I have a Missouri fox trotter, first gaited horse I have ever owned! I’m told he is the old style…bigger boned, taller, bigger chest and shoulders than today’s fox trotters. My saddles don’t fit him, both have full quarter horse bars. Used gaited saddles are difficult to find and I really can’t afford a new one. I don’t want those cheap deals. Any advice?
He doesn’t have a QH body, so those saddles are not going to fit him well. Proportions are completely different because each breed/body style is made to do different work. Gaited horses need a free shoulder to do their gaiting WELL, which is found in gaited saddles, not QH saddles.
So yes, horse will gait better, be comfortable in a saddle made for his breed type. You would not put your full size QH saddle on a new 12h pony. You would invest in pony size tack that fit him. Your choice to change breeds, now you need to get proper fitting tack to keep him gaiting happily! Check Facebook for trail riding groups, breed groups, because they often sell special tack there. Put up a In-Search-Of ad, specifying what you want in a gaited saddle, see if anyone contacts you.
I feel for you. We changed from smaller Western horses to big Sporthorses for Driving competitions, years ago. Had to sell everything we had in tack, carriages, truck and trailer, because nothing the little horses had would fit our ever-growing young Sporthorses!! Too big for the old trailer, too big for the saddles, harness and carriages we had. About all we kept that fit was the box stalls and leadropes!
You will enjoy riding your new horse even more when he has tack that fits well, making both him and you much more comfortable!! Congrats on getting a new horse!. All my gaited horse friends love their gaited horses after changing away from trotting breeds.
Interesting thread. I know 0 about these horses but love to learn horse things… What is the difference between gaited and trotting?
I have three. 2 twh, 1 ssh. They look NOTHING alike. Gaited saddles are marketing BS, the end
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Pictures of the horse?
My foxtrotter is wide built with very high withers and almost a flat back. I ride her in a Fabtron Saddle. I believe it is the type B gullet. I bought that saddle for my Paint/thoroughbred mare and it fits them both. My paint was getting pinched in the shoulder from most saddles. The Fabtron has the right bar angle to match her shoulders without pinching. I believe the gullet is 6 3/4th inch. Saddles with a full 7 inch gullet don’t fit her either - that would be too wide.
Thank you for the quick responses! I’m brand new to this forum! My horse is very flat backed as well and fairly high withered. I’m so new to gaited horses! All I have ever had are quarter horses but my old age is getting to my back! I can ride for hours on my gaited guy without back issues. He’s also still fairly out of shape. When I bought him he hadn’t been ridden in 6 yrs and was pasture fat! But he’s a sweetheart and starting to shape up. I just need a saddle that fits him so we can really put some miles in. Question for 4horses…is your fabtron a gaited horse saddle?
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To keep it simple, the saddle needs to give the withers plenty of clearance for the gaited horse to make those wide sweeping motions they make:)
OP, yes. As a previous poster commented, you invested in a gaited horse, now invest in a gaited saddle. I don’t know where you are looking but there are used gaited horse saddles everywhere.
They are on EBay. They are on a small gaited horse forum. I am pretty sure you could find a few on Craig’s List. I have several, one is so new it only sat on my big Walking Horse once to see if it fit him. I thought I would be able to ride again when I bought it, but 3 years later, it’s still sitting on a saddle stand in the spare bedroom -------
I also know of two websites who sell new gaited saddles for under $1,000. Sell one of your QH saddles to help pay for a properly fitting saddle so your new gaited horse can move his shoulders like he needs to:)
If your horse is flat backed, my never-used endurance-style saddle wouldn’t fit him and I have doubts the Fabrton would fit him:)
Do you think you could ride English style? The old time Buena Vista Plantation style saddles might be worth looking into. Here’s one on EBay.
https://www.ebay.com/c/1419537486
i had one exactly like this for my flat backed Walking horse. He did not have high withers, however.
This saddle is probably circa 1970’s so you would still need to be sure all of the leather is in good working order, same as you would with any used saddle you would buy:)
Also, here is the guy up near Nashville, TN who makes gaited saddles. https://www.ebay.com/str/tnsaddlery
Everything is U.S.A. Made. He is a lifelong owner/trail rider/shower of Tennessee Walkers so knows his stuff. He is however, my age (72) so I am wondering if he is getting ready to get out of the saddle making business, looking at these prices.
My new saddle is one of his but, to reiterate, I have no idea how these saddles hold up under hard use since I’ve never been able to use it. I live close enough that he brought the saddle from his factory to his home and I picked it up there to save shipping costs:)
Your horse will likely change its shape once it’s in condition and you may find yourself having to buy another saddle anyway:)
This fella is good about personalized customer service. You could ask him (even text him pics) of your horse, including its back, and he would help you fit the horse better. Which — fitting a horse over the Net is risky business but his input would be a lot better than the proverbial poke in the eye with a sharp stick:)
You need a saddle that fits the horse. The generic “gaited saddle” is no more correct than the generic “totting horse” saddle. Give the horse what it needs!!! 
That said, some gaited horses have a general type but others don’t share that type. A Walker and a Paso Fino are going to have very different conformations and that means that the “gaited” saddle that works on the Walker might be a VERY bad idea for the Paso. And the Paso Fino, the Peruvian Paso, and the Mangalarga Marchador are all derived from older, Iberian stock but even here there can differences in conformation that will mean that there is no, one “gaited” saddle that will do for all three.
As a “generic” claim the idea that you need a “gaited” saddle for a “gaited” horse is demonstrably false. But the specific claim that you a saddle that fits the horse under you is demonstrably true.
G.
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Ha ha- no you don’t need a gaited saddle. You just need a saddle that fits your horse. My Rocky Mountain mare went in my Stubben dressage saddle when I first got her and now she is in my Bob Marshall that is really my Arab’s saddle.
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So much good advice! I think I will start searching for a used saddle locally that I can at least try on him . Something less expensive and wait to invest into a good saddle when he’s fit. Any opinions on which brands to look for or avoid on the gaited saddles?
Just be sure to buy a quality brand saddle, that won’t fall apart as soon as it gets wet:). It can be cordura or leather, but buy anybody’s brand name – also buy a saddle you can comfortably lift on to your horse.
Heres a good article that talks about the types of saddles that will most likely be a good fit for a gaited horse.
http://www.saddleonline.com/blogs/co…-gaited-saddle
iIt’s only about a five minute read :).
I don’t know what price point you are thinking about but, if it’s in the $50-$100 range, get your head out of the 70’s, lollol
just to find a saddle that’s safe to ride will be lucky to start at $200:):). Then finding one for a broad backed gaited horse adds to the cost. Which is why I suggested looking at the old Plantation style saddles. I bought my Buena Vista used in 1991 and sold it (in excellent condition) in 2015 for the same money I paid for it in 1991:)
best wishes finding something 
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All low end saddles suffer from the same defects (low end materials, low end engineering and design, low end manufacturing techniques). A good quality, higher end, used saddle is often a good way to go. My wife rides her Marchador in a Stubben VSD/DL. This is really an “all purpose” saddle but it will be advertised as a dressage, jumping, or eventing saddle, depending on who’s selling it. Think of it as an all purpose and your likely good to go. Here are a couple of examples:
https://www.pelham-saddlery.com/stubbensaddle/stubben22833used.html
https://www.pelham-saddlery.com/stubbensaddle/stubben23175used.html
Disclaimer: I am not an owner, employee, or agent of this seller. These are just two examples of this type of saddle, with which I’m familiar, for your consideration.
She got a great deal when she bought hers and we sent it back to Stubben North America who added 10 D-rings (in the same pattern as my saddle, a Stubben Scout which is their police and military saddle). So when we go out on the trail we can take what we need. We don’t horse camp. At our ages sleeping on the ground is Bad Idea!
I’m sure you can find other quality saddle names (Passier, Bates, etc.) with similar examples and price points.
Good luck to you as continue your search.
G.
P.S. Stubben does make a gaited horse saddle, optimized for the Icelandic horse. You can search out that one, too, and it might do for you!
Something else to consider- a Reining Saddle- Custom made for wider gullett and better fitting for flat backs.
My Saddlebred is huge- fairly high withers and wide shoulders- most full quarter horse bars did not fit, we need wider.
I found a custom made Reining Saddle practically new, 8.5" gullet and flat back, all the good stuff, dressed out w/ quality.
It was around $850. and I sold it a few years later for same amount. Rare size, but they’re out there.
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This place was really helpful for me when I was shopping for a western saddle (I’m a dressage rider and was clueless on what my horse needed). I sent photos and used their template guide - found a used saddle that works for my guy. https://www.horsesaddleshop.com/usedsaddles.html
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I should have mentioned that one of the biggest reasons I can’t find a good used gaited saddle is because I am only 5ft and 100 lbs so I need a 14 or 24.5 seat. It’s hard to even find a 15 inch seat in the gaited saddles!
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Oops…lol meant 14.5 not 24.5!
maybe a thick sheepskin seatsaver can help if you need to buy a larger seat, at least if you can fit your horse. I’ve done
that. Also they have special pads that are made to tighten up a too large saddle seat. Fit the horse first, then you.
Thanks Marie 100, great idea. I’ll look into it!
If you can find a Fabtron to try, that might work depending on how flat backed your horse is. My Fabtron is not the gaited model. Another option is an Abetta- they have about 6 different trees. I think the standard model fits my horse. The endurance was too wide.I
I feel your pain on saddle fitting. If you need a 14.5 inch seat, it is really hard to find one that has full Qh bars. Most 14.5 inch saddles have semi Qh bars and won’t fit a wide shouldered horse.
