Question: Does your saddle reeaaalllly fit???

Great post HalfPass! Thanks so much for sharing :)

Thanks MIE, im sure these videos are extremely helpful! But my stupid computer is not letting me watch them :( I mean I can hear the guy's voice but the video is frozen, :/ I will have to wait and try on another computer

I'm sorry that they are not working :( I hope that you'll beable to, very informative!

As a matter of fact, I bought chalk today and did alot of what I was shown in the videos, and I am proud to say that my saddle is a great fit! Cept one thing...lol, it's a smidge too wide.

But with my "Corrective" half pad with shims in the front to fill in those pockets that are just around his shoulders, I am able to get 4 to 3 fingers clearance in the pommel area.

My saddle's gullet is 4 finger width, perfect! And the panels lay lovely on him, and the tree is has the right shape to it - I'm quite pleased with what I learnt!

I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm no Master Saddler by far...but with what I was able to obtain from the Schleese Vids, I was able to be a smidge more educated to be more assured on the saddle fit for my guy.

Ideally, I need to get a saddle that's a bit narrower, it should be a Medium instead of a Medium Wide, but it is hard to fit him because he is A Symetrical. I've tried Mediums, but then they accomodate his withers and topline, but not his shoulders or broad back....

So I'm stuck on that part.

Very imformative!
I was very lucky that my moms old saddle fit me and my horse okay, but only with a riser pad unfortunately but I will definitely think of these when I go to buy a new saddle. Thanks for sharing the knowledge!

I too rechecked my saddle fit after watching the videos and was pleased that it passed in 8/9 checkpoints. Unfortunately the one it didn't pass was the gullet channel. I knew the saddle was supposed to clear the spine which mine does, but there NO room beyond that AND my saddle tappers in the back to the very edges of the spine. Clear, yet not enough for the video. That's very disheartening.

That said, why would ANYONE make a saddle with a gullet that tapers? Is there any horse out there that would need a narrower channel in the back - do their spines get skinner there? (no) Most of the high end saddles I've looked at in the last day online (4k saddles) taper to what looks to be too narrow for my fairly basic Appaloosa/TB. Heck, even my saddle is a 4k new saddle. UGH.

:( I'm sorry to hear that, but on the positive side, you now know!

Can you sell your saddle and find one that does accomodate better in the Gullet Channel?

Well sure. Sadly, I just bought in January, but at least I got it used so the value should hold. It's just not really fun trying to find a saddle that fits all the points, and me and my taste :) And around here there's mostly western riding, so dressage saddles to try are fairly limited - but around.

I can get you in touch with a great Saddler - he's in my area but might beable to point you in the right direction?

One other point, if the channel is so important, why isn't there sizing for that? Flap lengths are listed, gullets - obviously - but why not channel? I guess no one knows they should?

I know it - and I agree, that there should be far more knowledge out there for the general public where saddle fitting is applied.

Not many know about the shape of the panels, whether they are gusseted or not. As you said - the Gullet Channel, the shape of the tree etc, etc.

All the majority do, is get the width size and seat size. It's a sad shame, which makes you realise how many horses out there, are going around with improper fitted saddles.