More Thoughts on Saddle Fit

I can remember back 7 or 8 years ago when I worked for another company. I had a good friend in sales and I was in production. I can remember us reading these articles about saddle fit, tree design, and how to diagnose and remedy fit problems. We would read these opinions by these “experts”, and laughingly wonder, “Who appointed these people as experts?” We also used to joke that we would someday submit ourselves as professors of “Saddle-ology”, and write an article of our own. And who could dispute it? It seemed to us that, in this business, anyone who’d rode awhile, trained awhile, or built saddles awhile was somehow an expert.

Let’s start with the basics. The horn goes toward the front of the horse. Don’t laugh, I’ve had to answer that one! Start by checking out the saddle. Check the under side of the saddle for any abnormalities. It should be smooth with no bumps or humps or anything protruding anywhere. Believe it or not, even a new saddle could have a problem that was missed in production.
When fitting a new saddle let’s start out by NOT using a pad. Make sure the horse is clean so you don’t dirty the wool, in case you need to return it. Put the saddle on and try to move it around until you find where it wants to settle. Now reach under the front of the skirt, right about where the rig catchers are and feel for the end of the tree bar. In most cases it is made of wood and should be distinguishable. On a horse of normal confirmation, the front of the bar should be against, but not on top of the shoulder blades. The front of the bar is flared and tapered up, so as to mesh with the area where the shoulder blade tapers down. Too far back and the saddle will likely tip down in front. Too far forward and you’ll be inhibiting shoulder movement. The gullet, or fork, should come down within an inch or two (depending on the saddle style) of the wither. IT SHOULD NOT TOUCH THE WITHER. If the gullet does come down too far, or if it is sitting excessively high, stop now. Your chances of success are not good.
Move to the front of the horse and look at the angle of the skirt, which is dictated by the tree bars. How do these angles look compared to the angle of the horse’s back? Put a little downward pressure in the stirrup. The saddle should not roll. Now take the horn in one hand and the cantle in the other and try to rock the saddle like a cradle. If it rocks, you’re high-centered and you have a problem. Lastly check for bridging. This occurs when the saddletree makes contact front and back, but not in the middle. Run your hand under the saddle along the bar. There should not be any space, but even pressure front to back.
If everything looks good so far, stand back and look at the saddle. Get a picture in your head of where the saddle is sitting. Now let’s pad up.

Don’t over pad.

Now here’s the part where there are a million opinions, mostly because there’s about that many products and designs available for padding. My philosophy is simple; a good fitting, well-made saddle should not need 2” of padding to make it work for you. I believe the “Princess and the Pea” where it pertains to padding. If you have pressure point problems, all the padding in the world isn’t going to eliminate it. Also, few people consider the fact that as you add layers of padding you are adding to the insulation layer on the horse’s back, making it harder for the animal to dissipate heat. It also affectively narrows the gullet width of the saddle, causing it to sit higher and possibly create new pressure points. Start with a wool blanket and pad more as you NEED.

Let’s girth up

So we’ve made sure we‘ve brushed the horse’s back clean. We’ve got a wool blanket on and we’re going to put the saddle back on, in the same position we had before. Once again move the saddle around helping it find the “sweet spot”. Make sure the blanket is straight and even under the saddle. Grab the cinch. If the saddle is situated correctly, the cinch should run close to but not rub the front legs. Now let’s girth up with LIGHT pressure. We don’t want it loose, but not too firm yet. If the saddle is equipped with a back cinch, attach it; making sure that it is connected in the middle to the front cinch with a connecting strap. Lead him around a little and observe the saddle. A new saddle is going to need a little breaking in. It should be settling in during this process. After a few minutes of doing this, stop and check the cinch. It likely will have loosened just a little. Retighten, a little more snug this time, yet still not as tight as you would to ride.

Let him tell you

Your horse is constantly communicating with you. Day in day out, he let’s you know how he feels. He’ll likely tell you about this new saddle, if you are paying attention. The use of a round pen is optimal for the next step, but a long lead will suffice. You want to gallop him a little, both directions, and observe his attitude. If everything feels O.K. he should be calm, alert and cooperative. The saddle should not pop up in back nor should it slide forward or back. If he bows his neck, snorts, maybe bucks a little, or just in general looks uncomfortable, you likely have an issue. Go back and check that you have everything saddled up properly. If so then you have one of two problems. The saddle is a poor fit. Your horse has confirmation issues. If you have successfully fit this animal in the past then that leaves the saddle as the culprit.

Let’s ride

For this next step we’re going to assume that the horse reacted favorably and everything looks good to this point. The last two steps were to give the saddle a chance to conform and settle in on the horse’s back. Check to make sure that, as the saddle has settled, it hasn’t come down too far in the gullet. At this point the gullet should be high enough to slip three fingers between it and the wither. A little less for a rope saddle, a little more for a tall fork like a cutter, etc. The saddle should be sitting fairly level and should not have moved much on the horse.
Now cinch up as you normally would to ride. DON”T CINCH TOO TIGHT! Many people make the mistake of “cutting him in half”. In some cases when you get a good initial fit, I’ve seen a 200-pound man step into the saddle without girthing up at all. Although I don’t recommend trying that, it illustrates the point that you don’t need excessive pressure if you have a good fit.
Climb into the saddle. Pay attention as you put pressure in the stirrup that the saddle doesn’t roll. It will move a little, but it shouldn’t roll. Once again, listen to your horse. How’s he acting? Start slowly. Walk before you run. Give both you and your horse time to get used to it. Now how does it feel to you? Does it tip you forward? Does it feel secure? All new saddles will squeak. Don’t let that concern you. In just a few minutes of riding you should have a feel for whether you and your horse are comfortable.

The final test

Again we’re going to assume that everything has gone well to this point. What I recommend next is to give the horse a good work. Get him sweated up. IMMEDIATELY go and unsaddle. Now check his back for anything out of the ordinary. First, we want to see a good sweat pattern. The back, under where the blanket was, should be wet throughout. Hot spots are areas where there is no sweat. Typically they occur in either the wither or the loin areas, but can also occur in other areas. They are caused by excessive pressure in that area. Trouble areas may also show as hair that is raised or roughed up. The saddle moving around back and forth can cause this. Lastly, poke around a little on his back. See if he’s tender anywhere.

Definite don’ts

1. Don’t rush into a buying a saddle cause it’s “purdy” or because Jim Bob up the road said it was right for you. Horses are as individual as you or I. Make sure it’s right for your horse and your particular discipline.
2. Don’t settle for an ill-fitting saddle.
3. Don’t resort to “miracle” pads to make up for an ill-fitting saddle.
4. Don’t use the breast collar or any other accoutrements to hold the saddle in place.

If you’ve passed all these tests, then congratulations, you are now the proud owner of a new saddle. Hopefully it is an investment that brings pleasure to you and your horse for years to come.

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