What is a Saddle Tracing or Template?

Saddle fitters use tracing or templating to record the shape of a horse’s back. Here’s how it works.
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Have you ever heard of a saddle fitter taking a “template” of a horse’s back? Or perhaps you’ve seen a tracing in action—flexible ruler, masking tape, and all?

Whatever you call it—a template or a tracing—saddle fitters use this measurement to record the shape of a horse’s back. He or she can compare this record to follow-up tracings over time or send it to a saddle manufacturer to produce a custom piece of tack for that horse.

During the Society of Master Saddlers Introduction to Saddle Fitting Course, held May 1-2, in Hagerstown, Maryland, master saddlers Ian Hastilow and Laurence Pearman demonstrated how qualified saddle fitters take a basic template.

First, gather your materials: a large piece of paper, an 18-inch flexicurve ruler (available online or at craft or woodworking stores), half-inch-wide masking tape, and a pen. Then, stand the horse squarely on firm, flat ground

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Alexandra Beckstett, a native of Houston, Texas, is a lifelong horse owner who has shown successfully on the national hunter/jumper circuit and dabbled in hunter breeding. After graduating from Duke University, she joined Blood-Horse Publications as assistant editor of its book division, Eclipse Press, before joining The Horse. She was the managing editor of The Horse for nearly 14 years and is now editorial director of EquiManagement and My New Horse, sister publications of The Horse.

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