The Perfect Fit

Finding the right saddle for your horse is a mix of high-tech and hands-on approaches.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Finding the right saddle for your horse is a mix of high-tech and hands-on approaches

Lectures on how to fit a saddle are staples at equine expos and for good reason: It’s a complicated subject to master.

When you try on a pair of shoes, you know right away whether they feel good on your feet. Your horse knows if his saddle fits, too, but unfortunately he can’t tell you what he thinks—at least not in words. So it’s your job to try to see through the fancy padding and accessories and determine whether the underlying structure fits his back correctly.

As you likely know, it’s much better (and more cost-effective) to fit a saddle correctly than to try to fix a back-pain issue or retrofit an existing saddle. To that end, we asked three leading researchers on the subject of saddle fit to share their latest findings and advice. 

Saddle-Fit Basics

Let’s start with a brief refresher course on the ABCs of saddle fit. Traditional saddles are built on a “tree,” which is the saddle’s skeleton. Trees come in various materials and designs, as well as different lengths and widths. To fit well, a tree’s shape must mirror the horse’s back conformation: wither height; back length, width, and outline; and shoulder angles and prominence

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Jennifer O. Bryant is editor-at-large of the U.S. Dressage Federation’s magazine, USDF Connection. An independent writer and editor, Bryant contributes to many equestrian publications, has edited numerous books, and authored Olympic Equestrian. More information about Jennifer can be found on her site, www.jenniferbryant.net.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
309 votes · 309 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!