Saddle Light Center: Fill & Download for Free

Ah, one of the worst-planned battles in the history of cinema. To anyone interested in Medieval warfare, it looked like this:Preword:Much of the value of cavalry is “shock”, i.e. psychology. The size and speed of mounted warriors make the defenders want to flee or get out of the way, thus breaking formation. So a cavalry charge is a game of chicken.But if defenders do not break formation, most horses will not run headlong into an obstacle. And not just a spear wall. A horse will not happily run into a crowd of people, either, unless there is an opening. A horse is not a rhinoceros, and its long legs are delicate (and a death sentence if broken).So, if the enemy doesn’t rout, the charge will falter as the horses run sideways, exposing the cavalry’s flank to missile fire and countercharge.That’s why light cavalry was historically used to engage the vulnerable flanks/rear of enemy units, to rout wavering enemies, clear out skirmishers or harass enemy infantry.There was a brief period in history between the 11th-14th centuries, where the combination of cavalry technology/techniques (heavy armour, stirrups, saddles and lances) and poor quality of infantry made knightly head-on charges devastatingly effective. You’ll notice, however, that the Dothraki possess none of these and are light, not heavy, cavalry.The Winterfell cavalry planThe plan of the Winterfell defenders is to open the battle by sending their light cavalry head first into the center of the enemy infantry formation. This is already serious malpractice and sounds like an order given by a moron.But wait, there’s more!First of all, no backup is sent, or planned. The infantry stays in defensive formation while the cavalry charges out alone.Second, the cavalry charges into darkness. The entire cavalry is committed to a charge with no vision of what is coming at them or how the enemy is positioned.Third, and most egregiously, they are charging undead. Shock will not work at all against undead. The enemy army will not rout to the cavalry charge, so what exactly are they even trying to accomplish?The outcome of such a stupid plan is actually shown rather realistically - the charge does nothing, failing to even slow down the enemy.

Adjusting your string height and neck relief for optimal tone and playability is not hard and I can tell you how to do it right here.It’s a three step process. Keep in mind that it won’t work if you change the order of the steps.Step 1 - Assessing Neck Relief Using the Low E String as a Measuring Device.Tune your guitar to standard pitch. This doesn’t have to be concert-perfect, just within about five cents, +/-.Hold the guitar in a natural playing position in your lap.To form the low E string into a near perfect straight edge measuring tool, use your left hand index finger to fret the low E string on the first fret (as if playing an F note), and use your right hand (any finger) to fret same low E string on the highest fret of the instrument. It doesn’t matter how many frets you have. The string still forms a straight edge.Hold onto this and take a careful look at the gap between the low E string and the top of the seventh fret. In the photo below (sorry for the severe barrel distortion in the lens), I’m showing you the .009”, gap on my Strat, which is chosen based on personal preference. Numbers and feeler gauges are not necessary. Once you get the hang of it, you can “eyeball” and “feel” your way to the neck relief setup that’s perfect for you.If you use a light touch or a lightning fast playing style on electric, it’s perfectly fine to set up your 7th fret gap as short as .003”. From the “eyeball” perspective, this is the smallest gap of no contact. Conversely, if you’re a rambunctious, heavy handed player, you can go a few thousandths more. The ideal gap is the one that conforms to your instrument and playing style. Work with this a little and it’ll become easy to tell when it’s right for you.Step 2 - Adjusting The Truss Rod.Scenario A - Too Much Back-Bow:If there’s no visible gap and the E string is touching the top of the seventh fret, you’ll need to loosen the truss rod, irrespective of personal preferences.Turn the truss rod nut counter clockwise by a quarter turn, then check your tuning. If there’s no change in the tuning, then the adjustment isn’t doing anything yet. Continue loosening the truss rod nut until the tuning goes a little flat, then tune back to pitch and check your seventh fret gap. Repeat until you have at least .003” and no more than .011”.Scenario B - Too Much Neck Relief:For seventh fret gaps that appear to be greater than .009”, you’ll need to tighten the truss rod — which takes more care.Turn the truss rod clockwise until you feel it start to tighten then continue in 1/8 turn increments. Between each 1/8 turn increment, it’s best to assist the neck in settling in to the increased tension. Clench the guitar neck tightly right where it joins the body and hang onto the guitar body with your right arm and elbow. Now pull back on the headstock a few times to assist the neck in settling in and not resisting the increased tension on the rod.It’s perfectly normal if the neck creaks and cracks a little as it’s tightened. If the tuning is going sharp, then the truss rod and your adjustments are working. Continue retuning and tightening in 1/8 turn increments while checking your 7th fret gap. Actually doing this will take less than half the time it does to read.Step 3 - Adjusting String Height at the Bridge:Once you have your neck relief gap chosen it’s time to adjust the bridge. On electrics, this is easily done using small tools according to the mechanics of your guitar bridge. The photos below shows how to measure string height.The first photo is showing a good benchmark string height for the first string. To read this, notice how the edge of the ruler is resting squarely on both the 12th and 13th frets. The 1/16” mark on the ruler is peeking out just above the string. As with the neck relief setting, if you’re a light-touch player, you can go a tad lower and if you’re a heavy hitter, you may need to go a little higher.Here it is again for the low E string. Same thing except that the 1/16” mark on the ruler is hiding almost dead center behind the core of the string. The low E will almost always need to run a little taller than the high E.Adjust the 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th strings incrementally to make a gradual transition between both E strings. You can do this either by ruler or by eye.Once you’re at these benchmark settings, you can go up or down, depending on your instrument, technique and preferences. If you have a marvelous fret job and a fantastic neck, you can go lower. On cheaper guitars you may have to go higher.Acoustic Guitars:The benchmark measurements I mentioned above should be easily attainable on any decent electric guitar. For acoustics, you may need to go higher on the string height but the seventh fret gap is the same for both.Adjusting string height on acoustics is a lot more work. For each small adjustment of the bridge saddle, the strings must be loosened and the bridge saddle removed so it can be either filed or shimmed for lower or higher string height. You can probably expect to ruin a new set of strings in the process, but that’s just a cost of doing business on acoustic guitars.To raise string height, you’ll need a shim kit. Good shim kits are available here:Welcome to Custom Guitar SaddlesTo lower string height, you’ll need to file or sand the bottom of the bridge saddle. Personally, I find sanding to be a great way to wreck a good bridge saddle. Slight curling and rippling of the sand paper tends to round off the edges and it’s really hard to keep the bottom of the saddle at a perfect right angle to the saddle’s edge.For saddle filing, I made a simple jig (shown below) that has a standard hardware store file carefully mounted at a right angle into a chunk of scrap plywood. Moving the saddle across the file removes material while retaining perfect flatness, crisp edges and a near perfect right angle between the bottom and the edges of the saddle.If you’re a beginner having finger pain, it’s recommended that you try some extra light gauge strings. For electrics, that would be a .009 - .042 set and for acoustics, a .010 - .047 gauge set should offer some relief until you develop some finger strength and the fingertips toughen from use.Any time you change string gauge, however, the entire process outlined here will have to be repeated.Good luck and have fun!

Ditch the saddle. Ride bareback for a few months.Seriously. This will help you develop a deep and centered seat, and teach you that your legs aren’t just dangling appendages to stick in stirrups. You’ll learn how to sit every gait with ease, and just how much pressure to use with your legs.I started out riding bareback, and have been told I have a wonderful natural seat and that I’m light in the saddle, even though I weigh over 200 lbs. In fact, I didn’t have a saddle until I had been riding for 2 years.Not enough people learn to ride a horse bareback. I think it’s to the detriment of the horse and the rider.