle choice and saddle fit for both horse and rider. In his new book, SUFFERING IN SILENCE: THE SADDLE-FIT LINK TO PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA IN HORSES, Schleese calls on all those involved in caring for and working with horses—riders, trainers, veterinarians, farriers, saddle fitters—to not only educate themselves in terms of the detrimental impact of poor saddle fit, but to also find a way to work cooperatively together toward a better and brighter future for the horse.
We must ask ourselves how much better could we ride and how much better could our horses perform if our saddles:

Fit optimally?
Accommodated each horse’s unique conformation and natural asymmetry?
Were built for the differing anatomy of men and women?
The answers to all these questions and more are in Jochen Schleese’s book SUFFERING IN SILENCE, available from Trafalgar Square Books (www.HorseandRiderBooks.com) and online in e-format as of September 15.
Jochen Schleese has been working in the equestrian industry as a master saddler and saddle fitter for over 34 years and studied and built “gender-appropriate saddles” for over 20 of those. He completed both his journeyman’s and master’s certification at Passier and Sohn in Germany. In 1986 he was asked to come to Canada as the Official Saddler for the World Dressage Championships, held for the first time outside of Europe, and in 2005, 2007, and 2009 he held the same position for the World Cup Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In 1990, Jochen developed a three-year certification program for the trade of saddlery together with the Ontario Ministry of Skills Development. He received a US Patent in 1996 for his innovative adjustable AdapTree® saddle tree, which is specifically made for the female anatomy, and he has been featured twice on Discovery Channel (How It’s Made and Harrowsmith Country Life). Jochen teaches his Saddlefit 4 Life® philosophy all over the world in conjunction with the German National Riding School, United States Dressage Federation, Ontario Equestrian Federation, Professional Trainers Verband in Germany, and at veterinary conferences in Brazil.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jochen Schleese
• Release date: Oct 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005636319

Book preview

SUFFERING IN SILENCE

The Saddle-Fit Link to Physical and Psychological Trauma in Horses

JOCHEN SCHLEESE

Certified Master Saddler and Saddle Ergonomist

Translated by Sabine Schleese

Originally published in the German language as The Silent Killer by Wu Wei Verlag, 86938 Schondorf, Germany, 2012

Copyright © 2012 Wu Wei Verlag, Schondorf

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior permission of the copyright holder.

Disclaimer of Liability

The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book. While the book is as accurate as the author can make it, there may be errors, omissions, and inaccuracies.

Front cover top three photo insets © Dusty Perin (www.dustyperin.com)

Interior design by Christine Orterer

Cover design by RM Didier

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my horse Pirat. He was my partner in many successful event competitions in Europe. When signs of increasing lameness appeared and his eyes began to lose their shine, it was already too late to do anything so his career came to an all-too-early end. The diagnosis: irreparable cartilage damage at his scapula. Although at the time I was an apprentice saddler, I had no clue that it was the saddle that had caused him all this pain and lameness. I will never forget nor forgive myself for this; it’s because of him, I want to help as many horses as possible avoid the same fate. That’s why I founded Saddlefit 4 Life®. And that’s why I wrote this book.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword by Andrea Koslik

Foreword by Dr. Gerd Heuschmann

Foreword by Walter A. Zettl

Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION: FOR THE GOOD OF THE HORSE

That’s the Way It’s Always Been Done!

A Saddle Made for Women?

A Symbiotic Relationship

Well-Trained Saddle Fitters Needed!

We Want You!

What I Hope to Achieve with This Book

1 IN THE SADDLE: THIS IS THE WAY WE’VE ALWAYS DONE IT!—PAST VS. PRESENT

A History of Saddle Making: From Custom to Mass Production

The Industrial Revolution: A Rift in the History of Saddle Making

The Saddlery Trade Today: Cookie-Cutter?

Economics vs. Education

The Role of the Saddle within the Circle of Influence

2 BALANCE AND RIDER POSITION

The Balance Point: How and Where Should the Rider Sit?

3 WOMEN RIDING IN SADDLES MADE BY MEN, FOR MEN

Men vs. Women

Issues Impacting Rider Health Caused by Poor Saddle Fit or Gender-Inappropriate Saddles

The Solution: Gender Correct Saddles for Men and Women

What About Children?

4 EXACTLY WHERE IS THE SADDLE-SUPPORT AREA?

The Horse’s Back: Building Bridges

The Girth and the Rib Cage

A Train Crash: Problems from the Scapula to the Sacroiliac

The Scapulae

The Natural Asymmetry of the Horse

How the Horse’s Asymmetry Affects Saddle Fit

5 TRAINING THE HORSE TO BE RIDDEN

Where Should the Rider Sit?

3-5-8

Is a Custom Saddle Necessary for a Young Horse?

Each Riding Discipline Requires Its Own Saddle

6 A SHORT HISTORY OF HORSES

Our Riding Horses Today: Shifting the Weight from Front to Back

7 WHEN THE SHOE DOESN’T FIT

The Reflex Points

Main Reflex Points in the Saddle-Support Area

Irreparable Damage

8 SADDLE-FITTING EXPERTISE

How Do I Recognize a Good Saddle Fitter?

9 SADDLE FITTING—IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE (OR IS IT?): WHAT HAPPENS IN A SADDLE-FIT EVALUATION?

Why Is My Saddle Twisted?

The Saddle-Support Area

10 SADDLE FITTING 101: THE BASICS IN DETAIL

Saddle Length

The Saddle-Support Area

Vertical Panels

Withers Freedom

The Gullet Plate

The Gullet Channel

The Girth

The Billet Systems

Saddle Pads

11 DOES THE SADDLE FIT THE RIDER?

The Saddle’s Seat

Stirrup-Bar Position

The Saddle Flap

Thigh Rolls

Tree vs. No Tree

A Saddle or a Prosthesis?

FINAL WORDS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

RECOMMENDED READING IN GERMAN AND ENGLISH

PHOTO & ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

INDEX

FOREWORD

by Andrea Koslik

Jochen Schleese’s experiences and aha moments while working as a saddler are truly unique. It is a great honor that he shares this knowledge with us in his book. The use of his plaster-cast method to take imprints of many men and women exemplifies the sometimes circuitous route he used to achieve this level of knowledge. This methodology clearly demonstrated the difference between the male and female pelvis and was integrated into his saddle designs for the benefit of both.

Riding is a very demanding sport and the only one in which the athlete is dependent on the interaction of another being in order to move. As a physiotherapist and a rider myself, I can only state how important it is that finally the difference between male and female anatomy has been taken into consideration to positively impact biomechanics.

The topic of saddle fit is a key consideration when I teach my course in biomechanics of the rider at the German National Riding School in Warendorf. The rider forms the horse and the saddle forms the rider—these two statements are not mutually exclusive.

I often compare the saddle to a shoe, which should be comfortable to wear—except that this shoe needs to fit two beings (horse and rider) equally well at the same time. This leaves the saddlemaker with a huge responsibility—one that requires a good basic knowledge in human and equine anatomy. Although many of my students are not consciously aware of the anatomical differences between the male and female pelvis, they are nevertheless adamant that a saddle should work well for either gender (which infers that these differences need to be taken into consideration during design).

Knee rolls are of specific interest to me personally. Through personal observation, which is substantiated by research, opportunities for human activity and movement nowadays continue to dwindle. Children spend much of their time in inactivity: watching TV, playing games on their computers and cell phones. The result is necessary prosthetic compensation to make up for this loss in muscle development; for riders, it is the addition of huge knee rolls on the saddle, which help to keep the rider in a static position while hindering her ability to go with the motion. A pliable seat for the rider and taking up the rhythm in motion are no longer achievable. Although at first glance it may seem that the rider is sitting properly balanced and straight, it soon becomes apparent that the rider is actually sitting stiffly but thinking that this is the way it should feel. The complementary muscle interactions are not in harmonious states of contraction and relaxation, which means that the rider cannot give the aids properly. How can she properly relay the message to the horse to achieve even the first three elements of the Training Scale: Rhythm, Suppleness, and Contact? The rider feels cramped, experiences pain and even long-term damage (up to and including slipped discs and torn muscles). This is a possible result regardless of which discipline you ride in and is why the saddle should not only be correct for the rider’s gender and anatomy, but also appropriate for the riding discipline.

I can only expect good things to result in the sport of riding when riders, trainers, veterinarians, saddlers, and physiotherapists combine their expertise and experiences for the common good of horse and rider. Only then can the saddler fulfill his role as interface between horse and rider and open the door for discourse. This in a nutshell is the philosophy of Jochen Schleese.

I hope you take away many impressions and revelations and allow this book to alter your point of view as it has mine.

FOREWORD

by Dr. Gerd Heuschmann

It is a great honor for me to write a foreword for this book.

Jochen Schleese’s resumé clearly demonstrates that he is definitely a master in his field, with comprehensive knowledge stemming not only from his training in saddlery but also from his achievements as a rider; he uses these attributes to reach a level of excellence in this multi-faceted industry.

A prerequisite for harmony between horse and rider is the pairing of a healthy, mature horse with a practiced, empathetic, sensitive, and well-trained rider. The saddle is the connection between these two totally disparate living beings: It will either bring them together or distance them—biomechanically speaking. This makes a correctly fitted saddle the key to ensuring commonality in motion, as well as playing a critical role in the successful training of horse and rider. It can help a rider with a good seat find harmony with the horse, but can also restrict and prevent this if it is not fit properly to both.

A well-fitting saddle will quickly allow a good rider on a young horse to attain suppleness. Still, even the best rider will find it impossible to reach harmonious movement on the horse’s back when the saddle doesn’t fit. There is only one thing that even the best-fitted saddle doesn’t guarantee, however: It will never counteract the effect of an unbalanced, tense, rough, and overall poor rider.

As has recently been discussed in numerous publications, riding has become rather far removed from its former idealistic representation. This is seen in dressage especially, which has been brought into a bad light by the actions of a few controversial trainers in the industry. The negative consequences for horse and rider have been, and continue to be, illuminated, discussed, and evaluated. A few saddle manufacturers have reacted to the described issues and made some major design changes in their products.

In my opinion, the main issue is that a rider will have difficulty in finding an independent, pliable, and balanced seat when the horse is held in a position of constant tension, with the rider pushing forward in the seat to go forward while pulling on the bit. The saddle now needs to afford the rider additional support to augment this increased and constant tension on the reins.

As a result, many modern dressage saddles now have extremely deep seats with high cantles, and huge knee rolls. They allow the rider to wedge herself securely and tensely in a deep, inflexible seat behind giant knee rolls, and hang on the reins with tight hands. Many saddle manufacturers are aware of this phenomenon and yet make little or no effort to change it for economic and marketing reasons.

As an experienced rider and certified master saddler, Jochen Schleese has taken an alternate direction with his saddle production, which orients itself toward an unencumbered rider sitting on a relaxed horse. Only a rider who is completely balanced and not forced into position with either his seat or his legs can adhere to the goals of classical riding. But Jochen’s philosophy of saddle fit doesn’t stop here: His trees are made to accommodate the specific and individual requirements of both male and female riders. Only a rider with a properly made and fitted saddle can give his horse the proper aids without clamping the thighs, relying on the hands, and sitting unbalanced on the horse’s back.

We all want a horse that moves freely and without restriction. The saddle should not cause him pain or hinder his movement. This means that his back muscles need to move freely, which is allowed by a well-fitting saddle, one that may also have to take any asymmetry or unevenness into consideration. These are also parts of the equation considered by Jochen in his work.

I hope that the insights in this book help to reinstate a higher ideal of riding. I wish this important book the highest levels of success.

FOREWORD

by Walter A. Zettl

I have known Jochen as a talented rider and master of his trade since 1986. When I was asked to write a foreword for this book, I agreed with pleasure.

It is easy to recognize how much Jochen Schleese cares about the comfort and well-being of the horse. He uses illustrations and descriptions not only to discuss what a saddle should look like, but also how it should be fit to individual horses. Only then can the animal carry the unaccustomed weight of a rider and the saddle without pain. The horse is not really made to carry any weight on his back—the second most sensitive spot after his mouth. It really only becomes possible to do so after his back has been properly strengthened and trained using specific training and gymnastic exercises.

All of this was taken into consideration by Jochen during his many years of training and studying with his master in Germany, and later as a master saddler himself while establishing his business in his chosen land of Canada. His experience as a successful eventing competitor allowed him to observe and feel the necessity for freedom of movement required under saddle in all three gaits. His own training taught him that only a correct seat will facilitate the right aids to the horse.

What happens when the rider is even slightly out of balance? This is where the saddle comes into the picture: One often sees the rider react by holding his head somewhat to the left or the right. As far as the seat is concerned, this is the first mistake: From this he may collapse at the same hip (left or right) and shift his weight to the other side to compensate. This will, of course, put more pressure on one side of the horse’s back. Then the rider pulls more on the opposite rein, the whole other side comes higher, and so forth. The result of such seemingly inconsequential errors in position—ones that may go unnoticed or uncorrected for years—may be a crooked saddle. It will not fit the horse properly any longer and, secondly, continues to place the rider in an incorrect seat. One shouldn’t underestimate the frequency or speed with which this crookedness and unevenness can happen. Many rider errors have their origins in poorly fitted saddles—to either horse or rider.

Too many times these issues are simply ignored and that is why I cannot thank Jochen enough for bringing them to our attention in this book, which every rider who loves his horse should own. It discusses what to look for in a saddle and how to ensure it will not cause your horse any pain. Horses did not ask to be ridden, which is why it is so important to Jochen that he protect our four-legged partners from poor saddle fit. He is owed a measure of gratitude from all horses for making their lives bearable and comfortable with properly fitted saddles. I thank him on behalf of riders everywhere, and also his wife Sabine who played just as big a role in the writing of this book.

I wish him every success that he deserves and I am certain that it will be achieved!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book is meant to be a summary of all I have learned in my 34-plus years of working with horses, riders, and their saddles. I have been driven by simple curiosity and the desire to develop a saddle that is appropriate for the horse’s changing conformation. Also included are the epiphanies that came out of conversations with all sorts of equine professionals over the years. Without them, this book never would have happened—you know who you are, and I thank you!

Most of all, however, I want to thank my critics—those who have questioned both my work, my philosophy, and my products—and have engaged in spirited discussions with me and about me. You also know who you are. I thank my parents who gave me the opportunity to begin riding as a child. I am especially grateful for the many hours they spent with me and my youngest brother at horse shows. They made it very clear how much responsibility you take on for another living being when you ride. They taught me to not always take the path of least resistance but to have my own opinion and defend my right to have one. That is the basis upon which I developed Saddlefit 4 Life®.

I owe thanks to the Hans Pracht family, who first offered me the position of Official Saddler for the World Dressage Championships held for the first time in North America in 1986 and thus my introduction to the industry over here. They were the initial reason we first made the leap from Germany to Canada; they allowed me the basis to establish my own company here.

My thanks to everyone who made this book possible—first of all the German publication crew: Isabella Sonntag of Wu Wei, who believed in me from the beginning and gave me the strength and support to begin developing the concept of this book. Nicole Kuenzel, my German ghost writer, who sat with me many hours—and at her computer many more—to put my thoughts on paper in a clear and concise manner. Thanks to graphic designer Christine Orterer and editor Christa-Maria Ossapofsky for their efforts to make the book readable and interesting; Kathrin Woermer of Physically Fit—my model as the saddle ergonomist featured in many of the photos. Frank Reitemeier helped immensely in the original translation of many points from English to German, assisted in formulation of ideas so they made sense, asked the critical questions to take my thought processes even further, and spent many (sleepless!) nights with me going over the original manuscript and editing, re-editing, and deleting!

To Martha Cook of Trafalgar Square Books who has been part of this project almost from day one—thank you for believing in it enough to bring it to the North American market. To my editor Caroline Robbins for taking the time to fix my mistakes and question my logic. Thank you to Miriam Boutros-Dale and Connie Frantzke who took the time to read the English translation and make sure it was readable. Special thanks to Michelle J. Powell for her proofing, creative design, photoshopping, and editing the illustrations and pictures; to my youngest daughter Danielle who is the talented artist behind some of the drawings used to illustrate points in the text. I thank my oldest daughter Samantha who by showing interest in the progress of the book and her respect for what I do underlines my feeling that I am doing the right thing.

For teaching me about the functional anatomy, biomechanics, and veterinary medical aspects as they relate to saddle design, I thank veterinarians Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, Dr. Joanna Robson, Dr. Carol Vischer, and Osteopath Barbara Welter-Boeller. On the human side of these, especially in articulation of the differences in anatomy between male and female riders, I owe thanks to Dr. James Warson, Andrea Koslik, and Eckart Meyners.

For their limitless knowledge in training horse and rider, and equitation methodology, I thank Jane Savoie and Walter Zettl. Thank you for the illustrative contributions made by Valerie Ponocny, Laura Whitteron, and Christoph Rieser. Also to farrier Barney Cummings for supplying background regarding hooves and horseshoes as they relate to saddle fit.

Thank you to Jaimey and Tina Irwin of Stoney Lake Equestrian and Sue Dunlop of Rainbow’s End Farm for allowing us to take innumerable photos of horses on their beautiful properties.

Thank you to Earl and Cathy Rothery, my business partners and our close friends. It is their commitment to our company that allowed me the time I needed for Saddlefit 4 Life® and for this book.

But most of all, I owe thanks to my