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Point Straps, Rear Balance and What They Do in Saddle Fitting

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Published: 10Dec2011
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Increasingly popular riding horses are the Warmbloods, cobs and native pony breeds, all of which have similar saddle fitting issues due to the difference in their shape. They often come with low withers and straight backs, or high strung ribs coupled with a forward girth groove, i.e. they are wider and flatter than other types of horses and this can lead to saddle fitting issues with standard off the peg saddles. A difficulty is that most saddles come with 3 girth straps where they are used with the first and last girth strap; good for most riding horses but not so for native ponies, cobs, Warmbloods or even Arabs.

Point straps are attached to the end of the tree point at the front of the saddle and are used when a horse or pony has a forward girth groove (a lot of native pony breeds and cobs often have a forward girth groove and a low wither). If a pony has a forward girth groove and the wrong girthing is used the saddle may run up the horses neck until the girth straps sit vertical; a problem that needs to be avoided to prevent damage to horse, rider or both!

It is a common misconception that point straps are bad (or that they cause pressure), this is only so if a point strap is added to a saddle that does not fit, e.g. if you have a saddle with a curved tree/panel and a horse with a flat back adding a point strap to stop movement will simply cause pressure in the centre of the horses back.

Rear balance straps can be useful on cobs for stability; they are often used with the front point strap.

Due to these saddle fitting issues these breeds work well with saddle solutions designed with girthing combinations of 4 girth straps with point straps and rear balance straps that allow for a variety of adjustment where needed. When saddle fitting different combinations of girthing can be applied according to what saddle fit issue is being addressed, for example:

a) 1st and 3rd girthing is good for stopping saddles running forwards (a problem often associated with ponies and Mountain & Moorland breeds), never use a rear balance strap as this will pull the saddle forwards.

b) 1st and 4th straps are good for wide horses where side to side movement of the saddle is a problem.

c) 2nd and 4th straps can be used to resolve issues when saddles slip backwards (this is more common on jumping horses).

d) 1st and 2nd straps are a possible solution in extreme cases of the saddle slipping forward due to forward girth groove, flat withers and 'Tied in Elbow'

It is useful to understand the needs of a saddle fit for your breed of horse; with a correctly fitted saddle the riding experience is both better and safer for the horse and rider. Also please remember that a horses shape can change and this can mean the fit needs to be readdressed.

Andrea Hicks is a saddle designer who has developed The Native Pony Saddle Company range to solve saddle fitting issues for wider horses and ponies. She has been a saddle designer and specialist fitter for over 20 years. She has now expanded her designs with Phoenix Saddles to cover not only Native Ponies and Cobs, but also Warmbloods, Arabs, Icelandics and Iberian horses. http://www.nativeponysaddles.com/ http://www.phoenixsaddles.com/

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