Saddle Fitting
To begin, lets talk about how a saddle should fit.
When a saddle is being placed on a horses back for fitting you want to make sure to not use any kind of pad or correctional pad underneath the saddle.
With the saddle placed directly on the horse's back, you want to make sure that the saddle is sitting level on the horse's back. You don't want the front of the saddle to be higher, nor the back of the saddle to be higher.
Most people when they first place the saddle up on the horse's back want to place the saddle too far forward on the horse's shoulder, or within the normal rotation area of the shoulder blades. This will cause the saddle to not sit balanced on the horse's back and the saddle will appear to sit higher in the front than in the back. Below is a picture of a saddle sitting too far forward on the horse's shoulder.
As you can see in this picture, this saddle is sitting on the horse's shoulder blades causing this saddle to sit higher in the front and lower in the back. Not only will this saddle cause some discomfort for your horse, it will also be hard to get the rider's leg in the correct position while riding. This saddle needs to be slid back into position behind the shoulder blades. Once the saddle is slipped back into position, the saddle will be balanced and the stirrup will hang down straight as well. Compare the two drawings below. The first image is of the saddle put too far forward, and the second image is of the saddle being placed in the correct position.
As you can see in the image above, the lowest point of the saddle is located in the middle of the saddle in the picture marked as good, and the lowest point of the saddle is in the back in the image marked as bad. The saddle should be as high in the back as it is as high in the front, with the stirrup hanging straight down.The second drawing is the correct fitting position.
A Quick Saddle Fitting Test
A good way to test if the saddle is sitting behind the horse's shoulder blades and their normal rotation area, is to perform this simple test
Saddle your horse up normally using your normal saddle pads and equipment. While on a lunge, take the stirrups down on the saddle and let them hang. Have your horse walk, trot, and canter on the lunge and watch the stirrups on your saddle. If the stirrups are swinging back and forth, the saddle is mostly likely placed too far forward and the saddle is not balanced with the lowest point in the center. If the stirrups do not swing, the saddle is most likely sitting behind the shoulders, and is not affecting the horse's range of motion.
Now, when looking at the saddle from the front of the horse, you also want to be aware of how much room there is between the horse's withers and the gullet area of the saddle. A good rule of thumb is to allow 2 fingers width between the gullet and the withers of the horse. Also, while looking at the saddle from the front of the horse, be aware of the angle of the tree of the saddle (not the stuffing or padding that is on the saddle).
You want to make sure that the angle of the tree matches the angle of the horse's withers. This is best explained when looking at pictures. Below are a few drawings. Take a look.
As you can see in the first small wither drawing, the horse's withers are the gray shaded area, that the tree does not match the angle of the withers and shoulders. This particular horse has sharp withers, and this wide tree saddle is too wide for him, and the saddle would not allow for the 2 fingers to fit between the withers and the gullet,. This saddle will press down on the withers.
The picture to the right of that image, is a tree that is too narrow for the wide and rounded shape of this horse's withers and back. This saddle will perch up on the horse's back and will sit with much more than 2 finger widths between the saddle gullet and the horse's withers.
The picture, that is marked as yes, is an ideal fit for a saddle. As you can see, this horse's back and withers are the same angle and same general shape as the tree of this saddle. This saddle will no perch on the horse's back and it will allow the 2 fingers width between the gullet and the saddle.
Here is a picture of a saddle that is probably too narrow for this horse.
Why do you think this saddle is too narrow?
First of all, this person can fit too many fingers between the horse's withers and the gullet of the saddle. This means that the saddle is perching up on the horse's back (or shoulder blades, if too far forward), and isn't fitting correctly.
Getting the Correct Width
A great way to help find out what size saddle your horse will need is to use the clothes hanger method. Follow these steps to fit a horse using the clothes hanger method.(withers tracing)
1. Find a wire hanger and completely unfold or cut apart the hanger so that the bottom of the hanger (the place where you would usually fold over your pants) can be placed over the withers of your horse.
2. Take the wire hanger out to your horse and place the wire hanger over the withers in the area behind the shoulder blades, where your saddle should fit. NEVER IN FRONT OF THE SHOULDERS.
Pretend that the blue thing above is your hanger.
3. Make sure the hanger you are using is placed down tight enough on the withers of the horse that the hanger will match the angle of the horses back, and shoulders. Once you have an angle created with the hanger, don't bump it, you are going to trace this hanger on a piece of paper or poster board.
4. Line a pencil or pen up on on the outside of the hanger and trace your hanger creation on a piece of paper or card board. Once you have it lined out, you can cut the tracing out, so that it looks like a triangle (cut the bottom of the tracing to be straight across).
5. You can use this withers tracing to find saddles that are the correct angle and width for you horse This is a great tool to make sure saddles are not causing discomfort for the horses in your barn and as you shop for a new saddle
Clinical Signs That Your Saddle Isn't Fitting
Detecting pain in the back is a great way to determine if your saddle is not fitting correctly. What is stated below is only a check to see if a horses back is sore, and if soreness is found, a veterinarian should be contacted to find out why.
Start by pressing your fingers down on one side of the horse's backbone, starting at the withers and moving your way down to the horses tail. If the horse flinches, or moves down away from your fingers, make note of that location.
The three most common areas to show pain are:
1. Approximately 18" to 2 feet from the withers towards the horse's tail. This is usually caused by the rider or the saddle.
2. 6" to 8" in front of the point of hip (along the horses back). This is usually caused by some kind of front end lameness, such as a bruise, tendon, or other soft tissue damage.
3. Soreness just behind the hip joint is usually caused by hind end soreness.
Checking the withers for pain is another way to determine back pain caused by the saddle. To detect wither pain, press your fingers on either side of the withers. Pain here is usually caused by a saddle that is too narrow for a horse's back
Problems From a Poor Fitting Saddle
A saddle that doesn't fit a horse correctly not only will hurt the horse's back, but can also cause other problems. A saddle that doesn't have enough bearing surface can cause a horse to want to hollow his back and travel with a high head set, and he will pull on the reins.
Placing a saddle too far forward on top of the shoulder blades or scapula, which can rotate three inches backward, will restrict the shoulder movement. This will make it hard for the horse to elevate his shoulders and shift his weight to his hind end. Overtime, this will cause soreness in the horse's back and will shorten the horse's stride.
If the gullet is too narrow side to side, the saddle will press into the sides of the horse's backbone causing the horse to avoid bending.
For more information about saddle fitting please visit our resource articles that can be found at http://www.fourwinds.net/resource/linkpage.html.