I keep hearing that term - “Groundseat”.
Can someone explain it to me in layman’s terms? Center of balance?
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I don’t know what the word “groundseat” means either as I don’t use that myself.
One of the reasons I like the barrel saddles I do use is that it sits me deep.
Maybe that’s the same thing as “groundseat”?
I like to be able to SIT DOWN as my horse is coming into a barrel turn.
I’ve tried other barrel saddles before and didn’t like them because I felt too “perched” on the seat.
So different brands and different saddles are going to have a different feel.
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Yeah the whole point of a western saddle (for me) is being held in a little deeper, with rough out to give grip and a horn when it gets really nasty.
My young mare is a squirrel-bird when she spooks. It’s getting better, but the transition to riding out alone is going to be hairy and I know it. Especially when the unexpected happens out there!
This is so true! There is so much more to fitting a saddle (it seems) than gullet width on some horses.
My daughter has a horse that seems to ride in anything with a SQHB no matter who makes it. I haven’t been so lucky in the last 2 horses.
How would you describe your horses’ backs that were more difficult to fit? Was it a surprise to you that they were more complicated?
My current saddle used to fit my Old Man like a glove, which is why it stuck around so long. Now that he’s lost a little topline it probably wouldn’t fit as well. I’m interested in how my current saddle looks when I throw it up there later tonight.
My mare is just crazy wide. Took a 38 Duett but now at 18 actually has some wither and flatter bar angle and fits in a " haflinger " saddle.
But in all honesty I am shocked at the trouble I had fitting my 4 year old QH.
He is wider than he looks and needs more bar angle and his back shape all together put him comfortably in a Dakota Draft Cross saddle. I would never have chosen that one!
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You’ve got some soggy horses!
Never heard that? They would be comfortable to ride bareback. No spines showing here and they are not overweight…
Soggy is a term for wide. 
That they are 
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Western saddles are less standard from maker to maker than English ones, as another poster already pointed out. So that makes saddle shopping a bit tricky. I have very hard to fit horses - Arabians, so ultra wide but very short backed. And I am very short myself (5’1”, with a 27” inseam). Thank goodness I was able to shop locally and try everything before I bought, last time I was in the market.
Breaking in a new western saddle is a ROYAL pain. Your budget would buy you a super, super quality used saddle, and you wouldn’t have to deal with the headache of breaking in the leather or turning the fenders. Something to consider!
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My mare is wide-backed, has large angular shoulders, and has a decent wither. She is also built downhill and has some dip behind her shoulders, although I’m hopeful that may have been caused by the too-narrow saddle and that she will fill in there again in time.
Here’s her back, the crappy saddle with its new fenders, and the crappy sadde on her back. The bar angle felt too steep and it felt tight under the fork, to me.
I’m no expert with western fitting, but the bird’s eye view of her back sans saddle just looks broader than what you have in that gullet and bar angle.
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Thats what I thought too.
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Capo Customs is offering online fitting analysis and will suggest brands based on your photos and comments. 3k is a great budget for a used saddle!
I agree, the lack of standardization in the western industry is enough to drive you insane. I’m on my third saddle and it’s still a no go. Hard to find local fitters.
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It looks to almost be sitting on her withers ? Or maybe it is the picture angle.
If it doesn’t bother her and she rides well in it then get out your drill, use the largest drill bit and make more holes to raise your stirrups…
I am not kidding. Even though it is old , squeaks and you are ready to let it die, I would take it ( knowing it works for her) over venturing into saddle fitting/ shopping he## by choice.
It doesn’t look that bad to me. I keep an ancient Abetta Endurance bought in 1999 because it fits normal horses well. It looks pretty bad too but I can’t let it go.
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OMG, my barn owner once had a green Abetta that was the most comfortable saddle to trail ride in. And it fit almost anything. She sold it and I didn’t even know she had it for sale or I would have bought it just to keep around.
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It’s the picture angle. I am short and she’s 16.3. Frankly I never want a horse this big again - I bought her sight unseen and assumed they were fluffing her height. She got off the trailer and I said “$%^&”. 
I might just give it a whirl, while casually looking for something better. I might also try that remote fitting thing, as I’m way out of my league here in the western fitting department.
Drill won’t work for the holes because it snags the nylon lining. I will try my woodburning exacto knife thing, I have a hunch that might work.
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