Archive for the ‘western horse saddles for sale’ tag
Western Horse Saddle
i have a question about checking the fit of my western Saddle on my horse?
i have a horse who was originally trained western, but steps and goes like a dressage horse, so was trained dressage too. he still knows western because i have tried it in my English Saddle, but we have two old western saddles gathering dust in the back of our Tack room and i wanted to know how you check to see if it fits him. help me!!!!!!
No one’s answered your question yet, and I believe the reason is – it’s very difficult to assess saddle fit on a horse, and almost impossible to explain in a paragraph or two.
The first thing I would do is take the saddles to a good saddlemaker and get them checked to assess if they have intact trees and if there is any damage or weakness to the leather. You said they were “old saddles, gathering dust” so I think they need to be checked. Also, be aware that truly old saddles were often fairly narrow to match the type of horses ridden years ago, and often don’t fit today’s modern horse.
Perhaps take along an English saddle that fits your horse properly, and ask the saddlemaker if the Western saddles look similar in the tree, or quite different. I would also want info on what type of English tree has fit your horse well, and do some comparision in the Western. Obviously, if your horse requires a wide English saddle he’s also going to require a wide Western saddle.
If one of the saddles looks close, you can do some really basic checks by setting the saddle on your horse, visually comparing the angles of the tree to your horse’s shoulders, checking for clearance on the spine, making sure it isn’t too long. If it still looks okay you need to have someone get in the saddle and then you should check again.
There are books out there on Western saddle fit – and it takes a whole book to explain the process. You can also hire a saddle fitter to come and give you some advice, the only problem is – often they are retailers and want to sell you a saddle. Or you can hire someone that is unbiased such as a “Port Lewis workshop” saddlefitter – they use gel pads to determine saddle fit and were the only thing that actually helped my hard-to-fit mare find a saddle that actually didn’t pinch her shoulders.
Good luck.
How to Western Saddle A Horse; www.thinklikeahorse.org – Rick Gore Horsemanship