Supposedly, saddles putting pressure on Cranial Nerve 11 is a major problem. Actually, you don't have to worry about it... The Facts that are right There is a Cranial Nerve 11 and it is called the Accessory Nerve. And it does, indeed, innervate the trapezius muscle, part of which is in the area… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/myth-busting-cranial-nerve-11-and-saddle-fit/
The kidneys are well protected. We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website. One of the biggest things… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/youre-not-hurting-his-kidneys/
Should you worry about occluding the external abdominal vein with your cinch ring? No, because it doesn't exist... Here's the real anatomy. Subscribe to RSS Feed We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/myth-busting-external-abdominal-vein/
Saddle position is critical to how a saddle works on a horse, and the shoulder blade is critical to saddle position. Here's where it is and how to find it. Subscribe to RSS Feed We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/position-seeing-shoulder-blade/
Here's a link to a medical illustrator's site with good skeleton and muscle drawings of the horse. Subscribe to RSS Feed A while back I had an e-mail from Wendy Amaral, a board certified medical illustrator who has done some good drawings of equine anatomy. We… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/a-good-link-to-an-equine-skeleton-drawing/
So what has research shown about how and when the longissimus dorsi and rectus abdominis contract? Here's some answers... Subscribe to RSS Feed Why they study the trot the most Most studies on back movement, muscle activation, etc. have been done at the trot. Why? It is a totally… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/back-movement-and-muscle-contractions/
Spinal movement is affected by lots of muscles. Here are some trunk muscles in the horse that are worth knowing about. A couple of segmented muscles There's a couple of segmented muscles that act primarily on the ribs but which can also affect the spine. They all start on the fascia… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/a-few-more-trunk-muscles/
Some information about the main back muscle that is a major support for the saddle. It is hard to get a good picture of what the longissimus looks like, because it is a complicated muscle. In the diagram above, all the numbers from 43 to 47 are part of the… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/the-longissimus-dorsi/
A major mover of the hind end, this is a hind end muscle that can be negatively affected by poor saddle fit. We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website. Subscribe to RSS Feed… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/the-medial-gluteal-muscle/
While the pectoral muscles aren't under the saddle, they are definitely affected by the cinch, so I figured I'd talk about them too a bit... There are a number of different names given to the four muscles, but they are always classified the same way. Two are superficial, and two are deeper. The… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/the-pectoral-muscles/
Another very important muscle that supports the body of the horse which is also involved in the movement of the shoulder blade is the serratus ventralis. It also can be affected by saddles and saddling. Subscribe to RSS Feed We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/the-serratus-ventralis-muscle/
Another muscle which attaches the forelimb of the horse to its body, and how it might affect saddles and how they fit. Subscribe to RSS Feed Also called the rhomboids, this muscle is the next in the line of muscles I am talking about that attach the front leg of the horse to its body. … https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/the-rhomboideus-muscle/
The latissimus dorsi muscle Subscribe to RSS Feed Moving on in our discussion about muscles of the horse that attach the front leg to the horse, a major one is the latissimus dorsi. This muscle… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/the-latissimus-dorsi-muscle/
First up in muscles is a relatively superficial muscle attaching the shoulder blade to the spine. Since it sits under the front of the bar, it is important for how saddles relate to horses. Subscribe to RSS Feed We'll start with the muscles that connect the front leg (remembering, of course, that there is no bony connection from the front leg to the… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/the-trapezius-muscle/
We have another equine spine to play with now, but still don't have a "normal" one. I always knew there was anatomical variation, but I never realized how common it was before... Subscribe to RSS Feed We acquired another equine spine this past month - this one from a full sized horse which belonged to a good neighbour of ours. He was a seven… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/boil-and-bubble-and-jigsaw-puzzles/
Moving on from bones to muscles, here's some basics to start with. Subscribe to RSS Feed In the series on anatomy, we are moving on from the bones to the muscles that are important in regard to saddles. I want to start with a few basic… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/a-word-or-a-few-about-muscles/
How the rib cage of the horse moves might be influenced by cinch and saddle. So what is normal and what may we need to consider when it comes to saddling up our horse? Subscribe to RSS Feed It is pretty well known in the cowboy world that you don't want your cinch, latigos and billets to be all synthetic material. You want at least… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/movement-of-the-rib-cage/
The majority of the saddle sits above the rib cage of the horse. Here's what the bones look like and how they are connected under all that muscle. Subscribe to RSS Feed The only section of the skeleton we haven't talked about in previous posts in this series is the rib cage, so here it is. Considering that the rib… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/the-rib-cage/
A description of the movement available in the equine lumbar spine. Subscribe to RSS Feed Looking at the anatomy of the lumbar spine, you might think that there isn't as much movement there as in the thoracic spine, and you'd be correct.… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/movement-of-the-lumbar-spine/
Saddle fit "rules" say that you can't have weight on the horse past T18, but almost every western saddle extends onto the loin of the horse. Which is correct? Subscribe to RSS Feed If you read or watch anything about saddle fit on the internet, you will come across the "fact" that saddles have to stop at the last rib or T18 or… https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/can-the-loin-of-the-horse-carry-weight/
