How do you fit a western saddle ?
lipigirl
April 30, 2009 February 22, 2011
Forums
I've seen advertised a western saddle which I am hopefully going to go and see. I currently own a Barefoot Nevada treeless western (it came with my mare). So question is, normally western saddles are treed and I want to know how you fit one. My mare is 14.2hh and I am now a large lady with large thighs - suggestions?
Re: How do you fit a western saddle ?
*[i]I had always ridden bareback, until recently, so I am not very familiar with saddles[/i]*
Western saddles have trees/bars of varying configurations. The 'bars' can be called QH or semi-QH and so on. This is in reference to how wide the tree of the saddle is to fit the back widths of various horses. Some horses are wider/flatter in the back than others in addition to various back lengths and wither heights.
If this is for your Paso mare, I would consider looking for a "rounded skirt" and/or an Arabian western saddle.
*is it generally accepted to lay the saddle on the horse's back w/out a pad to look and see if the spine is free/clear of touching the saddle, skirts don't bump the hip bones, adequate wither clearance and the bars lay flat/smooth along the horse's back and upper barrel?
You'll need the correct seat size for yourself, though I'm not sure which would be most appropriate. [i]I know popular sizes are like 15", 16" and 17", with there being some smaller/larger than those common sizes.[/i]
My Google page of results:
http://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+f…" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;