If something is stated often enough and by enough people, it becomes “accepted knowledge”. The problem is, a lot of “accepted knowledge” about saddle fit is not based on research and may not really be fact. In this section, we try to give some real information about some of these ideas to help sort out what is truly fact, and what is just stated that way.
The first three posts are about misconceptions about “bars” - what they are and mean. Then we deal with some common myths: you can never have weight on the loin of a horse, the horse will round his back under saddle, you have to set your saddle back from the shoulder bade because of its movement, you need to have “flare” in your bars to deal with shoulder blade movement, putting pressure on cranial nerve 11 causes reflexive actions, you have to beware of the “external abdominal vein” when cinching your horse, you have to stay off your horse’s kidneys, and flexible trees are better for the horse than rigid ones. Yes, we know we are bucking the trend, but take a look at the evidence we present and see if it convinces you or not…
What do quarter horse, semi quarter horse and full quarter horse bars mean?
The name of a bar - what it really tells you, or not
Of Arizona bars and why we won't make them
All Western saddles extend over the loin
Myth busting - Can the loin of the horse carry weight?
Effect of weight on the horse's back - part 1
Effect of weight on the horse's back - part 2
Of sagging backs and tickling tummies
Yup, riding a horse does make his back extend
Rethinking saddle fit and shoulder blade movement
False "saddle fit rules" regarding the shoulder blades
The effects of "flare" - and it's not pretty
Myth busting - Cranial Nerve 11 and saddle fit
Myth busting - The external abdominal vein
Cinches - what more I have learned
Myth busting - You're sitting on his kidneys! Get off!
Checking out a flex tree
Flex in a wood/rawhide tree