WESTERN SADDLE FITTING
FITTING A SADDLE FOR THE HORSE
All saddle makers have their own tree designs and styles and therefore a saddle should be selected to fit the horse and the rider as comfortably as possible.
What follows are a few hints to use when fitting a saddle or buying a saddle on-line in order to have the best chance of selecting the right fit. Reputable on-line and retail saddle sellers will exchange an ill-fitting saddle for free – it may just be the delivery cost that may impact on the buyer.
The essential of a good saddle fit is to ensure that the most contact between the saddle tree and the horse is engaged.
The following should especially be ensured:
Withers:
This is the point where the neck connects with the shoulder blades and at the front of the back. It also relates to the distance between the should blades. This point is also where the height of a horse is measured.
The average wither size will usually fit a medium saddle tree and in American horses will relate to a Quarter horse, Tennessee Walking horse and thoroughbreds. South African Boerhorses, Arab crosses and Nooitgedachts – typical non-sporting stock horses found all over the country and usually used for trail rides may require a narrower fit and semi-quarter horse trees will in most cases fit these smaller horses.
A trend to cross breed Friesians and even Percherons with Boer horses and Nooitgedacht type horse to accommodate heavier riders may require wider saddles – full Quarter horse, draft or extra wide saddle bars. Draft and extra wide saddles bars are often not obtainable off-the shelf and may have to be ordered well beforehand.
A prominent, narrow wither may indicate the lack of muscle behind the shoulder blade and if no suitable saddle can be found, a shoulder bridge pad may be inserted which fills in this more hollowed area, allowing the saddle bars to make better contact with the horse.
Large muscles behind the shoulder blades may necessitated a wider tree
Horse with defined wither and usually fits a medium, regular, or semi-Quarter horse tree.
Horse with rounded withers that typically needs a Wide or Full Quarter Horse Tree.
Tree Widths:
Semi-Quarter horse bars have a 6 1/4" gullet, and Quarter Horse Bars normally have a 6 1/2" to 6 3/4" gullet. These two widths will fit most South African pleasure and stock horses well.
Full-Quarter horse bars usually have a 7" gullet to fit broader backs, typically the draft horse and quarter horse crosses.
Arab saddles, usually with semi quarter horse bars may have a slightly shorter gullet and endurance horses in South Africa will normally fit this bill while western tack is usually not used due to its weight in endurance events.
Gaited horse saddles accommodates a higher gullet, typically for American Saddlebred horses popular in South Africa but not so much in the Western styles, usually a 6 ¾ to 7 ½”, due to high withers in these breeds.
Draft horse saddles feature an 8" gullet and are made specifically for large Draft horses and Draft crosses such as Percheron crosses used in trail rides.
The South African Friesian is technically a light draft horse but finer boned and bred to suit sports better than draft.
Warmblood horse used for show jumping and with strong sloping shoulders and height between 15 and 17 hands would normally fit full Quarter horse bars.
Of course, the above are only guidelines. Cross breeds would have a myriad of unique configurations.
To send a measurement of your horse’s withers to a supplier do the following:
Drape and bend a piece of wire over the withers of your horse to outline the shape. Ensure this is done 2” or 50mm behind the shoulders. Without bending the wire, trace the wire shape onto a piece of paper and send this to your seller who should be able to measure the withers for a proper gullet fit.
Topline
The ideal topline of a horse is where the withers and croup are at the same level. The croup refers to the high point of the hind quarter.
Where the croup is significantly higher than the withers, having a “downhill” look padding to the withers may be inserted.
A swayback causes the saddle to bridge between the withers and the croup area causing the saddle to put more pressure on the withers and loin. In severe cases a bridge pad may be the only solution. In horses with a poor condition or older horses, getting a saddle to fit properly is often problematic.
A sort backed horse may require shorter bars and skirts while straight-backed horses may cause a saddle to rock in the middle and again, padding may be required.
Typical sway-back horse and below – remedied with a pad.
Age and condition of the horse.
A saddle initially fitting well may not fit a horse forever. Especially with our veld – horses loosing condition in winter and also with age and maturity, a horse’s conformation for saddle fitting changes during its lifetime and care should be taken to ensure a saddle fits properly.
Fitting for the rider - Seat Sizes:
Saddle fitting also applies to the rider.
The seat is measured by the distance between the cantle and the swell or pommel.
To determine what size saddle you require and as a general rule of thumb, measure the distance between the low end of you buttocks to behind the knee.
The build of the rider would also determine the size of the saddle – and in general the rider’s buttocks should rest against the cantle but not pressing against it and allow at least 100mm clearance between the front of the body and the swell of the saddle. Do not force those buttocks into the saddle, buy a larger size saddle.
The following may be used as a guideline:
Your Thigh Size of saddle
Less than 16.5 inches 15 inches
16.5 to 18.0 inches 16 inches
18.5 to 19.5 inches 16.5 inches
20.0 to 21.0 inches 17 inches
21.5 to 22.5 inches 17.5 inches
More than 23 inches 18 to 20 inches
The indication below will point towards the saddle size you may require:
Youth 12"- 13" seat
Small Adult 14" seat
Average Adult 15" seat
Large Adult 16" seat
Extra Large Adult 17" seat
Sizing for the Rider
Rider preference for saddle size varies — some choose a larger seat and other prefer a smaller seat.
If you have long legs, you may need a larger seat size, so your knees do not extend over the fenders.
A slightly larger seat is better than too small. When sitting in the saddle your thighs should not touch the back of the swell and as mentioned above at least a 100mm gap should exist between your front and the swell. A small saddle allows of improper balance.
A too large saddle similarly unbalances the rider. Parents should take care not to buy a too large saddle for their youngsters thinking it would save them buying another saddle in 8 years when the child has doubled in size.
Always adjust the stirrups to the proper length when evaluating a saddle so as to determined the feel of the seat and the balance of the saddle.
In addition to seat size, several other characteristics would determine not only the fit of a western saddle but also the styles preferred:
- Seat depth: Some saddles have deep seats designed to keep you in place during extreme activity, and others have shallower seats to allow for more movement.
- Seat slope: The seat angles from the back towards the cantle and the slope can range from relatively flat to steep.
- Cantle slope: The cantle can be high and straight or have a slope that is mild or steep.
- Cantle risers: The cantle can be flat or have a rise to allow for more depth support – however it requires a higher leg swing over the cantle if too high and the rider is less than nimble.
- Fork style & Pommels: Fork styles can range from wide swells to fork saddles with barely any swell and with higher or lower horns or sometimes no horns at all.
- Fork angle: Forks can be straight or angle away from the rider.
- Knee rolls: On some western styles, knee rolls are integrated while it can also be bought and fitted yourself.
Horses (and saddles) for courses:
Before buying a saddle, be sure to keep the riding requirements in mind. For barrel racing and roping a higher quality saddle is required in order to withstand the tremendous pressure exerted on the saddle. For trail riders, a safe and comfortable seat is a more important requirement.
Stock saddles should be light weight, sturdy and comfortable and fit the horse and rider perfectly to allow for many hours in the saddle and need no frills and pretty attachments. It should be able to be handled with less care, have a strong though light weight tree that can easily be repaired such as fibre glass trees. Cinch straps and stirrup leathers and other saddle parts may be of synthetic fabric such as cordura and nylon but should preferably be easily, especially on lower cost saddles. Stock saddles are often left and worked in rain and sun and if in leather and not well cared for, may deteriorate faster than synthetic fabrics.
EVALUATE THE SADDLE ON THE HORSE
With the saddle positioned correctly, the bars of the tree behind the shoulder blades of the horse, evaluate the following points:
Gullet Clearance
Place the saddle on the horse’s bare back without a pad. There should be two to three fingers space between the top of the wither and the gullet of the saddle.
If you can vertically fit your whole hand between the bottom of the gullet and the wither, the tree is probably too narrow.
If there is room for only one finger or the bottom of the gullet is touching the top of the wither, the tree is probably too wide.
Good gullet clearance
With the saddle positioned correctly and with the bars of the tree behind the shoulder blades of the horse, evaluate the following:
Levelness of the Saddle
Stand away from the horse and make sure the saddle sits. If the saddle is not level, try adjusting it by using shims and pads, sliding it forward or back to raise or lower the front, or trying different rigging positions.
If the front of the saddle is high, the tree may be too narrow.
If the front of the saddle is low, the tree may be too wide.
Sweat on the horse:
Sweat can be a sure way to see if the saddle fits. The sweat pattern should be even, without dry areas that marks pressure points. Areas where the hair has been rubbed or ruffled can indicate excessive movement of the saddle.
Seating the saddle on the horse:
Placement
The front of the bar of the saddle tree should be behind the shoulder blade to allow for freedom of movement.
The blanket or pad and the skirt of the saddle can cover the front of the withers but the bars of the tree must be behind the shoulder blade.
Front Cinch
Do not over tighten the cinch. The front cinch should be about as tight as your belt; if it’s comfortable for you, then it should be comfortable for the horse.
Do not over tighten the cinch to compensate for a saddle that rolls. Try a different saddle pad, a wider cinch, neoprene cinch, or flank cinch to help secure the saddle.
Proper saddle placement. Bars of the tree should settle behind the horse's scapula.
The flank cinch provides stability to the saddle and should not be tight against the horse. Be able to slip two fingers between the cinch and the widest part of the belly but it should not be so slack as to hang loose below the horse. This is dangerous to both the horse and rider as the horse can get a hoof stuck in there
A flank cinch prevents the saddle from slipping side to side causing an irritating rub.
Numnahs & Padding
Padding should not lift the saddle away from the horse too much as it will prevent you from being in contact with the horse’s movement.
Pads should absorb sweat and dissipate heat. Use natural fibre numnahs such as wool with is a natural shock absorbent and has a capillary action to remove sweat into the wool fibres itself. Cotton has excellent qualities too. For occasional trail rides synthetic wool is less expensive and also has relatively good absorption especially if attached below cotton numnahs.
Wool is a great example due to it drawing off liquid by capillary action.
Neoprene absorbs shocks well but should be used on performance horses not under the saddle for long rides.
Keep your horse, blankets, numnahs, and cinches clean. Keep your saddle in good condition by using saddle soap containing mild soap, lanolin as softening ingredient (not to soften you leather, as softening – as much as hardening of leather) destroys the leather fibre structure but to prevent hardening of the leather due to loss of natural oils. Beeswax preserves leather and prevents moisture from decaying the leather.
Ride balanced – riding unbalanced places unnecessary strain on the horse and tack and causes as much chafing as a badly fitted saddle – both to the rider and the horse.