Horse riding is one of the few sports in which two living beings interact, and each movement of the one has a direct impact on the other. The pillars of this collaboration are mutual trust and understandable communication. In order to become a great couple, both partners need to feel relaxed and comfortable.
Find out how the Winderen saddle half pad works and what it can do to improve your and your horse’s comfort.
Comfort - why is it so important?
To understand the rider’s aids properly, horses should not be distracted by discomfort caused by ill-fitting equipment. However, the same applies to the rider. To communicate properly and clearly with the equine partner, the rider must feel comfortable, must be able to focus on the correct aids and may not be bothered with the own incorrect seat. Proper cushioning and balancing of the saddle will facilitate a correct seat, and thus, the work with the horse will become more efficient. On the contrary, it works the same way: the more comfortable the horse feels under the saddle the more enjoyable riding will get.
Horse riding is considered an extreme sport. As such, it requires significant physical and psychological abilities as well as appropriate preparation. It has to be remembered that, when riding, we are exposed to the risk of numerous acute injuries caused by accidents as well as to the increasingly frequent cumulative injuries that result from the long-term influence of the horse’s multi-axis forces on the rider’s body.
Another problem is the unnatural, non-physiological posture of the rider during the training. The negative effects of these factors are experienced immediately or after a longer period of time. These factors can have a significant influence on comfort when riding, resulting in long-term back pain of varying intensity, limitation in movement or, in case of prolonged exposure of the spine to highly burdensome forces, the occurrence of pain symptoms.
The spine is one of the most important parts of the body and, amongst others, responsible for keeping your balance. Therefore, in order to fulfil its role correctly, it has to have the right elasticity, strength and flexibility to help the rider to freely influence the horse. It is built to protect itself against excessive loads as much as possible. The intervertebral discs reduce the shocks during riding, and its natural curves that become more prominent during stress reduce the strain.
Muscle stiffness is a natural reaction to pain. We often compensate for the discomfort experienced during the training by stiffening our bodies. This involuntary reaction is a negative phenomenon that has a direct effect on the horse leading to the animal’s stiffness, often accompanied by anxiety. The training of a stiff rider and/or a stiff horse will rather not result in a satisfying and pleasant experience.
No strong back - no strong horse
As we all know, no horse was born with a saddle on its back. Therefore, the equipment used by riders should cause as little discomfort as possible to the horse and not disturb its natural physiology.
At the same time, any equipment must be easy to use for the riders. Correct riding aims to relax both - horse and rider - as much as possible. Only such harmony, the avoidance of overstressing and discomfort ensure a maximum of efficiency and well-being and thus pleasant training or riding. How can a saddle half pad help?
Designing
Horseback overloads – why is it so bad?
"Many factors contribute to success in equestrian disciplines. One of them is undoubtedly a saddle, which ensures the horse’s unhindered and free movement. The correct saddle fitting is an extremely important point, but we have to remember that the horse’s back muscles - especially in intensive training - are dynamically modified, which in practice makes the "perfect fit" very difficult to obtain and maintain over time. Uneven distribution of the rider's weight or pressure spots on the back cause great discomfort to the horse. A saddle that does not evenly lie on the back over the entire length of the saddle panels does not distribute the rider's weight correctly and leads to overstressing of the back muscles. Initially, we will have to deal with locally increased pressure on some areas of the horse's back “only”, which, in consequence, will lead to a reduction in the blood supply of this area and additionally to a reduction in the metabolism of the muscles.
As a result, the oppressed muscle will gain increased muscle tone, be painful, and, if this situation persists for a long time, it will atrophy. Additionally, due to pain and increased muscle tone, the horse may show a number of behavioural and physical changes. We can face aggression or anxiety during saddling if not "running away from the saddle" or even an irregularity of movement, eventually visible lameness, which could lead to a horse that can no longer be ridden. Often the rider's frustration associated with keeping the horse under the saddle, i.e. the horse is refusing to cooperate, its reluctance to move forward, problems with arching the back or the need for a long phase of stretching before training, are caused by the discomfort associated with the saddle's pressure onto the back. In many cases we can prevent such situations by using corrective and shock-absorbing pads that, when properly selected, will evenly distribute forces and stabilize the saddle on the horse's back. " - Veterinary doctor Anna Jasińska
Back Protect Solution - how it all began...
Initially, the Back Protect Solution Half Pad was supposed to be a solution to problems with the back of our own mare who has been struggling with pain for a long time. Despite the saddle by a renowned brand, specifically adjusted to her shape, visits of physiotherapists and veterinarians and experiments with many of the half pads available on the market, our mare still showed discomfort and pain during work and had problems with proper muscle development. We already had experience and knowledge about the use of modern materials, including those that disperse and absorb energy, so we decided to try it and create a pad that would help her. The positive reaction surpassed our wildest expectations :)
Our mare relaxed more easily during work, ceased to be nervous when saddling and her back muscles, which were hard to build up, evolved incredibly quick. When his next visit was due, the physiotherapist could hardly believe it was the same mare! Moreover, all our other horses had undergone positive changes as well! A gelding, showing a cavity in the muscles next to the withers, which was supposed to be his flaw, needed a wider saddle after two months. Another horse who had had a tendency to rush away after the jump calmed down as if by magic. Their transformation inspired us to further testing and we started to think about creating a complete product based on the Back Protect Solution technology.
In order to confirm our observations we extended the tests after to a larger number of horses a few months, we also started testing among befriended riders. Our story continued and we got certain feedback several times: “I will never give it back”. Then it was clear: We would establish the Winderen brand as an official company, and offer the Back Protect Solution as a product available for everyone.
The many positive comments we receive every day by our satisfied clients, clients acknowledging that the pad helped them riding their horses free of pain, describing their horses as almost „flying” are the evidence that our decision was the right one.
However, feelings are a very individual thing, therefore we would like to present to you our research that will assist you to visualise why the Winderen half pad in many cases leads to such spectacular results.
How does the Winderen saddle half pad work?
Why does it have such spectacular effects on horses and their riders?
We would like to show you a video of our laboratory tests on Winderen Back Protect Solution Half Pads, which demonstrates that their efficiency in terms of distribution and energy absorption is much greater than that of conventional solutions such as sheepskin pads or gel pads. See the video and find out how Winderen saddle half pad works.
The test was conducted in the LABOREx Testing Laboratory, at the OBAC Institute for Research and Certification Ltd. The examination was carried out using a certified device equipped with a ball-shaped impact head with an in-built accelerometer that measures acceleration in three directions. During the test, a measuring ball weighing 4200 g / 9.3 lb was dropped from a height of 52 cm / 1’8” onto the materials to be tested. Special software allows calculating and indicating the exact accelerations in each millisecond of the impact/pressure.
