SADDLES AND SORE HACKS. 169 



certain parts of the sole of the human foot incapable of bearing weight, the fit of 

 and there are certain parts of the horse's back. The fit between the sole ^ ^°?^/"^ 

 of the boot and that of the foot should be perfect and ideally smooth. So ^ ^^ ^' 

 should be the fit between the side bars of the saddle and the back. The 

 least undue pressure on any part of the sole of the foot, caused by a 

 wrinkle or even knot in the sock, will produce injury, and so will 

 corresponding slight irregularities in the fit of a saddle produce a sore 

 back. Any boot will not fit any foot, and any saddle will not fit any 

 back. The comparison might be extended, but the point is secured if, 

 instead of comparing the human foot and boot to the horse's foot and 

 shoe (with which there is not a single point in common), we compare it 

 to the horse's back and saddle, in which the parallel is remarkably close, 

 while the comparison is valuable as an addition to one's common sense 

 in applying practically the ideas here laid down. 



The play of the shoulder-blade and the hollow behind the blade- 

 bone are important landmarks in saddle fitting, and the side bar should 

 lie in the latter and extend from there to the last rib. In spite of 

 " burrs," a saddle may be so fitted as to occupy the position indicated 

 without pressing on the blade-bones, and the question will be dealt with 

 later. 



The projecting portion of the side bars behind is known as the The ^ 

 "fan" ; it is given an upward sweep in the manufacture of the side bar, "'^"• 

 but with many backs this is insufficient to carry it clear of the loins. 



It is the loins and not the back proper which get injured by the fans, 

 the injury being produced by friction. To understand this, we must 

 glance at the movements of the loins during locomotion. 



Attention has previously been drawn to the fact that the forelegs are 

 not fastened to the body by means of any joint, and very little observation 

 will show how close the blade-bones are to each other at this upper part ; 

 in fact, if a hand be placed over the withers, the palm is in contact with 

 one blade-bone, while the fingers are touching its fellow (fig. 26). Now, 

 with the hind legs, a large joint secures each to the body, and these 

 joints are several inches apart. In other words, while the forelegs above 

 are set on close together, the hind legs are set on some distance apart. 



The influence of this is to produce a rolling or side to side movement Rolling 

 in the loins, with the advance of each hind leg. This movement can be movement 

 better felt than seen, and is at once obvious if, when mounted, the hand ° °"^^' 

 is placed behind the saddle. 



When the fans of the saddle rest on the loins, the friction produced by 

 this rolling action produces injury, and the shorter the horse's back, the 

 greater the chance of injury, as the fans then more completely cover the 



