Fitting western saddles?

[marianne]

Following on from Marychick's thread about a western lesson .... I've often wondered but never found any guidance for fitting a western saddle. I can see that not going past the 15th or 16th vertebra has kind of gone out the window - but I can also appreciate that spreading the rider's weight over a greater surface area is better for the horse

Does anyone know if there are any guidelines?

[penny70]

If you look at sixfootblondes website I think she has some guidelines on there as far as I remember.

[MirandaSophie]

I'll be sure to find out the basics at least for you! xx

[specialized]

With western saddles the important thing is to have the correct shape of tree for the horse. Most western saddles cannot be adjusted except by using thick saddle pads, but these will not compensate for a badly fitting tree. The most common problem is bridging, where the saddle makes contact at the front and back of the bars with no contact in between.
Unfortunately there are many western saddles about that do not suit the shape of many horse types in this country, and in many cases they are so long that they impede the horse turning.
If you want to see a western saddle with adjustable fitting system on a lightweight western tree, look at the link below.

[marychick]

Obviously I'm no western expert but Jim did say in terms of saddle fit you still want to be careful not to go too long. The one we had on Molly was slightly long for her- being the typical Welsh D she is wide and short backed so I'm sure finding a western saddle to fit her in this country wouldn't be easy. As I was only borrowing the saddle for one session and we were just practising some basics we weren't too concerned but obviously if I was going to ride western more often I have to find a shorter saddle.

[MirandaSophie]

Ditto the above; it's pretty much the same as fitting an English saddle :-)