Hoof Balance and Saddle Fit: Are We Missing an Important Connection?
Part 1 of a six-part series exploring hoof balance, saddle fit, and the whole-horse, whole-rider approach.
What do a horse's hooves have to do with saddle fit? Quite a lot, actually. Yet it's a connection that can easily be overlooked when we're trying to solve problems with our horses.
Imagine you've had your saddle checked, perhaps even adjusted several times. Your horse still seems uncomfortable, the saddle continues to shift, or you find yourself sitting crooked despite your best efforts to remain balanced. Naturally, you question the saddle. After all, that's where the problem seems to be. But what if the saddle isn't the original problem? What if something happening much farther down, at ground level, is influencing how the horse moves beneath it?
Through decades of working with horses and riders, I've become increasingly interested in the relationships between hoof balance, body restrictions, movement, saddle fit, and the rider. The more we understand about these relationships, the more apparent it becomes that examining any one component without considering the others can leave us with only part of the answer. Sometimes that missing part is exactly what prevents us from making lasting progress.
Let's Start With the Hooves
We all know that horses stand and move on their hooves. But how often do we consider what happens throughout the rest of the body when those hooves aren't functioning as well as they could? Every time a hoof contacts the ground, forces are transmitted through the limb. The way the hoof lands, accepts weight, moves through the stance phase, and breaks over influences the mechanics of that limb. Now consider that the horse has four hooves, each participating in the coordinated movement of a body that may weigh well over a thousand pounds.
If one hoof functions differently from the others, the horse must accommodate those differences somehow. This doesn't necessarily mean the horse will become visibly lame. Horses can alter their movement in ways that aren't immediately apparent to the observer, shifting their weight, changing the timing of a stride, or altering muscular activity. These adaptations may influence movement elsewhere in the body, including the back, which is particularly relevant when we're evaluating saddle fit.
In a 2018 study, Faramarzi and colleagues examined nine clinically sound Arabian horses before and after hoof trimming. Using a pressure plate, they found measurable changes in hoof loading and movement following trimming. The study doesn't tell us that trimming will resolve a saddle-fitting problem, but it does demonstrate that changes at the hoof can produce measurable changes in locomotion. That gives us a good reason to consider hoof mechanics when investigating movement-related difficulties.
What Happens When the Body Has to Compensate?
Let's consider a horse that has developed restrictions through its shoulders, back, or pelvis. Perhaps the horse has difficulty bending in one direction, struggles to maintain a particular gait, or moves with a noticeable asymmetry. There may be muscular tension, reduced joint mobility, pain, or restrictions associated with soft tissues. Any of these can influence how the horse carries itself and how a saddle functions on its back.
I want to emphasize that body restrictions are enormously important. They can contribute directly to saddle-fitting difficulties, and addressing them may be essential to improving the horse's comfort and movement. But I believe we also need to ask what is contributing to those restrictions and what might be preventing the horse from maintaining the improvements we make.
Suppose a horse has developed a compensatory movement pattern associated with uneven hoof loading. Bodywork may help release muscular tension and improve mobility, and the horse may feel considerably better afterward. But if the hoof mechanics contributing to that compensation remain unchanged, what happens when the horse returns to moving under the same mechanical demands? Might the body begin compensating again?
This is one reason I place such importance on functional hoof balance. Not because every restriction originates in the hooves, and certainly not because trimming alone can resolve every problem, but because the horse must stand and move on those hooves every day. If we're trying to help a horse release restrictions and move more freely, we need to examine the mechanical conditions under which that body functions. Otherwise, we may find ourselves repeatedly addressing the same restrictions without understanding why they keep returning.
The specific relationship between hoof mechanics and persistent body restrictions deserves considerably more direct scientific investigation. Nevertheless, recurring compensation is a biomechanically plausible concern and one that I believe should be investigated rather than overlooked. Bodywork, rehabilitation, veterinary care, and appropriate training may all be necessary, but their effectiveness can depend partly on whether the factors contributing to the original problem have also been addressed.
Now Add the Saddle
In my earlier articles, I've described the saddle as an adaptor between horse and rider. I still believe this is one of the most useful ways of understanding its function. A saddle has a rather demanding job: it must accommodate the shape and movement of the horse's back while distributing the rider's weight appropriately, and at the same time support the rider in a position that allows balanced, independent movement. And it must do all of this while both horse and rider are moving.
A saddle that appears to fit beautifully while the horse is standing quietly may behave quite differently when the horse begins walking, trotting, or cantering. The horse's back isn't a fixed surface. Its shape and movement change throughout the stride as muscles contract and relax, the spine moves, and the rider influences the forces acting on the saddle. If the horse has restrictions through its body, those restrictions may influence how the back moves beneath the saddle. If the horse is compensating for altered hoof mechanics, that too may affect the movement patterns we're trying to accommodate.
Of course, the saddle itself may also contribute to the problem. A saddle that restricts movement or creates uncomfortable pressure can affect how the horse uses its back, potentially encouraging further compensation. The saddle may therefore be contributing to a movement problem, responding to a problem originating elsewhere, or both. This is why I place so much emphasis on evaluating saddle fit in motion rather than relying exclusively on how the saddle sits on a stationary horse.
And What About the Rider?
We haven't even discussed the person sitting on the horse yet! As riders, we sometimes forget just how much influence our bodies have on the horse beneath us. A rider may have one hip that's less mobile than the other, a tendency to collapse through the waist, restrictions in the lower back, or difficulty maintaining independent balance. Some of these asymmetries may have existed long before the person began riding, while others may develop as the rider adapts to the horse's movement or to a saddle that doesn't accommodate their particular anatomy.
In 2019, Gunst and colleagues examined 80 horse-rider pairs to investigate how asymmetries influenced saddle force distribution. They found that both horse and rider variables contributed to uneven loading beneath the saddle. A rider leaning to one side increased force on that side, while collapsing through one hip increased force on the opposite side. The horse's movement and conformation were also important influences, reinforcing the need to consider horse, rider, and saddle together when interpreting uneven saddle pressures.
Another study, published by Martin and colleagues in 2016, examined how rider position during rising trot affected saddle pressure and movement through the horse's back. Even within the same gait, changes between the seated and standing phases influenced pressure distribution and spinal movement. Although the study involved only three horses and its findings shouldn't be generalized too broadly, it illustrates how the rider's position can influence the horse's biomechanics.
Now imagine trying to resolve a saddle-fitting problem without considering the rider's body. A rider who consistently loads one side of the saddle differently may contribute to an uneven pressure pattern, but the reason for that asymmetry isn't necessarily poor riding. The rider may be compensating for restrictions in their own body, for the horse's asymmetrical movement, or for the saddle itself. Horse and rider can develop adaptations to one another over time, sometimes without either the rider or an observer recognizing how those patterns began.
So Where Does Hoof Balance Fit Into All This?
Let's bring the pieces together. A horse's hoof mechanics influence how its limbs interact with the ground, while the horse's movement patterns influence how the rest of its body functions. Restrictions within that body can affect how the back moves beneath the saddle, which in turn influences how the rider's weight and movement are transmitted to the horse. The rider's own balance, mobility, and asymmetries become part of that interaction.
These relationships are not necessarily one-way. A rider may compensate for a horse's asymmetry, just as a horse may adapt to an unbalanced rider or an uncomfortable saddle. Changes in one part of the system can influence others, which is why it's so easy to focus on the most visible problem while overlooking factors that may be contributing to it.
When I see a horse whose saddle consistently shifts to one side, I don't automatically conclude that the saddle is incorrectly fitted. I want to know how the horse stands and moves, both with and without a rider. I want to examine the hooves, observe differences between the left and right sides, consider restrictions through the body, and evaluate what happens when the rider gets on. I'm also interested in how the horse responds when we begin addressing the factors we've identified.
The point isn't to assume that the hooves are responsible for every saddle-fitting problem. That would be no more useful than assuming every problem originates in the saddle. The point is to investigate the relationships before deciding what needs to change. Research has demonstrated several of the individual biomechanical connections discussed here, although we don't yet have sufficient direct evidence to establish exactly how particular hoof imbalances affect saddle fit in every situation. I consider that an important area for further investigation.
Why I Believe the Whole Horse and Whole Rider Matter
Over the years, I've come to appreciate how easily we can become focused on the particular area in which a problem appears. If the saddle slips, we look at the saddle. If the horse has a sore back, we address the back. If the rider struggles to sit evenly, we work on the rider's position. Sometimes those approaches are exactly what's needed, but sometimes they aren't enough because the problem we're observing is only one part of a more complicated picture.
Perhaps the rider is compensating for the horse, the horse is compensating for restrictions elsewhere in its body, or the saddle is contributing to both. Perhaps the hooves are influencing the way the horse organizes its movement in the first place. It may be several of these things together, and without examining the relationships, we may never discover which factors are most significant.
This is why my approach is to consider the whole horse and the whole rider. I want to understand the individual horse's anatomy, hoof function, movement, physical restrictions, and comfort, along with the rider's body, balance, and ability to move independently. I also want to know whether the saddle allows those two bodies to work together rather than interfering with either one.
Functional hoof balance is an important foundation in this process because the horse must negotiate the ground with every step. But the hooves are not the entire picture. Bodywork, appropriate rehabilitation, veterinary assessment when indicated, saddle fitting, rider biomechanics, and training all have their place. The challenge is understanding how they relate to one another and which factors need attention in a particular horse-rider partnership.
Ultimately, we're not trying to create a horse with beautifully balanced hooves that still can't move comfortably, or a perfectly fitted saddle sitting on a horse that can't use its back. We're trying to create the conditions in which horse and rider can move together with greater comfort, balance, and freedom. To do that, I believe we need to remain curious, look beyond the obvious, and continue asking questions when the answers we've been given haven't produced the results we hoped for.
In the next article, we'll take a closer look at how hoof balance influences movement throughout the horse's body and why the effects may extend well beyond the feet.
Research and Further Reading
1. Faramarzi, B., Nguyen, A., & Dong, F. (2018). Changes in hoof kinetics and kinematics at walk in response to hoof trimming: pressure plate assessment. Journal of Veterinary Science, 19(4), 557–562.
2. Gunst, S., et al. (2019). Influence of Functional Rider and Horse Asymmetries on Saddle Force Distribution During Stance and in Sitting Trot. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 78, 20–28.
3. Martin, P., et al. (2016). Effect of the rider position during rising trot on the horse's biomechanics (back and trunk kinematics and pressure under the saddle). Journal of Biomechanics, 49(7), 1027–1033.
4. Martin, P., et al. (2017). Effects of Large Saddle Panels on the Biomechanics of the Equine Back During Rising Trot: Preliminary Results. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 48, 15–22.
Comments