I’ve come to the conclusion that my lovely benchmade wade saddle does not fit my new horse. I’ve played with pads and have come to the conclusion that the tree is not the right shape for my horse. He’s a draft/QH cross and has a wither, higher neckset and fairly prominent shoulders. He is not sway backed but has a bit of a dip in his back and it is short. I want something that I can work cattle in but don’t necessarily need to dally off the saddle.I also want to trail ride and maybe show in some ranch classes and western dressage. I’m very familiar with the wade saddles, but not really knowledgeable.In a lot of the other types of saddles out there. I’m older, so want something super comfortable for trail riding but something that I can work my horse in. I don’t want a steep rise to the horn as my pelvis can’t accommodate that. Any suggestions on makes and models would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
A saddle you maybe can do all that with but heavy roping would be a Bob’s Lady Rainer.
I had friends that loved their made to order well fitting Wade’s ride in mine and go ahhh, that does ride so well, puts them and keeps them where they need to be to stay with a horse.
Then, everyone is different, but that would be one kind to try.
Not mine, Bob’s picture from the internet:
I ended up going the treeless route with my stout, short backed Fjord. Ours is a Bob Marshall and I love how much I can feel how he’s working underneath me in it. He seems to be pretty happy going in it from everything I can tell. They do need a specific pad to help with weight distribution, but I’ve been thrilled with it.
Thanks Bluey. So yours is a Lady Reiner? I’m also looking at a single round skirt Jeff Smith ranch cutter. Are you familiar with them?
Never ridden in a Jeff Smith, but many cutters and especially working cow horse competitors around here like those.
For arena riding, showing and roping right now, the more squarish skirts are common, the real cut up ones tend to be more for starting colts and ranch work, although some use them in ranch classes also.
Minimal skirts are lighter saddles, but fuller ones seem to drape better on a horse’s back, perhaps spreading the weight more.
I have noticed more local ranchers have gone back to the fuller skirts, maybe because they participate in ranch rodeos?
My last saddle was a 15" Kyle Cicero reining model I could take the strings out and add fancy diamond shaped conchos for showier classes. It fit me extremely well, but that may be my conformation speaking, being 4’10". 
