Saddles (a common sense guide to)

   Let me talk a little about the saddle. Saddles are one of those things that are really fun to shop for. They are big, and expensive and smell good (kinda like a new car). But just like a new car a new saddle is a series of compromises. No car can be luxury, fuel efficient, sporty and be used to pull a horse trailer. You really need several vehicles to accomplish all these tasks well. Saddles are the same. There is just no such thing as an all purpose saddle all though there are "all purpose" saddles. The first thing to think about before buying a saddle is the style of riding you will be doing. Dressage versus western versus jumping versus endurance. All these activities require different styles of saddles. The next thing, logically to consider is price. Prices of new saddles range from about 50 bucks up to about as much as you would like to spend. Saddles costing several thousands of dollars are not at all unusual. Whether or not these upper end saddles are worth the extra cost depends on who you talk to. The people selling these saddles certainly seem to think so but it leaves me wondering what the saddle builders can possible be putting in these saddles to make them worth 70 or 80 or 90 or even 100 times more money than a cheap Asian import. After all they are only made of a little steel and fiberglass or wood covered with some leather. We assume they mean cow leather however this is often not specified. Consider that you may very well end up buying several saddles during the useful life of just one horse and you may very well find out that the saddles you bought for your first horse do not fit your current horse. I guess that means more saddles. It seems horse owners are constantly trading or buying new saddles and as I said earlier, it is fun.
   Now let's assume, just for fun, that you are (like me) not independently wealthy and having a full time saddle maker standing by to meet your every saddle need is out of the question. Let us also assume that you are a novice dressage rider (because this website is aimed at the novice and because I have had more experience with dressage saddles). Where do we start?
   Let's start at your local tack shop. Leave your check book, credit cards and money at home and let's go look at some saddles. Remember you will probably fall in love with one of those saddles and the salesperson will assure you that you can only get the special price if you buy it today and "don't worry you can always bring it back if it doesn't fit your horse" (as long as you don't get it dirty). Never mind all that, we are just looking, and we are hopefully learning. It is impossible to know how a saddle will feel under you unless it is on your horse but we can try to get an idea by putting the saddle on a saddle stand at the tack shop and sitting in it. Some saddles will just feel better than others (although the idea of a dressage saddle actually being comfortable eludes me. They look more like bicycle seats than easy chairs to me and I have never sat in a comfortable bicycle seat). Make a list of the saddles that fit both your butt and your budget. Keep in mind that there are hundreds of saddle makers out there and you will only see the products of a few at your local tack shop however buying a saddle without at least sitting in it is risky business. You should try to visit several tack shops in compiling your list of favorites.
   Now comes the hard part. Trying to fit the saddle to the horse. No two horses have exactly the same back. They are all different and saddle makers will tell you that a saddle that is the perfect fit for your horse this year may not fit him next year as his back changes as he ages or becomes more muscular. The obvious fix for this problem is to buy another saddle (or to have the current one adjusted) and then another and if your shape is changing along with your horse shape then the problem just gets all the more complicated. Is there a solution to this? Do horses really perform better with a saddle that fits perfectly? Is it abusive to put an ill fitting saddle on a horse?
   As I said at the beginning of this article, buying a saddle is a series of compromises. The perfect fit for both you and your horse is probably an unattainable goal however obtaining a pretty good fit is doable. I like to get a piece of 1/4" soft copper tubing about 24-30 inches long. Bend it over the horses back by placing the center of the tubing at a point about 2-3 inches behind the horses withers (the point where the mane meets the back) extending down either side to a point about 3 inches behind the horses scapula (shoulder blade). This is the area upon which the tree of the saddle will rest. The copper tubing holds it's shape better than a coat hangar. Once you have obtained the angle you can transfer (trace) the angle to a sheet of paper. With the angle drawn to the paper you can use the drawing to confirm that the tubing angle has not changed when you get back to the tack shop. Once back at the tack shop, see which of the saddles you like fit the copper tubing by holding the tubing up in front of the saddle tree and comparing the angle of the tree to the angle of the copper tubing. Once you have found the correctly angled saddle (referred to in dressage terms as narrow, medium, wide or extra wide although some manufacturers refer to the different widths in centimeters such as 28, 30, 32, or 34 centimeters while western saddles may be called quarter horse trees or full quarter horse trees) that also fits your butt and the length of your thighs then you are half way home. (Oh did I forget to mention that longer legs often require a larger seat in order to obtain the correct angle of the thigh when in the saddle) There are, however, a couple of more variables I need to mention. As I said before the only way to really see if a saddle fits your horse is to try it on him. If you horse is severely swaybacked or has extremely high withers the saddle fitting task becomes more difficult. These cases often require special saddle pads to correct. Because of this most tack shops will allow you to try a saddle out before purchasing it. You want to put the saddle in a clear plastic bag or some other protective wrapping and position it on the horses back without a saddle pad. Check to see that the saddle has 2-3 inches of clearance the entire length of the spine. There should be no contact between the saddle and the spine and the withers. The flaps of the saddle should settle about 3 inches behind \the scapula. The saddle should rest on the horses back and not be so long as to rest on the horses loins. The saddle should sit level at the bottom of the seat with the cantle (depending on the style of the saddle) about 2-3 inches higher than the pommel. If all looks well try to put a person of about your size in the saddle and recheck each of these points. Using a flat hand, slide your fingers underneath the pommel, near the horse's withers (the rise in the base of neck, where it joins the back). Your fingers should fit comfortably between the horse and saddle. Be certain that you can place at least three fingers between the horse's withers and the arch below the pommel. Have a helper lift the horse's left foreleg and pull it forward while your fingers are in between the top of the horse's shoulder blade and the pommel. As the horse's shoulder moves, make sure the saddle doesn't impede shoulder movement. Perform the same test on the horse's right side. Stand behind the horse and look through the saddle (between the underside of the saddle and the horse's back). If the saddle fits, you should see a tunnel of light shining through. Run the flat of your hand under the front of the saddle and the horse to see if there is any pinching and that the pressure is relatively even along both sides.
   If all is well you can now put a saddle pad on the horse but keep the protective wrap on the saddle while you have a short ride. By now you should have a pretty good idea as to whether or not the saddle is a keeper.
   There are all kinds of saddles available and they all do the same thing. They make it easier and more comfortable for you to ride your horse and easier and more comfortable for your horse to be ridden. That is pretty much where the similarity ends. There are Western, Australian and English saddles and many variations of each not to mention the treeless saddles that are becoming more popular. When in doubt read a little more as there is no shortage of writings on the subject available on the internet. Different manufacturers use different ways of measuring and use different terms to describe those measurements. Patience is usually the best course of action. Take your time and enjoy the process.