Trail riding, trekking and journeys: prepare before you go

Think first about horse and rider

At Sellerie Altaï, we make saddles for trail riding, trekking and horseback journeys. But before thinking about the saddle, think about horse and rider.

The aim may be to travel for hours, days, weeks or months, according to your project. This technical activity takes preparation and experience to become self-sufficient.

Prepare rider and horse

When starting trail riding or preparing a trek or journey, lessons with a qualified riding instructor experienced in outdoor riding are a sensible starting point.

Arena work helps develop suppleness and teach the horse the basics at all three gaits. Lateral work and some obstacles can also help. The rider learns to manage the horse, balance, paces, varied terrain and unexpected situations.

The horse also needs gradual preparation for the outdoors and situations it may encounter. The aim is to build a partnership that can work together outside.

Use defines the saddle

Arena sessions and multi-day trail rides impose different requirements. On the trail, the horse carries the rider and journey equipment. Duration, terrain and load require us to consider the saddle’s stability and structure.

A saddle can be designed to allow some adaptation to a horse’s conformation. However, design choices depend on the intended use. Sellerie Altaï uses these requirements to define the configuration.

A stable tree, with planned adjustments

For trail riding, trekking and journeys, we use a stable supporting structure: the Boisflex-Lin tree. The horse’s muscles and body condition can change with work, seasons, rest and living conditions.

We first fit the tree to the horse’s back and intended use. Changing only the gullet opening does not adjust the whole saddle’s shape or meet the demands of travelling with equipment. We seek a coherent supporting structure, then plan possible adjustments at the horse’s contact areas.

The saddle can accommodate some changes within its design limits. Panels sized for the horse and adjustable shims allow some parameters to be changed without compromising the tree’s supporting role. Explore the Boisflex-Lin saddle tree ↗

Plan using measurements

Knowing the horse’s current condition, muscles, conformation and how these vary through seasons and work helps us plan adaptation over time. Measurements taken at different times document the extent of these changes.

Altaï ScanFit is part of this approach: understanding observed changes in the horse to identify technically appropriate adaptations. Explore ScanFit 3D ↗