Fitting Your Western Saddle

Western saddles can pose a challenge when trying to accommodate the finer points of horses’ backs. We spoke with Lise Krieger, a certified saddle fitter and the founder of New England Saddle Fit, to understand more about properly fitting a Western saddle.

Just like their English counterparts, having a Western saddle that fits well is imperative to the comfort of your horse’s back. An ill-fitting saddle can cause painful pressure points, sore back muscles, and even lameness. You can learn more about the detrimental effects of the wrong saddle on our blog post, The Effects of Poor Saddle Fit.

Perfect Fit

Generally speaking, a Western saddle should lie level on the horse’s back, with the bars of the saddle matching the shape and angle of your horse’s withers. The front of the saddle should fit behind the shoulder blade, so it does not interfere with the horse’s movement. “The seat of the saddle should not come past the T18 vertebrae,” Lise explains. “The horse’s back cannot sustain weight past this point and will be injured if weight-bearing surfaces extend past this point.”

“The bars are the part of the saddle that most directly impacts a horse’s back and should, therefore, match the horse’s curves; the bar angle needs to be as close to the shape of the horse’s back as possible,” she continues. You can utilize a gullet measurement system, such as the Easy Change Gullet Gauge, to help determine which size bars you should purchase for your horse. Semi-Quarter Horse bars are designed to have a 6 1/4″ gullet, while Full Quarter Horse Bars have a 6 1/2″- 6 3/4″ gullet. The vast majority of horses will fit into Semi-Quarter Horse or Full Quarter Horse bars. For horses with broader backs, saddles with Extra Wide Quarter Horse bars feature a 7″ gullet. 

The size of the gullet refers to the measurement, in inches, across where the saddle bars meet the pommel. Measure across the open space of the tree, to the corresponding part on the opposite side of the saddle. It is easiest to do this while your saddle is on a saddle rack so that you can use both hands for an accurate measurement.

Additionally, several specialty trees are designed for horses with unique saddle fitting needs. For example, Arab saddles, usually with 6 1/2″-6 3/4″ gullets, have shorter skirts and saddle designs to accommodate their shorter backs (Fun fact: Arabians have one less pair of ribs than other breeds of horses!). Conversely, gaited saddles feature a higher gullet to accommodate the higher withers that are typical of gaited breeds. Draft saddles are designed with an 8″ gullet, specifically for large draft horses and draft crosses. Mule tree saddles have been developed to accommodate equines with a flatter back shape, this is common with mules, but they can also be used on many stock breeds.

The Finer Points of Fittings

“The most common fitting mistake that I see is that people buy saddles from private sellers without a trial and/or having a saddle fitter help. Measuring the gullet in inches is one way to assess saddle fit, but only one aspect to be considered,” explains Lise. “It is just as important to have a knowledgeable saddle fitter help with Western saddles as it is with English saddles.”

Unlike English saddle fit where a saddle can be adjusted at the tree or through flocking of the panels in many cases, Western saddle fit has no fine-tuning adjustments that can be made. This means that corrective padding must be used to accommodate the fit issues. “If the saddle fits in such a way that it won’t hurt the horse but needs some fine-tuning, I suggest using shim pads to fill in the gaps in many cases,” explains Lise. “That is not to say that corrective pads should be used for a too-small saddle—such a saddle should not be used on a horse.  But shims can be used to pad up a saddle that is slightly wide, or to fill in the gap caused by bridging in a swaybacked horse.” 

Even when a Western saddle fits well, it still needs a thick, dense pad for additional padding and comfort for the horse. The pads protect the back from painful pressure points and help to prevent back pain. Western saddles are designed to be used with protective and supportive saddle pads. 

When assessing the fit of the saddle, how the saddle sits on the horse’s back is extremely important. Take note, is the saddle rocking, or is the swell tipped down in front?  This indicates that the gullet is too wide; in some cases, this can be ameliorated with a shim pad, such as the Weaver Wool Blend Felt Shim Pad, or a built-up pad, like the Cavallo Built-Up Pad.  Alternatively, if the front is sitting higher than the cantle, this means that the saddle is too narrow. Unfortunately, there is no way to change a saddle that is too narrow, you will need to find another saddle to ride in.

If you detect space between the horse’s back at the center and the bottom of the saddle, more commonly known as bridging, this indicates that the shape of the tree is not appropriate for the horse’s back. In some cases, if the horse is sway-backed and the rest of the saddle fits fairly well, a center shim pad, such as the Matrix Western CoolBack Shim Pad, or a bridging pad, like the Tucker Bridge Pad, can be used to fill in this space. In other cases, bridging can indicate that a different shaped tree may be more appropriate. Take the time to try many different Western saddles on your horse’s back to determine which works best for your horse’s unique conformation.” Shimmable pads can also be used to help if a saddle is slipping to one side or another due to the horse’s conformation, for example, if one shoulder is bigger than the other,” Lise explains.

While specialty Western pads can be used to adjust saddle fit, they must be used with caution. They cannot be used to fit saddles that have drastic fit issues or have a tree that is too narrow. It is also important to not use more padding than you need (known as “over padding”). This may cause the saddle to twist or slip out of place.

When it comes to properly fitting your Western saddle, don’t hesitate to reach out to an experienced professional to help. “It is less expensive to utilize someone who is trained in saddle fit than it is to buy an incorrectly fitting saddle (or many)  and have vet bills for horse injury, or doctor bills resulting in rider accidents due to behavioral issues from poor saddle fit,” concludes Lise. A properly fitting Western saddle is more than just a smart investment, your horse’s health and comfort depend on it.

From a wide selection of Western saddles to an extensive inventory of specialty Western pads, we have everything you need to ensure that your horse is wearing a properly fitting saddle. If you have any questions regarding saddle fit or saddle selection, we encourage you to reach out to a member of our highly trained sales staff. For our local customers, we are also proud to offer professional saddle fit consultation services for both English and Western saddles.