|
INFO AND PICTURES TAKEN FROM HILL VIEW FARMS WEBSIDE.
After 13 years of selling other Delrin panel saddles Hill View Farms is now manufacturing its own. This is a story of Evolution and of Passion.This is for those horses that don't have a voice and need a saddle that fits. A saddle that can easily go from one horse to another without trouble. A story of love and dedication from passionate people who love their horses and love what they do.
No Smoke & Mirrors with these saddles! Do others show how their saddles work? We do!
An Evolution -System X. Prior to 2007 the Delrin panels alone maximized performance in earlier systems. It is the little things that have made big changes in the overall panel performance, durability and fit. Based on the System VII design and the slide plate of the System IX, the System X has taken the features of these and made the best design yet. Several small changes together have made a major difference. However this system must have a saddletree that is equal in design function for the panels to perform exquisitely. The first of several changes to the panels are the rivets. Gone are the copper and aluminum that were once used in the layering assembly of the panels. New are the stainless steel and nickel alloy rivets that eliminate the work-hardening fatigue (the amount of flexing a metal can take before it breaks) seen with earlier systems. Another improvement is the new pivot mechanism. With the advancements in machining we can get a true ball-in-socket action. By using different radii on the insert and the washer, this ball-in-socket joint performs with pure fluidity, providing maximum panel movement with closer contact. With this new assembly the clicking and popping noise once heard during the break in period of earlier systems has been virtually eliminated. Another hindrance in panel flexibility has been the backer and foam layer of padding used on the underside of all earlier systems. This padding is what cushions the semi-rigid Delrin material from direct contact with the horses back. The improved backing is fingered to match the finger cuts in the Delrin panel it self. Having this padding match the fingers allows for the little subtleties on a horse's or mule's shoulder, back and wither conformation – especially if he as an unusual or highly pronounced shoulder / scapula. On earlier systems the panels tended to fall into the dip or hollow behind the shoulder, creating excessive pressure from the over all rigidness of the front of the panel - especially in the western saddles. These small differences have made so dramatic an improvement in the overall function of the panels that this new system has been christened System X. The performance difference is the same as if you had been playing the piano with mittens and then graduated to gloves.
If we can fit this back - without using any shims,
Just imagine what this saddle can do for your horse.
 
So Ask yourself... Why do I want a flexible panel system?
By: Cathy Sheets Tauer
Photo's and sketches by Cathy Sheets Tauer, the Klee family and SMT manufacturing.
This question is easy to answer. Experts tell us that approximately 80 to 90% – perhaps even more – of all horses have back problems. Unqualified riders may cause some of the problem, but the overwhelming majority are due to ill-fitting saddles. Some riders may think this figure too high, but this is probably because many riders are completely unaware of the problems their horses are suffering from. Saddle pressure is still often equated with the appearance of white hair, swelling, edema and dry spots.
By the time these symptoms appear, saddle pressure limits may already have been exceeded and irrevocable damage already been done to the horse’s tissue. Saddle pressure begins much earlier. To recognize it (and to be willing to recognize it), the rider must observe the horse and judge its actions and reactions. A little prodding and probing of the horse’s body will give the best chance of finding and localizing problems. This procedure of physical palpation is far more advantageous than anything on the market. It is more accurate and economical than any computer measurement. It is easy too. It is hands on, right now, right there with your horse.
-
Some riders choose not to acknowledge these problems, for if they did, they might have a troubled conscience – not to mention problems with animal welfare legislation. But there are also many that recognize that their horse has some sort of problem with its existing saddle. However, instead of addressing the cause, they soothe their conscience with a variety of products such as; wonder pads, gel pads, air-ride pads, layers of sheepskin, shock absorbers, and many other forms of "fixes." Clearly the rider is trying, even if the effort is halfhearted.
-
To find a real solution, one must deal with the root of the problem. We begin with purely theoretical considerations about the effects of an inflexible object, like a saddle on a horse’s very agile back. Logically, how can we expect that a stiff object such as a saddle be able to fit a free moving horses back?
Let us take a close look at the dynamics of this rigid tree saddle.
As your horse stands, with its head up he has a slightly bent back, which a rigid saddle may bridge, leaving a gap in the center of the back, putting pressure on the four corners of the saddle.
When your horse turns, one side becomes shorter and the other longer. A conventional saddle cannot adapt to this movement, and this results in increased pressure at certain points.
A horse with its head lowered has a relatively straight spine. As with a horse that move down hill, more pressure is place on the front edges of a conventional saddle.
Therefore conventional saddles will always produce certain pressure points-at some time-at some point, depending on the basic shape of the saddletree. Fact.
Have you ever considered fastening two wooden boards on your back? Imagine this if you can, after tying them nice and tight, just try to bend and move in all directions. No matter how wonderfully the boards are cut and shaped you will, no doubt, be very uncomfortable. This is no different from what horse feels with a rigid saddle. Worse still,) weight of a rider is piled onto the horse. Sit on your horse sometime without a saddle and ride a short distance. Look down and notice how the scapula rotates, how your horse’s whole back flexes and changes shape with each step. Now, think back about those imaginary boards.
You can check your present saddle by putting it on your horse (without any extra pads to hide a true fit) and slipping your hands right under the supporting surface (for example, on the front, rear and center). Then check it with someone sitting in the saddle. You will probably pinch your fingers and it will be uncomfortable. The situation for your horse is exactly the same as for your fingers! What your feel is what your horse feels. Fact.
This realization should make it clear to everyone that something as inflexible as a saddle can never really work together with something very flexible like a horse’s back.
But this is only the movement problem. Problems actually begin much earlier. They begin with the fact that horse backs come in an infinite number of shapes, with different shoulders, different withers, different muscle structure, etc. This is why the saddle industry has produced so many different saddle tree patterns (about 8-15), nearly all ready-made sizes. But will these ready-made tree sizes really fit your horse? Take a look at how many different horse types you can see in the pastures, regardless of whether they are all the same breed or not. Can you really believe a saddle or saddle tree manufacturer could provide for all that variation?
Allow us to share with you a few photos of our riding horses. You can see how different their withers are, how wide their shoulders are, how dippy their backs are, how long/short their backs are, how fast the croup rises up. As you look at the following photos, you can see that not just any saddle will work to give the horse complete freedom of movement. You can ONLY achieve this with a system X Panel.
So how can the traditional saddling industry, tree and saddle makers possibly cover all these variations? Truth is, they can't. At best, they offer only a handful of saddle tree patterns to choose from, and your horse must conform to those few choices. That is like saying that you must only select a pair of pants to wear from only 4 sizes. Really now.... So are you so sure that your horse will fit into that one tree size?
Now that we have established the fundamental variation in horse backs, we still have the problem of how the shape of a horse changes with movement. And, finally, the same horse is continuously changing over the course of its life! As the result of growth, aging, training, conditioning, feeding, etc. its contours are constantly evolving.
-
If all of this was not bad enough, another structural problem now arises, the pressure load on the horse’s body resulting from the rider’s weight. From medicine, we know that pressure of more than 105 grams per square centimeter [24 oz. per square inch] damages and can destroy organic tissue. Let's take a look for example at an English saddle: an average English saddle has a supporting surface on the horse’s body of approximately 440 square centimeters [27 square inches]. Now, we put another 75 kg [165 lb.] onto the saddle – the rider. This gives us a load of 170 grams per square centimeter [39 oz. per square inch]. Acceleration, gravitation, etc may at least double this value during movement, producing a load of 340 g/cm2 [78 oz. per square inch].
-
Let's repeat this sample calculation with a western saddle. An average western saddle has a supporting surface of 620 cm2 [96 sq. in.]. Let's take our 75-kg rider again, giving us a load of 121 g/cm2 [28 oz. per square inch], or 242 g/cm2 [55 oz. per square inch] during movement. These values are valid for contact over 100% of the supporting area. As we know however, the horse alters its shape during movement, making this 100% completely impossible to attain. Even if you add at least 1/4 to the load, your calculations will still be very much skewed in favor of the saddle. Now, think back to that 105-gram [24 oz.] limit once again.
-
So for review, any activity that involves concussion (jumping, posting, etc,) will effectively double or even triple the rider's weight. What is that doing to our pound per square inch? Are we causing damage? The only way to know is by palpation.
So What Is the Solution to All These Problems?
-
A flexible saddle tree? This was out of the question, since it would not solve the basic problem of fitting the horse AND providing a stable seat for the rider. It should not be like sitting on a sponge. But that would be the logical consequence if the saddle tree were to actually follow the horse’s movement. Another effect would be a sagging of the tree, which would in turn concentrate the weight on certain points especially the spine The final point against the flexible tree was that it would not have a large enough supporting surface to meet our – or rather the horse’s – needs.
Well yes, not such a bad idea but here again it would still be subject to the basic constraints of fitting it to the horse. Also, any adjustment reaches a limit at some point, not to mention that in this case the "normal rider" is always dependent on assistance from others (saddle dealers). In addition, we did not want something that is calibrated but something that changes continuously. First, because there are almost infinite variations among horses, but also because these variations are gradual and not divided into standardized sizes. These comments also apply of course to these interesting variations of "saddle systems" that work with individually added padding.
Custom made saddles? On the basis of all these considerations, we rejected the idea of custom-made saddles from the beginning. Even a custom-made saddle can only in the best-case scenario, fit the horse 100% in a standing position, and then only with respect to the horse’s present state.
Also not such a great idea. With this, there is no need to take the traditional fit parameters into account. But there remains the problem of uneven, selective weight distribution. And the added problem of the pressure load on the spiny processes, because a treeless "saddle" cannot keep this area clear.
The solution is brilliant if not quite simple
A saddle in which the supporting surface is independent of the saddle tree, automatically conforms to the greatest variety of horses, is able to adapt to the horse during movement, and is large enough to distribute the weight over an area that is more than sufficient.
Thus the purpose of a saddle... To offer the rider support while distributing the riders weight over a large surface area.
This was the beginning of the various systems that revolutionized the panel saddle. With the System X there is a strong, inflexible tree as a "chassis" to give the rider the desired stability. Mounts are attached to this tree to connect it to the panels. These mounts are shaped to allow the panel to move in all three dimensions (up, down, side-to-side)– independently of the tree! In order to guarantee that the weight is distributed over the whole panel, we have chosen a material that is very smooth and flexible - Delrin. At the same time, it is strong enough to distribute the force over the entire surface. This was very important, because only in this way will it work as a whole. Of course, there are many saddles "out there" that resemble these panels, where the panels give way in the front and behind, but they are not really able to actually distribute the weight. All other saddles – whether flexible or traditional – have one thing in common: you ride these saddles on the bars of the saddle tree, which is the source of the problems.
- Finally, let us repeat the calculations we have just done of the load per square centimeter [inch] on the horse’s back. Our saddles have an average supporting area of 2088 cm2 [324 sq. in.]. This means that the calculations result in values of 35 or 70 g/cm2 [20 or 40 oz. per sq. in.]. And since our panels join in the movement, we don’t need to make any reductions in the supporting surface. We are obviously far below the 105-gram limit. As you can see it is it is actually quite easy to build a saddle that is truly horse friendly.
The Construction and Operation of the System X panel
In this section, we present the "inner lives" of our panels in simple sketched form. The illustrations are partially schematic, intended to merely show you the basic principles of our construction. We have omitted representations of the padding, etc. The operational principle is based on simple exploitation of the laws of mechanics and physics and is essentially quite simple and logical. Nevertheless, the application of these simple physical laws to saddle construction has required many years of intensive development work.
- This is a cross section showing the panel construction. You can see that it has a multi-layered structure. This is very important, because only in this way is it possible to distribute the load over the entire surface. A single-layer panel, as found under other flexible panel saddles, is flexible only in the ends. It looks nice, but it doesn’t distribute the rider’s weight. You ride such saddles – like any other saddle – on the bars of the saddle tree. If connected with joints, a single-layered panel could even have disastrous effects. The joints could push through and cause uneven loads in certain places. With our saddles, the tree and supporting surface are independent. Although panel and tree form one unit, they are isolated from each other. This means that the supporting surface on the horse can assume a shape quite different from the shape of the tree.
When placed on the horse’s back and carrying the rider’s weight, the panels follow the laws of mechanics and are forced to conform to the horse’s contour. This will resultin flush contact over the entire surface with even pressure distribution, and even during movement the panels adapt to the constantly changing shape of the horse’s back.
Shown are the panels in initial condition, with no load. Notice the huge weight bearing area.
Above right, you see a simulated representation of how the panel conforms to a horse’s bent back.
The panel ends are extremely pliable so as not to hinder the horse’s lateral movements and turns. This also prevents interference with the scapula.
With a slender horse, for example, the panel would assume this angle. Here, on one side, we simulate the angle for a wide horse. In this shape, the panel can conform to a horse with extremely wide shoulders. NOTE: This is my hand on the front edge of the panel without a rider in the saddle.
YES... This is a system that can fit a wide variety of back shapes and allow you to go freely from horse to horse with little to no additional adjusting by you, the customer.
With this system on the increasable inserts, there is more than enough room for even the most distinctive, widest withers under these saddles.
The panels- by Dupont is made from Delrin are very flexible. This synthetic material is both heat and cold resistant and extremely sturdy.
Above is the panel shown with out an encasement and with the encasement. The encasement is used on all saddles that do not have a traditional western skirt. This encasement is tough it is the same material used on the Ranch Handler water & muck carts and the fabulous kangaroo feed bags. (The panels that we produce are beefy and built to last. Each panel with the mounting hardware weights 2 pounds each! So a pair of panels is 4 lbs., which actually weigh as much as the saddle tree it self.) Below is a close up of the stainless steel slide plate and the nickel/aluminum rivets that are used. Also the back side of a panel that is not encased. Under this foam layer is another layer called the backer layer that keeps the washers in place and working. It also keeps the hardware counter sunk so that absolutely no pressure spots will ever appear nor will the bolt that holds the panel into the insert ever fall free from the panel.
This panel with the Stainless Steel Slide plate- is produced on an ultramodern water jet CNC (computer number controlled) cutter.
Below are the photo's of water jet cutter in action. Both the panels and the backer layers are cut to perfection with this machine.
With the panel now perfected, the mounting insert or how it is connected to the saddle tree is critical in the articulation of the panel. The insert design of the System X operates as a true ball and socket or ball bearing. This combined with the specially designed radius of the washer delivers pure fluidly of motion to the panel so that it can conform to the different widths of the horse. The panel thus independently produces the classic fit parameters like gullet width, flair, twist, rocker, etc. The flexibility of the material also helps it to further nestle against every curve.
In the front area,1 the panel is built in the form of slats. This permits an extra soft shoulder rotation. The slats extend as far as the withers area,2 so horses with extremely wide withers never feel too much pressure on this area.
The second layer of the panel3 overlaps with the slats from the first layer. This permits a transfer of the forces to the subsequent layer and also a simultaneous distribution to the center of the panel.
The remaining course4 of the panel construction guarantees an optimal distribution over the entire surface. The distribution thus takes place in several "stages." In this way, we for example prevent leverage on the panel from causing excess pressure on the opposite side for horses with very wide shoulder areas. This gives us an even fluid distribution of forces. Through the choice of different material strengths for each layer, we also avoid the possibility of partially appearing pressure points.
Also developed is a particular design for each layer in the rear area5 as well. This special shape guarantees an optimal weight distribution over the entire panel – even in the middle.
The Saddle Trees
Having a great panel and mounting system does not, by itself, assure that a saddle will perform correctly on your horse or mule. We took great pride in finding a saddle tree maker who would custom make each of our saddletrees to our panels specifications. Remember that a traditional rigid saddle tree is designed to offer the rider support and attempts, at the same time, to distribute the riders weight evenly over the horses back. However, in our case, the Evolutionary Saddles' ä tree is designed to offer the rider support and then is especially designed, not for the horses back, but for the System X panel. It is this panel that will bend and flex enabling the saddle to distribute the riders weight evenly over a moving horse's back. Having a saddle tree too thick, too straight and too narrow - not to mention crooked –would not allow the System X to perform properly. Having a tree too wide, too heavy, and weak also raises havoc with the rider and life time performance of the saddle
The saddle trees are designed for the panel - not the horse! The panels are not designed for the saddle tree - as so many are. This panel is designed so that it will fit the horse and it is the tree that must be designed fit the panel.
Below are two examples of trees from another manufacture - look how inconsistent the trees are! To thick and the panel will not perform, too thin and you don't have a saddle tree that is guaranteed for 10 years!
With time consuming efforts we produced the perfect saddle tree. Made from yellow pine that is cured both in a kiln and air dried before used in production it is this wood that will be used in the saddle trees for Hill View Farms. For accuracy we have cast in a metal the bars, fork and canal so that accuracy is achieved each and every time when the parts for the saddletree are being cut out on the duplicator machines.
All of the various saddle tree pieces are then assembled in a square box to assure balance and symmetry.
Perfection is achieved as the assembled parts are measured, glued, stapled and then the tree is ground to perfection.
Now comes strength. With the saddle tree in perfect symmetry, it is then epoxy with several different types of epoxy and layered multiple times using fiberglass that is hand laid, with more epoxy. (Using the proper epoxy - which just happens to be the most expensive epoxy, gives the saddle tree its strength. So strong are these light weight trees (up to 20% less than traditional trees), that they carry a 10 year warrantee against breakage when in use on a horse.) Then the moist fiberglass is hand rolled to remove all air bubbles, leaving a smooth surface. Lastly the saddle tree is cured using special lights and sanded to a glass like finish.
From start to finish we have deigned a saddle tree that was SPECIFICALLY designed and built for the Evolutionary System X.
NOW FOR: CATHY'S DINING ROOM TABLE TEST
We dare OTHERS to COMPARE!
The System X fits them all.
A sway back? A flat top line? How about an angled shoulder with a flat rear back - the twist? System X fits them all.
How about that tree? Narrow thin, strong bars with faired ends allow free movement of the System X panels that give the rider close contact.
Just 1.25 inches from the back of the horse to the bar of the saddle. Add a pad that is 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick and then compare that to ANY other saddle.
|
|
