Wacky Saddle Fitting

OK, all you folks concerned with saddle fit; it's time to get real. We here at Tucker Saddles dedicate much time, effort and discussion on fitting horse and rider with our saddles. We use riders and horses to fit the saddles. But some of you out there- you know who you are- think there are some other alternative ways to accomplish saddle fitting. I know these sound a little wacky, but here are a few we have seen in blogs, have been told to us, on chat lines, and from other sources. I apologize in advance if you have tried them, but believe us, these are not good saddle fitting techniques.
One horse owner feels that a good way to determine how the saddle might feel to their horse's back is to turn the saddle upside down and lay in it. They report that the fleecy lining of some saddles was the most comfortable. We suggest that if this is a good way to determine how her horse would feel in the saddle, she might want to put it on her own back, girth it up and have her heaviest friend sit in the saddle for a couple of hours. Now really, saddle trees are designed for the contours of a horse's back, not a person's. The fleece, or other lining, is not the determining factor to comfort for the horse. It is the tree.
Another poor soul put their new saddle on a 4-wheeler to see how it rode. We're not sure why she didn't choose to try it on the horse, but maybe its because the 4-wheeler is more broke than her horse.
We hear all kinds of well meaning suggestions for using no-slip pads, breast collars and the like for saddles that turn around the horse or travel backwards. Let's be clear about this situation- a saddle that turns around the horse while riding, no matter how tight the girth is, is just plain dangerous. The saddle is most likely too narrow for the horse, so get a saddle that fits your horse before you are injured. Not to even mention how the horse feels about being ridden in the poorly fitting saddle.
And now for my favorite: A horse owner spoke to one of our dealers about returning a saddle that she felt did not fit the horse. Further conversation revealed that she had employed a horse psychic to speak to the horse about some issues. According to the horse owner, and the horse psychic, the horse said that it preferred to be ridden only bareback. Now, you out there that have ridden horses for years know that any self respecting horse isn't going to suggest that he be ridden at all. I think he would say something more like, "I want to stay out in the pasture with my friends, never be ridden, and eat all the horse treats you can give me."
Sorry if I've gone off a little here. I know horse owners are passionate about their horses and it is very important to get a good fit with your saddle. We understand that completely- that's why we spend so much time on the subject. But, please try to use good sense.

New catalogs are being printed!

New Tucker catalogs are being printed as we type. We ran out about a month ago, so the catalog requests are not being ignored! We introduced two new trail saddle models back in January, and this catalog includes them and the new tack also introduced in January. There are some new additions, so please request a catalog if you haven't done so already. And, since it's spring tune-up time, be sure to evaluate all your gear and replace tie straps, latigos, halters, etc. if anything looks compromised. Spring is a great time of year. It's already in the 80s-90s here in South Texas, and the horses are all shedded off and looking gorgeous. I can't wait to spend more time in the saddle myself. Happy Trails!

Don't Just Look at your Horse-Evaluate

I recently ran across someone writing about how she made her beloved horse obese during the winter time. She blamed it on the fact the horse was blanketed, therefore making it difficult to detect how fat the horse was getting. She changed out the blanket twice a day-day blanket with night blanket- but never noticed how much weight the horse was putting on. So now she has to have a longing exercise regimen because the saddle no longer fits and slips to the side. As horse people, we love our horses. Sometimes too much! It's so important to touch our horses during the winter time when body condition is disguised by a woolly winter coat or a blanket. I feel down my horse's ribs about once a week or so to get an idea of body condition (he happens to be a very easy keeper.) It never gets really cold down here in South Texas, so I really don't up his feed even in the cooler months. Keeping an eye on our horses for body condition is as important as bringing them up everyday to give them a good look over for injuries. If you need help evaluating your horse’s body condition, click here to learn more. And for Pete's sake, evaluate your horse, don't just look at him!

Visitors

We had an interesting and busy last week because Friday the 13th we hosted a tour for the Texas A&M Chapter of the National Block & Bridle Club. Block & Bridle is a club that's dedicated to the promotion of agriculture on campus, encouraging higher scholastic standards among ag students, and enhancing professionalism of students who will one day be leaders in the ag industry. These students were part of over 650 undergrads that attended the National Convention for Block & Bridle in San Antonio. Students could choose from different tours and we were honored that over 80 students chose to come see Tucker. We showed them all of our operation: tree making, leather cutting, saddle and tack assembly, and the shipping department.
It was a neat group of college students. Not being all that far off from college myself, I remember those days of looming graduation and not really knowing which direction you might be headed. There were some kids that were definitely going to grad school, which will give them some sharpened skills and more time to devise the big plan after graduation.
Most of my group seemed to be divided in cattle or horse backgrounds and we started the tour at our tree making facility down the street. Even some of the cattle kids seemed pretty interested, despite having not a clue of what a saddle tree was before the tour! As you can imagine, the horsey kids were all over what we were saying and had some really good questions. I think they were impressed with how a saddle is made from start to finish beginning with how we make the saddle tree - and I mean starting at the actual wood blocks that we bring in from Colorado. Then we took them to Leather Cutting and they saw all the hides, seat materials, etc. and the actual cutting machine creating perfectly cut saddle parts. Then we took them to Saddle/Tack Assembly where they saw the off-tree and on-tree operations. Last was a tour of the Shipping area where they saw all the finished saddles in boxes and all the tack hanging up waiting shipment. We were honored that these students wanted to come see our world of saddle making and where it all begins.

Photo right: Mark Jemelka-General Manager; Texas A&M Chapter of Block & Bridle Club; Annie Rodriguez-Yoakum Mayor.

Pray for Rain

While most of the country seems to be covered up in snow or ice, down here in South Texas we are enjoying some pleasant weather. The days are already getting longer which signals it’s getting close to the spring riding tune-up. Even though the days are warm and nice, we are in the middle of a major drought-the worst on record actually. Normally the grass starts growing around March, but with no rain in sight until April it’s got horse and cattle owners wondering what they’re going to do. I am not a cattle person, but it seems most cattle owners will load up their herds and take them to the sale barn if needed. For horse owners, it's not that simple and the lack of grass is a real problem. So, since Copper is eating last year's prairie hay (which he doesn't eat near as well as the scrumptious coastal bermuda hay I recently ran out of), I have added some dehydrated alfalfa cubes to Copper’s diet. He doesn't get a whole lot, about 6 or so a day of them. These must be candy to a horse because when he's chewing them he gets a sleepy, far off look in his eyes like-this stuff is heaven! Plus, it will make his coat super shiny when his winter coat really starts shedding off. In the meantime, we are praying for rain to get the grass going while the rest of the country is praying for the ice to melt. It’s always something.

Web catalog is updated!

The current Tucker catalog has been updated with the 2 new saddles we designed - the 135 GEN II Bayou Plantation and 140 GEN II National Trooper. There are also new tack designs and saddle pads to accompany any Tucker saddle. The big catalog mailing will be underway when we get the updates from the printer next week. We haven't forgotten those requests and we thank you for your interest. Stay warm!

Feed for Warmth

Just the other day I wondering about if what I feed Copper is adequate for this time of year. Now mind you, it doesn't get really cold here in South Texas. If it gets down to 30 degrees at night, now that's cold. My gelding has always put on a thick winter coat, especially when we lived in Oklahoma. I got a great email article from AQHA's America's Horse Daily about feed requirements during the winter months. I learned that a horse burns no extra calories in temperatures of 15 to 60 degrees and those temps are considered energy neutral as long as the wind isn't blowing and the horse is dry. This is cool because those are the winter temps down here. So, if I wanted to all I would need to increase is the amount of hay I feed instead of increasing the concentrate amount on those chilly nights. And even then it would be just to make me feel better because he's plenty warm! Here's a little snipet from the email:

"Keep in mind that hay – not grain – is the best feed to help a horse generate body heat. The heat of digestion from five pounds of extra hay will raise the average horse’s core body temperature 1.2 degrees for nearly four hours. Forage is digested in the horse’s large intestine through bacterial fermentation, which not only provides nutrients but also generates heat. Concentrates such as corn and barley are low in fiber and are digested in the small intestine through enzyme activity, producing little heat." - courtesy of AQHA America's Horse Daily

I love learning new things about my horse and this was right on the money for my south Texas horse. For those of you in real winter, throw your horse some extra hay to keep him cozy without threat of colic or founder. Happy Trails.