[diggerchick]

My saddle fits, I had it fitted and the vet also looked at it it was custom made for my boys back as he had a bad back
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Skyseternalangel]

Nice videos!

 

[LuckyRVT]

ok i have read 6 pages...and my eye balls hurt...stupid cold! do these videos apply to leather/tree western saddles? Looking into buying my first official saddle of my very own, and i am feeling over whelmed with brand, size, inches, centimeters oh my! I want to make sure my saddle fits.

 

[kbjumper]

These are great videos! I just found out that one of the saddles I own is a perfect fit for my friends horse!

 

[Remy410]

We had a Schleese fitter give a lecture at our barn. I was almost in tears afterwards when I realized how horrible the saddle I had fit my mare. I was able to find a used Schleese and our fitter come to our barn twice a year. The seat is kinda hard on my saddle, not so comfy for me but I'll deal so long as my horse is comfortable. Wish I could afford a new one.

 

[AEJaro]

What amazing videos! I thank you so much for posting them! Although now I am kind of worried about seeing how my saddle fits my mare!

 

[Rascaholic]

Rascal is almost ready for riding, last eval in July. These are a tremendous help!! I am stressing about the possible sore back issues with an ill fitting saddle. We have enough problems as it is LOL.

 

[Eileen]

Today I started thinking about the fit of our saddles then I started thinking about all the new kind of saddle pads there are and began woundering if some of these pads are making some of the saddles to fit incorrectly, and maybe because of this the pads are actualy rubbing sores and not the saddles. We had to go through a number of pads to find one just to fit Toby. Years ago we just used a heavy rug or a good blanket and never had problems with our horses backs and used a variety of saddles.

 

[KristinLynnCiscos19]

I actually watched these a while back and found out my saddle was not fitting my mare correctly. Very glad I found out before her back got sore!

Great videos, glad you posted

 

[Northern]

Thanks for posting these; I love the system because it's so thorough & makes so much sense.

 

[Koolio]

A good reminder about saddle fit

We are having some problems with our pony mare rearing. Although she is very green, this behaviour seems out of character for her and I suspect it has something to do with the saddle. After watching the OP videos, we will check saddle fit thoroughly before riding her again.

I know this is an old thread, but I think it is worth reviving. Thank you to the OP who started the thread and posted the videos.

 

[crimsonsky]

on that note (and maybe i missed if this was posted already) but this is a great video that's not too long and is very informative:

Proper Saddle Fit | art2ride.com

 

[LittleZeasel]

I am part of the group now starting to search for a saddle (Dressage). I have the difficulty, that when looking at catalogues, etc. they only give the Tree Width (N/M/MW/W), and the length (16.5", 17", etc.) but none actually include their gullet widths in the specifications (Tekna Saddlery for example doesn't list a single specification to their saddles on their website. Just pictures.)

So if I have all the measurements of my horse, including the needed gullet width, the length, etc. how do I go about next?

I'm unfortunately in East Tennessee and have so far not found a Saddle Fitter in my area - and all saddle fitters I find here in the USA are either in Florida (Wellington, Ocala area) with prices so much through the roof that I'd pay 4x the amount for the saddle of what I paid for the horse or way up north (PA, NY, etc.) ... I'm really in a sour spot for saddle fitters

Also: The Wintecs, as well as the Teknas, as well as some Tolouse offer this system, where you can change the triangle within the saddle - that widens the tree, but doesn't widen the gullet and that would cause the gullet to taper, I'm guessing. But that brings me to the same question that was posed somewhere above: A horse's spine seems to be even front to back, why would you want to have it narrower on the back, than on the front?

I am confused by this and grateful for advice and tips.

Thank you,
LZ

 

[Fargosgirl]

Wow what an eye opener! Those videos explained so many things about my old pony's behaviour, and his conformation. He is a POA who was ridden most of his life in a saddle with FQ bars! The channel was way too wide and now the muscles on both sides of his back are totally atrophied. He also has a terrible bucking habit when going into a canter, but that would only be natural since he was forced to wear a saddle far too long for him!

 

[RedTree]

Thought I should bump this thread up, the videos are great and very useful

 

[Busboss11]

These videos were a wonderful help to clearly demystify the saddle fit process. "Ted" was a great model for the demonstrations as the pressure points were stimulated the reaction showed clearly. This neatly tied the whole package together on what to watch for and why.

 

[KigerQueen]

Is there one for western saddles? I ride western and would love to see if mine fits perfectly.

 

[Eileen]

It would seem to me that a proper fit saddle would be the same for western as English. The pressure points would be the same.

 

[MiniMom24]

Some stuff on Western can be seen here. http://www.horseforum.com/saddle-fitting-issues/saddle-fit-45868/

(It's the Sticky just below this forum)

 

[unclearthur]

But that brings me to the same question that was posed somewhere above: A horse's spine seems to be even front to back, why would you want to have it narrower on the back, than on the front?

On a physiological level, the spinal processes, and associated ligaments, are generally larger in the thoracic area. This is basically because they're under more stress - they must cope with a moving shoulder and ribcage plus the weight of major vital organs inside it. A wider channel here helps stop the saddle interfering with the ligaments either side of the spine.

If you press gently but firmly along either side of the spine it's possible to feel the ligaments (but try not to prod too hard - some horses don't like it!), and as you move towards the tail you should notice a reduction in size.

As as channel width is concerned, it seems to me to be a mish-mash of design ideas. Saddles originally designed for heavier types often (but not always) have a wider channel than those for TBs and warmbloods, but styles that prove popular with riders are sometimes used across tree-types with little thought for panel changes.

Saddle makers, especially the bigger firms, are leather workers and businessmen, not necessarily horse people. Sad but true.