The Right Saddle for the Freiberger

The Freiberger is a light to medium-weight draft horse, and the last original Swiss horse breed. Thanks to its good-natured character and performance, this robust working horse displaced all other Swiss draft breeds in the 19th and early 20th century, and then very nearly fell victim itself to the mechanisation of agriculture, road transport and the military. Enthusiasts took up the breeding and gradually turned the Freiberger into the perfect partner for modern leisure riders and drivers: healthy, good-looking, sure-footed, with supple gaits and a lovable, dependable nature.

Here is a horse that even children, beginners or nervous riders can ride with confidence, an ideal family horse, a great horse for riding stables, and a perfect therapy horse: the good-natured Friby carries every rider safely through the ride and home again.

The least you can do for such a good companion is to make sure it has a well-fitting saddle. Freibergers can be quite different types: from the somewhat lighter sport Freibergers, shaped by earlier warmblood crossbreeding, to the considerably more powerful, broad original Freibergers, there are many gradations; some young Freibergers turn out to be quite a surprise package in this respect. There's no way around an individual fitting and adjustment of the saddle.

As mentioned, Freibergers come in quite different sizes. But one thing applies to all of them: this draft breed has a square build, so Freibergers always have a relatively short back in relation to their wither height. This back generally has generous width, round ribs and moderate curve, the Friby's shoulders are long and gently sloping, and the wither is pronounced. All in all, these characteristics make for a fairly unproblematic saddle position, although the round back shape must be taken into account.
 
In principle, saddles with the following characteristics suit the Freiberger's needs:

• a wide, broadly angled saddle gullet
• sufficient wither freedom
• a wide spinal channel
• a rather short, but calmly broader bearing surface 

Freibergers are considered early developers: in Switzerland, and partly in Germany too, young horses of the breed are assessed as early as age three in the so-called field test, not only for conformation but also for their suitability for driving and riding. In other words, while colleagues of other breeds may just be starting lunging work, a Freiberger has usually already had a year of riding training behind it.
 
A saddle that fits in every respect is important for every horse, but for young horses it is, if anything, even more essential. Skeleton and joints are more sensitive in young horses than in fully grown animals, and mentally too, the course is set for later life in a young horse: if a horse learns at the start of its training that the saddle is associated with pain and discomfort, the resulting active aversion or passive resignation sets the "tone" for its entire life.
 
At the same time, every horse's build changes quite considerably in its first years of life. Besides normal growth spurts, muscle build-up from training also contributes to this. Most Freibergers are fully grown by around five years of age, but their musculature, and thus their back contour, continues to change beyond that too. Now, hardly any leisure rider can afford to buy a new saddle every year: ideally, the saddle bought for the young Freiberger should fit for its whole life, or at least until it reaches its fully grown and fully muscled build.
 
That's why we absolutely recommend a saddle with adjustable gullet width for young Freibergers: this way you're equipped for both growth spurts and muscle build-up in your horse. Of course, fully grown Freibergers benefit from an adjustable saddle just as much: even older horses can go through phases of physical change.

Finding a riding saddle for a powerful, square-built horse like the Freiberger isn't always easy: many off-the-shelf saddles are too long and/or too narrow. Iberosattel® has developed saddles specifically for this horse type. Originally, we were primarily thinking of our own Spanish horses, but our dressage and Baroque saddles with an extra-broad bearing surface are also an excellent fit for many other short- and round-backed breeds, especially for leisure riding too.