“We were not surprised to learn 60% of the horses in our 490 horse retrospective study had larger measurements on the left side of their withers,” says Dr. Katrina Merkies, researcher and associate professor at the University of Guelph.
Undergraduate students, Julia Alebrand, Bethany Harwood, Katharine Labarge and Laura Scott digitized and compared years of measurement data gathered from a saddle fitting company, which used a flexible wither tracing tool. The empirical evidence did indeed back up the hypothesis expecting more bulk on the left, based on what saddle fitters were already noticing in their day-to-day work. But what does this mean for the horse owner shopping for a shiny new saddle, manufactured in a perfectly symmetrical way?
Equine Guelph tracked down Dr. Merkies for a video interview to find out more about the UofG study of thoracic asymmetry in ridden horses:
Pressure points from an ill-fitting saddle can lead to pain and performance issues. A symmetrical saddle used on a horse that is not symmetrical can hinder progress explains Merkies, “It could prevent the horse from developing its muscles in a balanced way.”