Saddle too tight at front?

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Mb23

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Apr 6, 2008
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After six visits from the saddler in as many months we have a new saddle which supposedly fits. I say supposedly as it seems very, very tight around the front.

My saddler is a master saddler and comes well recommended and assures me the saddle fits but given past experience (eg. where he insisted a certain saddle fitted and then - after I literally forced him to reconsider - came to the conclusion that it didn't fit at all and we needed a new saddle :mad:) I am sceptical. Said saddle is a brand new synthetic dressage saddle and is so tight at the front that I can barely slide my fingers underneath it when it is not girthed and when it is girthed and I'm on it I cannot push my fingers underneath the front at all, especially at the very top where the saddle first makes contact with the horse. My horse seems to literally bulge out of the front. The fit of the saddle otherwise seems ok (balanced on the back etc).

So my question is: how tight should the saddle be at the front? Also, is it better to have the saddle a bit too tight or a bit too loose? What harm can be done with a saddle that is too tight? The saddler is booked to come and re-check the saddle in three months time, should I wait until then or get him out straight away? Would a brand new saddle 'mold' with use or is it the tree that determines how tight the saddle fits?
 
i personally dislike synthetic saddles as they sem to have very little "give" in them. i have the same problem with a wintec which was fitted for my youngster and its very very tight around the withers /shoulders. i don't use it at all anymore as i felt it was restricting him and had the saddler come out 3 times to adjust it but its still not good. I did change the gullet to make it too wide for him and then used it with an inflatable korrector pad which was a very short term solution but am giving that up too now.
Have a new saddle coming this week to find a new saddle for him- no more synthetic ones and will only buy one if i fell it fits him well this time.
i def think that its better to have a too wide than too narrow as the narrow ones will pinch and will make them reluctant to go forward especially into canter but you can't beat having a saddle which you know is actually correct for the horse you are on.
i would get someonme else out and get their opinion if you can before any damage is done to your horse.
 
Yeeps that sounds waaaaaay too tight - I personally want to be able to slide my hand down the front of the saddle when mounted, otherwise I consider it too tight.

I'd get him back out immediately and tell him it doesn't fit and you either want it widened or exchanged for one that does fit.
 
I think your gut instinct is correct, it's too tight. You should be able to slide your fingers down from the wither 'like a knife through butter' if it's a good fit with the saddle on and girthed up.

I would imagine your horse would tell you it's not quite as it should be anyway? You might find they're tense, head up, short striding and reluctant to soften into an outline.
 
I presume from your description that the saddles too wide and sitting down on the horses withers? I would want 2/3 three fingers under at the front no room at all at the front I wouldn’t have the saddle on the horses back.

Is the saddle you have been provided with adjustable or fixed tree ?

I would be wanting them back out and the saddle fitted correctly but if that’s your sixth time I would be inclined to go elsewhere I’m afraid.

I personally believe to wide or to narrow neither are good. I think that saddles do have some wear adjustment so to say but the saddle should fit correctly from the start and not have to mold into position or anything like that.
 
The three fingers thing depends on the horse and isn't always a good guide to fit, you have to take everything else into consideration as well. I've got a horse who has never had 3 fingers clearance under the pommel, but her saddle does fit her properly. Depends on whose fingers too of course :)
 
Sorry - I don't think I explained well enough. There is plenty of clearance between wither and pommel (probably around two fingers) and the fit otherwise seems very good (at least compared to the other saddles we've had until now) but the saddle feels very tight where the flaps start, where the saddle first makes contact with the horse's sides at the front, further down from the pommel. I don't think the saddle is too wide, if anything I wonder whether we need to go one up one gullet size (it's a thorowgood one with changeable gullet and we're at medium) and whether that would make a difference to the tightness?
 
Mb23 said:
Sorry - I don't think I explained well enough. There is plenty of clearance between wither and pommel (probably around two fingers) and the fit otherwise seems very good (at least compared to the other saddles we've had until now) but the saddle feels very tight where the flaps start, where the saddle first makes contact with the horse's sides at the front, further down from the pommel. I don't think the saddle is too wide, if anything I wonder whether we need to go one up one gullet size (it's a thorowgood one with changeable gullet and we're at medium) and whether that would make a difference to the tightness?
Click to expand...

IMO it would depend where exactly its tight.....if its roughly where the gullet bars are....it may well help...you could always try a medium wide/wide and find out, but you'd have to make sure there's still sufficient wither clearance too:)
 
I had a Wintec saddle ''professionally fitted'' too and must admit that although it appears to fit nicely at the withers/pommel and along the back i cannot slide my hand down from the withers under the flaps as it becomes tight on the shoulders. I questioned the saddler at the time of fitting and he said that it was only important that the saddle was the correct width for the horse at the withers/gullet and that the shoulder would slide in under the flaps so it didn't matter it went tight. I'm not convinced though, any views?
 
Check the angle of the points compared to the angle of the horses back when the saddle is on and look if the saddle is in contact all the way along the back and seems to sit well and level. Much more accurate than where you can stuff fingers in easily or not :)
 
I have a thorowgood saddle which is tight in the way you describe - I think its just the way they are and if it happens, the saddle just doesn't suit the horse. As someone said above they have very little 'give' in them and I wouldn't buy another.
 
new saddler springs to mind!!!!!!
if next size gullet is to big they can add i bit of flock to make it right
i'd change it up then get a different saddler to come look, be cheaper to add some to make it smaller than getting them to change gullet too, unless saddle is just completely wrong.
 
Most cheaper(& many expensive) saddles are too narrow at the shoulder for the average labrador dog, let alone a horse. Use tie wire or such & mold it to your horse's shape to compare it to saddles in the shops. Remember also that if a saddle fits your horse perfectly when he's standing, it will probably still be too tight for him when he's working.

Unfortunately, after many attempts with professional 'master saddlers' & cheaper saddles(haven't the budget for a custom) I have no faith whatsoever. The last one turned my 8yo, calm, quiet boy into a bronc hoss & then tried to say it was "nothing to do with the saddle, just that he's a young horse... trust me, I start young horses".:eek: Considering I too train horses & don't get that behaviour as a rule, young or otherwise, I won't be advising that woman as saddler or trainer!

Balance International have a website with heaps of great info on it for saddle fitting. You should find that helpful in learning how to fit a saddle yourself. They are also helpful by email with further questions I found. They are currently also working on a DVD that I'm looking forward to.

Anyway, after trying my horse with various & sundry, including treeless, I gave up & decided to have a go building my own. Lo & behold, it actually worked too! Cost me $80 all up & I finally have a saddle that my horse is comfortable in! I used a couple of different densities(cushiest on the bottom) of closed cell foam for the panels, firm but not rigid plastic sheeting for the 'tree', so it's flexible but firm enough to distribute my not insignificant weight, along with the girth & stirrup pressure(that was the prob with treeless), and more foam on top to build the seat, covered in wetsuit material. I started with the various layers just duct-taped or velcroed together, until I was sure of everything, before eventually glueing and stitching it.
 
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