Good evening all!
I am posting from the UK and the reason being is, I am on the look out for a suitable western saddle for my 16.2hh Trakehner. He takes a 17" standard width English saddle at present.
I appreciate anything with full QH bars will probably come too low to his withers, so, just a feeler for what brands accommodate the more slight horse best, all suggestions are much appreciated!
Thanks!
You might want to decide what type of western saddle you want as the bars and seat will be slightly different. “standard” measures of FQHB or SQHB will vary between brands as well as saddle types – so one brand’s FQHB might be another brands SQHB…
And although seat size is measured from horn/swells to cantle, what really matters is the space for your thigh as some swells lean forward and some cantles lean rearward making the seat seem larger than it really is.
My Trakehner was pretty wide despite his withers, so if I had to guess he would have been a wider bar angle, but taller gullet
Not the best solution, but I’ve always had to use a felt wither riser pad with my TBs in their western saddles:
https://www.statelinetack.com/item/western-felt-wider-wither-pad/WIE20/
It depends on the brand and depends on the tree they use. It’s maddening that there is no standard when it comes to Western saddle trees.
Can you post pictures of your horse? Might help us see what kind of tree he might need. It all depends on his shoulder angle and his width. Even if he is not “thick” he might still need a full QH bar if that’s the angle that is needed to match his shoulders.
I also echo the questions of the other poster. What kind of riding do you want to do? What kind of western saddle will you be looking for?
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I have a SWB/TB mare that has a high whither and a light build (very TBish) and finding a saddle was tough. I eventually lucked into a used Schleese Devin, BUT, I was also advised to look at saddles made for gaited breeds because the tree was more accommodating through the shoulder and whither.
https://www.horsesaddleshop.com/western-saddle-guide.html was a fantastic resource for determining what your horse needs, and the sales team is super helpful. I’d been on the verge of ordering a Circle Y from them to try out when I found my saddle.
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