Considering going western... Update: We're western now!

[Preposterous_Ponies]

I’m looking to possibly pick up some western tack for my jumper / trail horse mare. I know ZERO about western riding or tack, but I am thinking I want a comfy saddle to wander around the trails on. Her current English saddle is fine, but too small for me (she is used a lesson horse for wee kiddos).

A few questions:

• How does one go about fitting a western saddle. My mare takes a WIDE tree. Would that be full quarter horse bars?
• My seat size for English is 17.5 ish. What size seat would I take in western?
  -What type of saddle would be best? I may eventually like to try barrels with this mare, as she is compact, speedy, agile and has an enormous butt for all that power.
• Can I get a decent used saddle for cheap (300ish)? What are some okay brands?

[La_Gringa]

Full QH bars is for horses with not a lot of wither. If your horse has higher withers a wide may sit too low . If she is a chubbier type with low withers a full QH bar saddle is the one you want but try as many as you can to be sure it fits. There is a lot more to a western saddle and fit is essential to prevent sore rub spots.

Price wise I would go used and get the best quality you can with the best fit. 300 is on the low side but you should be able to find a decent one if you shop around. I prefer not a big swell in the front of the saddle. I am heavier and the swell is too restrictive… and I am coming from English too. A Wade style saddle has no front swell but you can buy one that has detachable soft swells if you need the security. The swells are the part that comes up beside the horn. It is to help you stay in the saddle in case of a spook or buck. I just don’t like them… too restrictive.

[Preposterous_Ponies]

Here is a picture of the mare, which might help:

https://scontent-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/1901546_10201460203621392_976431512_n.jpg?oh=7523d7d19491155b6ffdcc903353e65e&oe=554BA725

She is not the best looking TB out there, but man can she JUMP. And she has the best mind I have seen in a horse.

[La_Gringa]

She has a wither… so I would try a semi first and then a wide… to see. My QH mare takes a wide but she’s a short wide tank type.

Your horse being a TB may do better in a Semi QH Bar, because of her withers. The saddles are very different than English with the way the tree is made and you don’t want the front of the saddle too low and rubbing those withers. A wide may sit too low.

[Pocket_Pony]

[QUOTE=Preposterous Ponies!;8029552]
I’m looking to possibly pick up some western tack for my jumper / trail horse mare. I know ZERO about western riding or tack, but I am thinking I want a comfy saddle to wander around the trails on. Her current English saddle is fine, but too small for me (she is used a lesson horse for wee kiddos).

A few questions:

• How does one go about fitting a western saddle. My mare takes a WIDE tree. Would that be full quarter horse bars?
• My seat size for English is 17.5 ish. What size seat would I take in western?
  -What type of saddle would be best? I may eventually like to try barrels with this mare, as she is compact, speedy, agile and has an enormous butt for all that power.
• Can I get a decent used saddle for cheap (300ish)? What are some okay brands?[/QUOTE]

I would suggest making a back map of your horse and then taking cutouts to a tack store that sells used saddles to get an idea of what types of bars might fit. While it is generally accepted that full QH bars are wider than semi-QH bars, there isn’t a standard per se that all QH bars are such-and-such measurement, so it isn’t easy to just say “go out and get this saddle.” Then you also have Arabian bars, mule bars, gaited horse bars, etc. if you’re looking at saddles that aren’t necessarily made for a working stock horse.

Seat size is also different. One saddler’s 15" may fit like another’s 16". I ride in a 17.5" (jumping) to 18" (dressage) saddle, but have also comfortably ridden in a 17" to 19". For western saddles, it will also vary depending on the seat style (reining, barrels, equitation, Wade, etc.) - I just got a 15" saddle but could probably fit in a 14" in this style, but my last one was snug at 15.5".

Get thee to a saddle shop where you can sit in a bunch of saddles to get an idea of what type of seat you like, what type of saddle style you like, what the market is for buying used.

Having grown up riding english, I found the foray into getting a western saddle to be quite daunting and actually from beginning to end it has taken me a few years to get what I really like.

[La_Gringa]

Agree with PoPo, best to sit in a lot of them and make the back map… although I am not an expert on how to do this. Pocket Pony how do you make a back map?

[Pocket_Pony]

[QUOTE=Preposterous Ponies!;8029583]
Here is a picture of the mare, which might help:

https://scontent-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/1901546_10201460203621392_976431512_n.jpg?oh=7523d7d19491155b6ffdcc903353e65e&oe=554BA725

She is not the best looking TB out there, but man can she JUMP. And she has the best mind I have seen in a horse.[/QUOTE]

Her withers don’t look too bad. Her back is flattish and the way she’s put together makes me think that you might have trouble with a saddle slipping forward and/or sitting down on her in front. Looks like bars will want to gravitate toward the pockets behind her withers because while her back is more flat than dippy, it angles downhill in the front. So you might consider that you’d also need a pad that will balance out the front-back, and those aren’t cheap, either.

[La_Gringa]

I found this which shows how to make a back map I am not sure if this is the only way to do it
http://www.crestridgesaddlery.com/build-a-back-map.html

[Preposterous_Ponies]

She is slightly downhill which makes things slightly more complicated. There are a few western saddles at the barn that I can likely try out, at least to get an idea of what shape suits her.

Any thoughts on types of saddles that are good? Probably looking at lower end barrel saddles, used.

[La_Gringa]

Barrel Saddles tend to be deeper seated, a deep pocket to stay in around tight turns. THey are also light weight fiberglass trees usually. The horn is thinner and taller so it can be grabbed onto

Roping Saddles are heavy…wood tree is needed to support the rope/cow. They have a larger wide horn. They vary vastly on styling, and details. I am not very knowledgeable about Roping saddles… They are too heavy and I never plan on roping

Trail Saddles tend to have more comfort features, padding, horn is just average size. There are so many brands and they all differ a bit. I like Circle Y saddles… but I personally have a Tex Tan… which I ride in. The trail saddles vary with cantle height too. Mine is a lower Cheyenne roll on the back. Some of the Ranch type saddles have a higher cantle

Cutting Saddles… are flatter not deep seated. They have a tall horn for holding onto, and the swells are larger to keep you in as a horse goes side to side. The stirrups also are thinner on cutting saddles than say on a Roping or Trail Saddle.

These are just my basic things I learned when beginning to learn this stuff. I am in no way an expert… but I was at a barn that did Roping, Penning/Sorting, barrel Racing and HS Rodeo so I learned a bit about different saddle types. I really like the Wade Ranch Saddles. I don’t have one they tend to be pricey for the good ones… but I want one eventually. I went for a used Tex Tan. I paid around 600 for it on Ebay but it is a larger seat size and was almost new.

[Preposterous_Ponies]

So for wandering around the farm / dabbling in barrel racing / trail classes what would you suggest? A trail saddle with a deeper seat?

[HPFarmette]

After a lifetime of English I got a trail saddle with no horn. Anytime I tried a western saddle in the past, the horn bothered me. Just a thought.

[saddleup]

Is there any way you can take your horse to a tack store? I’ve done that several times, always with a buddy so the target horse stays happy. The tack store staff would bring out different saddles to my horse trailer and we’d get a pretty good idea of fit and price. Much easier than guessing or trying to map his back.

[Preposterous_Ponies]

[QUOTE=saddleup;8029755]
Is there any way you can take your horse to a tack store? I’ve done that several times, always with a buddy so the target horse stays happy. The tack store staff would bring out different saddles to my horse trailer and we’d get a pretty good idea of fit and price. Much easier than guessing or trying to map his back.[/QUOTE]

I could bring her into the store without a rope on the busiest shopping day and she would contently go to sleep. She has literally had lightening strike about 20 feet behind her and only tensed up. Like I said, best mind I’ve ever seen (but I am biased!).

Realistically though, that would be very difficult. The area is very much English.

[Pocket_Pony]

Yes, that’s the back map system I’ve used. It was VERY helpful to me in determining that the saddle I got from that very company did not fit my horse.

If you use Romex, it is stiff enough to hold its shape, but otherwise you could trace it onto cardboard and cut out various pieces and then take those to the tack shop.

[La_Gringa]

The horn bothered me at first. but after riding my very cowy cutting bred mare to sort cattle I quickly learned to apprecitate it to help me when she cuts a cow.The one thing about western saddles… that I learned the hard way. You should not slide down off the horse. Step down with your foot still in the stirrup. The reason is… if your clothing catches on the horn, you can unhook it if your foot is still in the stirrup. If you slide down you will hang there and who knows what will happen if it doesn’t rip. A sweatshirt, jacket or even belt can get caught on a horn when dismounitng. On western saddles it’s much easier to get hung up … wearing boots with heels and not a lot of stuff that could be caught up in the stirrup is important too. Could save your life to know this

[Flash44]

[QUOTE=Preposterous Ponies!;8029552]
I’m looking to possibly pick up some western tack for my jumper / trail horse mare. I know ZERO about western riding or tack, but I am thinking I want a comfy saddle to wander around the trails on. Her current English saddle is fine, but too small for me (she is used a lesson horse for wee kiddos).

A few questions:

• How does one go about fitting a western saddle. My mare takes a WIDE tree. Would that be full quarter horse bars?
• My seat size for English is 17.5 ish. What size seat would I take in western?
  -What type of saddle would be best? I may eventually like to try barrels with this mare, as she is compact, speedy, agile and has an enormous butt for all that power.
• Can I get a decent used saddle for cheap (300ish)? What are some okay brands?[/QUOTE]

Horsesaddleshop.com has western saddle tree templates you can download and cut out, and find the one that best fits your horse. Then you can call them and discuss what saddle options you have. You will probably have to get a synthetic saddle at your price point. If you are going to trail ride, you’d want a saddle that is very comfy.

[Sparrowette]

[QUOTE=HPFarmette;8029742]
After a lifetime of English I got a trail saddle with no horn. Anytime I tried a western saddle in the past, the horn bothered me. Just a thought.[/QUOTE]

Another vote for no horn. If you ever want to try any climb up any steep hill, as the horse moves to climb up, and you lean into the climb, the horn will nail you right in the solar plexus. And you’re not going to do any roping anyway…

[aktill]

When I transitioned from english to western way back when, I ordered a trail saddle with no horn because I wanted a simpler look. They sent me the wrong saddle (essentially the same thing, but WITH a horn), but said I could ride that one until the new one showed up. They both fit so well I negotiated to keep them both, so was in the unique situation of having both options.

In the end, I preferred the horned saddle, since it made it really easy to have horn saddle bags. I grew to like the look too…when in western saddle, make it look the part.

Since western saddles are all I ride now, I quite like having a horn whether roping or not. When practicing your centered riding, having the ability to lightly touch the front of the horn to center your seat is really valuable. While possible to do in an english saddle too, it’s not quite the same feel IMHO.

BTW, FQH bars etc is completely meaningless in the grand scheme. It’s no different than trying to expect one dressage or jumping saddle “medium” to be the same between mfgrs. The sooner you forget you even heard the terms, the better.

Last, $300 isn’t even much of a budget used, so please be very careful shopping. Find someone local who you can use, or you’re going to end up with a hollow fibreglass tree from India and a good hospital bill when the saddle fails.

On the bright side, your horse is really nice, and should be an easy fit. She’s not nearly as downhill as would make much difference to fit. I can’t help in saying WHAT would fit, but around here a trip to a used saddlery place would likely end up with a bunch of options (though not many at the price point you mentioned).

[Bluey]

You may also consider that, other than roping or training and competing in western events, you can ride “western” in your English saddle just fine, if by that you mean trail riding and playday type stuff like barrels and poles just for fun.

Maybe after you are out in that world, you find someone with a suitable western saddle for sale, since you don’t seem to have tack shops you can go to try saddles.

The one place a western saddle would be better than an English one is if you were to trail ride or just move cattle slowly for many hours.
Then, just sitting up there for all those hours, just walking around or standing there, western saddles tend to distribute your weight over a larger surface, making it easier on the horse’s back.