Q: I have been thinking about getting a new saddle. Actually I think that some of my horseÕs recent lameness issues may be saddle-related but the minute I say anything about saddles I am bombarded with all sorts of opinions and ideas. How do I evaluate saddle fit to see if I need a new one?

A: Well, you are exactly right. If you go to any campfire at any endurance ride and sit down and start a conversation about saddles and saddle fit, chances are pretty good that there will still be someone there voicing their opinion when the riders get up early to feed their 100-mile horses. There are so many variables that go into saddle choice and saddle fit that differences of opinion are inevitable. The best way to counter the confusion is to become more educated.

The Master Saddlers Association is one of the most respected organizations around when it comes to saddle fit. This group was established in order to provide education for the general horse riding and owning public and for training and certification and continuing education of saddle fitters. The MSA has no affiliation with any particular brand or make of saddle. "Ten Points of Saddle Fitting," found at www.mastersaddlers.com/points.htm, will provide you with a good basis to begin to answer some of your saddle-related questions.

There is also some high-tech equipment available to help evaluate saddle fit -- you may encounter pressure pad sensors, computer-assisted saddles to measure compression and thermography cameras which can record a visual representation of the amount and location of contact and pressure between your saddle and your horse. All of these technologies can be helpful but you have to get educated first in order to make sense of all the information and opinions that you will inevitable receive.

As for a less-controversial fireside conversation starter, try politics or religion.

Q: Tack on, tack off. WhatÕs the big deal? I sit in ride meetings and someone always asks this question. If it is hot out you take the tack off to help cool your horse, if itÕs cool out you leave it on to hold heat. Am I missing something more complicated?

A: You have an excellent grasp of the essentials that go into this decision for ride veterinarians but there are a few other points.

The length of the holds factors into this decision since taking off tack often requires riders to walk further to their crew areas and back for vet in. Some vet check areas do not allow this to happen in an efficient manner. If too much time is lost going back and forth to crew areas, veterinarians may decide to allow riders to vet with tack on. Time in the check areas is always better spent letting horses eat, drink and rest rather than going back and forth tending to tack issues. Obviously when temperatures are really hot it is necessary to remove tack and horses are usually being sponged off for cooling. Tack removal greatly facilitates evaporation.

Remember to remove leg protection as well (and this is often overlooked by even advanced riders). Neoprene or leather leg protection holds a tremendous amount of heat (try running in a diving suit) and will seriously hamper your cooling attempts if not removed. Besides, giving the vets a chance to inspect legs, joints, tendons and feet will get you a more accurate evaluation of your horse and may help pick up on a minor early problem that can be addressed and corrected.

Horses with leg wraps and all manner of boots that are easily removable cannot be well-evaluated with the wraps and boots on. Hoof boots and hoof protection boots which are necessary for that horse and are hard to remove are the exception.

Horses in cold weather can become chilled and muscles of the back and rump can spasm if they are not kept warm and protected. In these situations tack is often left on to help with heat retention.

A wet, heavy saddle, however, never seems as efficient to relaxing muscles and maintaining warmth in vet checks as a nice Irish knit wool blanket or rump rug. Removing tack and replacing it with a temperature-appropriate blanket of some type is the optimum approach when possible and it does give you a chance to show off that "Top Ten" cooler that you won last year.

Most veterinarians are happy to examine your horse around and under a blanket which can be quickly taken off for the trot-out and then just as quickly replaced.