Hi Harmony

Thank you for your post. It was very interesting reading your post. It is always good to read other fitters' experiences.

I have a question - if you don't mind - maybe you could expand a little on your post. In my dealings in fitting saddles I have come across a great number of horses who were fitted with saddles that were too tight over the shoulder or bridged the back a little without a pad on. When the pad was fitted the saddle, over the shoulder was even tighter. This particular horse was in a lot of discomfort and had a large degree of muscle wastage and was certainly much more comfortable with a saddle which had greater rock and greater flair over the shoulder. I also fully agree about padding with a western saddle. After all the pads are the flocking! The way I always fit is to get the saddle that fits the contours of the back, then add the right padding I always fit wide over the shoulder too allowing the horse to have freedom over the shoulder. Does the way you fit differ from this?

Thanks

I hope everyone had a good new year, and maybe soon we'll all get a break in the weather!
Sixfootblonde-
It sounds like the horse you are talking about had extreme long term problems with saddle fitting; it is certainly an extraordinarily bad case! One thing that springs to mind in your descriptions is where the saddle is placed- I find that many times people want to fit their western saddles too far forward, right over the shoulders. Since a western saddle is made to sit further back than a forward seat or jumping saddle, there shouldn't be an interference problem with the shoulder in a properly fitting saddle, even when there is fairly significant weight gain in an adult horse. Most often problems and discomfort are caused when the pommel is up over the neck, or the saddle sits too low over the withers. The weight needs to be distributed evenly along the back, so trying to fit too wide to compensate means that a built up pad ends up being needed or else the saddle will often tip forward and still put pressure along the front.
The biggest key to fitting is checking that the angles of the tree and skirts are compatible with the horse. Since the tree in a western saddle has a larger surface area and is not made to fit as tightly as an English saddle, it should not be expected or required to find a saddle that exactly conforms to the contours of the horse in the same way as an English saddle.
The next important factor that I rarely if ever hear mentioned in this country is the rigging. The positioning of your latigos in relation to the balance of the saddle on the horse can make a huge difference to fit. A saddle may be the correct tree size widthwise in the gullet and the bars, but if your cinch is too far forward it can effect the balance of your whole saddle and lead to an uncomfortable ride.

This really is a fascinating thread. Despite a lot of experience with English saddles, I'm pretty much in the dark with Western saddles, and have relied on Don Fechner to find good saddles for our current horse, and also for one we had on loan - both are pretty sensitive, not over wide QH mares and both seem extemely happy with Don's efforts!
To the saddlers, I ask if anyone has had any contact with the Society of Master Saddlers in the UK? They are exceptionally keen on education - due to the master saddler based at our yard, they hold fitting seminars with our horses annually (just english saddles at the mo!)
They have also grasped the idea of training saddlers to fit, refurbish and even make new side saddles, which like western saddles, have very specific fitting criteria.
I'm sure they'd be delighted to have a talk by a western saddler or maybe even to set up some training sessions -most 'english' saddlers must get asked about western saddles from time to time.
If you would like any contacts, let me know and I'll see what I can find out.

I would be very interested in that. It really does seem to be an excellent program through the Society of Master Saddlers, and I appreciate the variety that they try to train in. I have some involvement with our local sidesaddle chapter, and I know that the fitting can be quite problematic due to the short supply, and the nature of the ride, so it's nice to hear the Master Saddlers train in that as well. If you know anyone who would be interested in a western saddle fitting lesson just let me know. I do travel to do clinics etc, so it'd be possible for me to come up to your part of the country if needed to put a session on. That's great information and thanks so much for the post! I can be reached at harmony@harmonyhorses.com

Hi Hunterrookie,

I too would be very interested in this. Any info we can share to help the horses have a better life can only be good. Looking forward to hearing from you maria@western-saddler.co.uk