Solution of the Month

Solution Saddles assists Landmarks charity  

When Solution Saddles discovered that a local charity had all their tack stolen in a burglary, the company stepped in to help. Landmarks College in Derbyshire helps young people with special needs gain work experience in land based courses.

Horses are being used very successfully at the Cresswell centre to encourage those with a broad spectrum of learning and behavioural disorders to build confidence and communication skills. Learners are able to choose their own programmes and riding is the most popular selection.

The Solution saddle has a unique RigidFree™ design that allows it to be fitted to different horses’ back shapes. This made it an ideal choice where funds were limited and the centre was unable to replace all the saddles that were stolen.

But what the staff and students at Landmarks did not expect, was the huge impact their new saddle would have.

Landmarks college students with Billy

Anne Bondi, Solution Saddles Managing Director, took a saddle along to the stables to demonstrate its usefulness to Rebecca, a member of the Learning Support staff.

Billy the elderly Dales cob was the guinea pig for the occasion, but he had not been ridden since his saddle “disappeared” and the lack of exercise had unfortunately contributed to serious weight gain.

Billy suffers from a metabolic disorder that makes his weight very difficult to manage and can result in bouts of the painful condition, laminitis, which in turn leads to more time off work.
The naturally broad shoulders and wide back shape of the native Dales breed makes it extremely difficult to fit the rigid frame of a conventional saddle to; combined with his tendency to carry excessive fat, Billy was a real challenge to saddle fitters.

Rebecca explained that Billy’s old saddle had been holding back ridden activities because its poor fit caused it to roll around on his back, causing lack of stability and loss of security for riders.

As this was unsafe, it was deemed necessary to have two assistants hold the saddle in place while students were trying to learn balance skills for riding – a most unsatisfactory arrangement, particularly when many of the learners were quite capable of balancing unaided and would have clearly benefited from the opportunity of greater independence to build confidence and self-esteem.

Rebecca was not only impressed by how quickly and easily the flexible Solution saddle was fitted to Billy, but was amazed at the transformation in the cob’s ability to move more freely. She felt him able to turn more easily: “not like a plank”. His trot steps were less choppy and he stopped slipping and stumbling.

Since receiving their Solution saddle, Landmarks has been able to give very positive feedback on its use and have supplied case studies to help raise awareness of the benefits for other special needs groups.

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