fitting a western saddle?

Ryder

New Member
Dec 12, 2008
82
0
0
North Yorkshire
How are western saddles fitted, length wise? I just wonder, as they are so long & heavy, yet my arab types have short backs & were recommended to have no more than 16.5" English saddles, so I'd suppose the western saddles would be no good? The idea being that longer trees would put pressure on the loins.
 
The length really depends on the seat size, and the skirt on the saddle. Obviously square cut skirts have more coverage and extend farther back than round cut skirts. Tree sizes vary --you have semi QH bars, QH bars, full QH bars, and ones to fit arabs, drafts, walkers, and halflingers.
 
From what I can make out, there is precious little fitting done - or possible, for that matter - with Western saddles, for the most part (I am sure there are some notable exceptions). The thick saddle blanket underneath is, I think, expected to 'take up the slack', and does seem to do a pretty good job. The fact that there is such a large bearing area gives more leeway for errors than there is on a modern European saddle.
 
The back of a western saddle should not press down on the horses loins, when the saddle is placed onto the horses back there should be a good three inches between the saddle and the horses back.

If the back of the saddle is already touching the horse or quite close then when the rider gets on the saddle will rub or dig in or both causing discomfort and pain.
The saddlle should not pinch anywhere, have a good wither clearance and seat of the saddle should sit right on the horse.

I only know all this as I had my western saddle checked for fit yeaterday.

My main concern is why you would want to ride a horse with a twisted back, unless you have excellent balance I can't imagine being ridden to be comfortable for the horse.
 
Last edited:
From what I can make out, there is precious little fitting done - or possible, for that matter - with Western saddles, for the most part (I am sure there are some notable exceptions). The thick saddle blanket underneath is, I think, expected to 'take up the slack', and does seem to do a pretty good job. The fact that there is such a large bearing area gives more leeway for errors than there is on a modern European saddle.
Sorry old woman, but western saddles are fitted, just the same as english saddles, the pad under the saddle is just padding, where you have flocking in an english saddle we have a seperate pad under a western saddle. The large bearing surface of the tree in a western saddle does give a greater weight bearing area, but it still has to fit, given the bearing area is bigger however it does mean the fitting is slightly more forgiving and for example varioations in weight can be delt with by adjusting your pad thickness (just the same as slight fitting issues can be fixed by adjusting flocking) :eek:

The tree in a western saddle is not the full length of the skirts, so when looking at western saddles you really need to get hands on to find out the tree length. The overhanging skirt would not put pressure on the loins (it normally skims over the area but doesn't put any weigh on it), for the same reasons you don't want an english saddle sat on the loins.
 
Last edited:
not trying to be argumentative, but wnting to understand things ...

The Western saddles I have seen (all over the world, not just here in the Uk) have little if any padding on the undersurface of the bars. Hence I do not understand how the saddle can be fitted to the horse other than in length, width and rear 'flare' Surely 'the slack' is indeed taken up by the quite-separate padding used, be it blanket, sheepskin or specially=produced pad?

Personally I think that in the hands of a considerate and understanding horseman, this offers far more scope for adjustment for a horse's changing shape and developing musculature than does an English saddle fitted by a skilled saddle fitter, as long as the correct basic size of saddle is purchased in the first place. However, it also offers a lot more room for error by the inexperienced and/or uncaring. I am not alone in this thought.
 
have little if any padding on the undersurface of the bars
Dead right, there is just the underside of the skirt and fleece.

Hence I do not understand how the saddle can be fitted to the horse other than in length, width and rear 'flare'
The essence of fitting a saddle is just that though, the tree must be of similar shape as the back and give good balance of the seat above it, just as when fitting an english saddle.

Surely 'the slack' is indeed taken up by the quite-separate padding used, be it blanket, sheepskin or specially=produced pad
The blanket/pad is all the padding, but putting a thicker pad under an ill fitting saddle wont make it fit/not cause damage. The pad can be adjusted to take up slack under a saddle which fits (as in is the correct shape).

Sorry if I misinterpreted your original post, over the years you get a bit too used to hearing 'a western saddle only has to fit the rider' and 'just pad it out' and seeing horses with damaged backs from said saddles :eek:
 
From what I can make out, there is precious little fitting done - or possible, for that matter - with Western saddles, for the most part (I am sure there are some notable exceptions). The thick saddle blanket underneath is, I think, expected to 'take up the slack', and does seem to do a pretty good job. The fact that there is such a large bearing area gives more leeway for errors than there is on a modern European saddle.

pretty much what iv come to expect from you what happened to the old woman i used to respect.
 
In my experience there is still a lot involved in fitting a Western Saddle, it is a misconception that one saddle fits all.

I know where this comes from and will let you know if you want to know.


You can't just pad out a Western Saddle to make it fit, if you could then you would not have full bars, quarter bars etc. There'd be only one size and loads of different thickness pads.

When I went to buy a WS for my pony I tired at least 30 and only 2 fit him, however they didn't work for me as they were like concrete to ride in.

Your horse only has one back, ruin it and you ruin the horse and make it miserable.
 
I had the same problem with my short-backed paint horse - most western saddles left rub marks on his loins because they were too long.

There's not much leeway for fitting a western saddle - at least, not compared to an english saddle that can be reflocked. A western saddle either fits or doesn't. Points to consider are the bars (determined by the angle between them); the rock (same as in an english saddle and describes the curvature of the panels); and the length of the saddle. Too wide in the bars can sometimes be corrected by padding up, but too much/too little rock or a too-long saddle? May as well throw it out and start over.

This is only one of the many reasons I gave up riding western. Saddle-fit is a nightmare. And they're damned heavy - my last one weighed nearly fifty pounds!

Sadly, I know lots of people who have owned the same western saddle since the Eisenhower administration and used it on every single horse they've owned since. I don't think this is a "western rider thing" so much as a regional thing - many people in my area simply don't realize that all saddles do not fit all horses. *sighs*
 
newrider.com