Talin's Story by Sarah Larratt Keefer
My 16.3 HH bay Thoroughbred gelding Talin, track-bred grandson of Nijinsky II but never raced, has paces that are a religious experience to ride. He was however a cold-backed colt to work with, and had a wicked buck to him (which we assumed at the time was ‘just the Thoroughbred temperament’), but my trainer took to riding him in a saddle she had for a warmblood and the bucking stopped. In 1996, at the age of only six, he won the Eastern National Dressage Championship for Senior Basic II here in Canada, but shortly thereafter he began to rear, buck dangerously once again, and soon become completely impossible to ride. A change of trainers brought me Lisa Hunt, who immediately identified chiropractic problems that Talin had in his neck and back, and regular treatments brought some, but not complete relief to him. I undertook to have his saddle widened, but difficulties continued, and by now I was nervous of riding him as I never knew when he’d suddenly stiffen and begin crow-hopping. I finally had a new saddle custom-made for him, but its fit wasn’t good for me and I still felt a precariousness about the edge of tension that was always present in Talin’s body.
My trainer Lisa, who had leased Midori, one of my horses, then attended one of Carol Brett’s clinics; she was absolutely convinced by what she felt in riding in the BALANCE (saddle), and we ordered a Zenith for Midori. She brought the Zenith system with her for our monthly lessons as soon as she got it, and had me ride Talin in it. The feel was completely different, and his way of going was much freer, more confident and a lot more relaxed! I ordered a Zenith for Talin, and when Jennifer, a colleague of mine at the university began riding Rijal, yet another of my horses, I paid close attention to the fit of Ri’s saddle, and realised that he too had serious saddle issues (though he was far more of a gentleman about protesting saddle fit than Talin had been!). We experimented with various styles of BALANCE (saddle) and found that adored the Matrix. We ordered a Matrix system for him, and Jennifer rode him bareback for the three months it took to arrive, in order to loosen Ri’s back and have him trust saddlery in general again. In addition, my husband Richard had purchased a young purebred Percheron mare for whom the Matrix was also intended, and I found the staff at the BALANCE office absolutely exemplary in their attention to detail, their helpfulness and their advice on how to come up with the right saddle for two horses and two riders! Calling Canada long-distance was no problem for them, and I remain astounded and delighted by their friendly professionalism and support.
The end result is amazing. Talin doesn’t buck at all now, and his lateral movement and countercanter are well advanced and performed with ease. Our equine chiropractor has also become a convert to the BALANCE Saddling System, and rides her endurance horse in a BALANCE (saddle) as well; she finds that Talin’s musculature in his back is so much improved that, despite being 13 now, he needs far less chiropractic adjustment than he used to do six years ago. Rijal is now able to move forward into some impressive extended paces, he too has improved in his more advanced dressage movements, and his back is relaxed where it was rigid with tension before.
Yesterday I purchased a lovely six-year-old Welsh Sport Horse (Welsh Cob x TB) with beautiful paces and a divine temperament. She was however quite behind the leg and somewhat stiff in her back: the saddle she was being ridden in was – not surprisingly – far too narrow. My trial rides on her in Talin’s Zenith with the base pad and the 1/4" JB pad promptly enabled her to stretch her neck through her shoulders, and I look forward to seeing how her back, strength and paces all improve.
In my opinion, there is no acceptable kind of saddle on the market today, other than one from BALANCE.. If the horse’s back is allowed to develop naturally by providing a saddle wide enough and supportive enough to let this happen, then the rider’s seat is going to be its most effective. If the horse is comfortable, then the rider is safer than she could possibly be if the horse were tense or in distress. And finally, if we ask for the best from our horses (and we all do), then we owe it to them to give them the best possible care, not only in their stabling, feeding and farriery but in the all-important tack we ask them to wear when carrying us. Thank God for Carol Brett and BALANCE: I tell people about them and hand out the URL to their website wherever I go in the horse world. They have made all the difference for the horses of Bryn Cae Farm here in Ontario.
Sarah Larratt Keefer
Professor, Department of English Literature
Trent University
Peterborough, Ontario
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