Western Newbie... Info needed.

I've ridden western many times, and I love it.
Though I ride more english I want to buy Western tack as well so I can do both.

I have no clue how measure or what to getfor a saddle or bridle I basicly want an all purpose/ trail saddle. I know theres soooo many western saddles, and I don't know very much about fitting at all. I want it to be a perfect fit for me and my boy.

And Yes he's already broke both English and Western, so no worries about that.

What types of bridles and bits should I use? Please give me as much information as I can. How can I measure him to know what size and what stuff I should look for.

Im worried if I get the wrong size itll give him back issues.

- Western Horse Saddles - Saddle Online

Was my first western starter set and I still love it, Has pretty much everything you need aside from a bit and a girth. I haven't seen your horse in person but judging by the pictures he is pretty similar to mine shape wise and this saddle fits cookie perfectly. For the most part I've seen people have bad luck with saddle packages but I didn't find that to be the case in this particular instance. If you did end up going with something like this (or this package specifically) I'd recommend some different reins rather than using the ones in the set, they are generally kind of stiff and uncomfortable in your hands. But reins are cheap and generally easily replaced.

Hope I helped!

Since this is your first western saddle, go for a all purpose one.

Saddle fit:
Horse: There are several different tree sizes in each saddle. There is semi quarter horse, quarter horse, & full quarter horse bars. Semi quarter horse has a gullet of 6", quarter horse is about 6 1/4", & full quarter horse is about 6 3/4"-7". If you have a very wide shouldered horse, go for the full. If your horse is a medium or medium wide in english saddles, he would be a full quarter horse in western saddles.
Rider: You should fit pretty snug in the seat of a western saddle. You want to be sitting deep with no gap behind you. There should be 2-4 fingers width between you & the pommel of the saddle.

Bridles & what not:
You can ride in snaffle bits in western. If your horse already works well in a snaffle bit you can use that. Or you can go on horse.com & look at the bits in the western section & find which one suits your horse. It all depends on what discipline you are planning on riding in western. If you choose to do barrel racing, you'll need a mechanical hackamore or a gag bit. If you are doing western pleasure you'll need a fancy shanked bit. There are a lot you can choose from. The reins can be split or loop. Depends on what you are comfortable working with and which western riding sport you are doing. The headstall can either be one eared of have a brow band. There will be no cavesson on it.

Goodluck.
-aintnocitygirl

For trails, just a nice browband headstall would be fine. They are all pretty much "horse" sized, but sometimes they are huge and sometimes they can fit a pony. Billy Cook's are quite small but can still fit an average horse, just compare a few at the tack store. A plain snaffle will also be fine, the most common are the offset dees. I think all the saddle widths have been covered by previous posters, but I just wanted to warn that not all saddle brands or even models are the same when it comes to trees. For example, my new Billy Cook is advertised to have QH bars, but it is very wide and fits my big chunky bulldog and appy.
There is a store in brantford and it has tons of nice western stuff for good prices. They also have tons of used saddles and shipping is free over $100. I get most of my stuff there lol. Here's the link incase you want to check it out:
Pleasant Ridge Saddlery & Western Wear