Not Maintaining Saddle Panels Correctly Can Have Severe Consequences
An uneven or lumpy saddle panel can prevent your horse from giving of its best and badly fitted or maintained panels are a common cause of sore backs and other more serious back problems in the horse.
Think of how sensitive your foot is to the tiniest pebble underneath it, and it will give you some idea of how your horse feels the lumps and bumps in a saddle panel on its back! Just like the story of the “princess and the pea”.
What might seem to some to be relatively minor saddle issues gradually affect the horse’s muscles and their ability to function properly. An insult to one muscle works progressively to spread that insult to another and yet another muscle in a chain reaction. That chain reaction will affect way of going, performance and foot conformation. Carried to its logical conclusion it will cause firstly, performance deficits and progress to subsequent sub-clinical lameness (not very visually evident, but manifested by “just not moving right.”)
Since the saddle is a rider’s primary communication device, the horse needs to feel subtle changes in the rider’s position and balance through it. When exposed to damaging pressure the flocking will become compressed and lose its springiness and ‘give’, ultimately resulting a great deal of ‘static’ or interference in the message to your horse.
SaddleMattress Protects Your Saddle Panels
At SaddleMattress we’re passionate about saddle performance and optimum comfort for the horse. We believe saddle panels should conform to a horse’s back and not to the bars of a saddle rack they rest on.
That’s why we created SaddleMattress -the first product dedicated to protecting the panels of a saddle when stored on a standard English saddle rack.
SaddleMattress is uniquely designed to cushion saddle panels, protecting them from damaging pressure and helping to maintain their integrity and balance for optimum performance. It’s technically smart and superbly practical, designed by an equestrian for equestrians.