In Search of Truth (and pressure testing!)

About Desire
I've wanted a computerized pressure testing pad for a long time. A really long time. Ever since I saw the first one in Colorado around 1999, I've wanted a pressure testing pad. The problem has always been that the prices were way out of reach for a small saddle company with miniscule budgets (and a president whose pockets weren't much deeper). Now the prices have come down quite a bit, and around the start of the year I got seriously interested in getting a pad of our own.

Why bother with pressure tests?
Because they yield information that is absolute fact. After more than a decade of fitting and evaluating saddles (and 20 years of riding, training and teaching before that) I've gotten pretty good at assessing fit. The problem is this: I have not yet found a way to get my hand under the center of the saddle while the rider is up and the horse is cantering around. I think we'll all agree that this is the moment when the saddle must fit. So even though I'm a pretty good fitter, all my skills involve observation and palpation, and I freely admit this: I can't be right all the time because the saddle changes shape under the weight of the rider and the horse's back changes shape constantly while he is in motion. It seems to me that the only definitive test for pressure points is one that happens while the rider is up and the horse is moving, and it does not involve the saddle fitter's eyes or hands.

Seduced by the Computer
The more I travel around testing saddles, the more saddles I see with severe pressure points, almost always in the hands of owners with no idea that the saddles are causing a problem (then there are the ones who don't want to know...but we don't need to discuss them here). At the ReactorPanel Saddle Company, we use the Port Lewis Impression Pad regularly. It is a wonderful tool for revealing serious problems but it takes 30 minutes per test and isn't feasible to use when someone wants information on three or more saddles on the same horse. Nobody wants to ride for 2+ hours just to get fitting information, and I don't have the time to stretch each fitting session into a 3 hour marathon. So I find that I do less pressure testing than I would like to do. Now if I only had that computerized pad, I could get a glimpse of the saddle in seconds, and a thorough profile in just a few minutes. I imagine having access to real data in a matter of seconds. I think of all the horses who could benefit from this knowledge. I find myself on the internet, researching pads then calling the companies who make them and then...

Setting Up Testing Sessions
I'm starting to think seriously about buying a pad. I've been able to find a veterinarian in the Portland area who is willing to work with me for half a day. She has a pad made in Germany that is extremely affordable, and she impresses me on the telephone with her desire for accurate information and her independent quest for knowledge about the back and about saddle fitting. We struggle with our calendars; January is out and so is February. We find a March date that looks possible, and put it down: March 25. So, on Wednesday afternoon, I'll load the van with saddles and gear, add the man and the dogs, and prepare to hit the road for our first pressure testing session. I'll be updating this blog as the week progresses.

Next Up: Hilary Clayton's Lab!
Yes - this is coming up on April 5. Full details coming soon (yes, this is a blatant teaser: I hope you'll come back and follow this story!)