My mare is 15.1, her back is a table top, she is mutton withered and is aldo short backed. She also lets you know immediately when the saddle just doesn’t fit right. I have always ridden English but as I am getting older I wish to ride in a western saddle. I want a good quality saddle but it has to be fairly light in weight so I can lift it on to her. I did try on a Billy Cook round skirted barrel saddle but it was too narrow. I live in an area that is all English riding and there are no saddle fitters for western saddles. I read online that I have to worry about not just gullet size but bar angle and bar spread. I contacted the closest western saddlery but was told I was too far away for a saddle fitter to come. I’m hoping that Coth members may be able to help me out with suggestions.
I have a Bobs Custom lady reiner that fits that kind of back just fine:
http://www.bobscustomsaddles.com/reining.html
If you want new, if you call them, they will tell you what would work best for your type of horse.
Here are some used ones, don’t know if they would let you try some of them:
If you find a bigger reining show closer to you, vendors have all kinds of saddles there you can try, used and new, until you find one that fits.
Try http://www.horsesaddleshop.com/western-saddle-guide.html#.WK-tU3TnbqA
They can help you with picking a saddle long-distance. I got a Fabtron saddle from them that fits my horse very well.
If she is short backed, a barrel racing type saddle might work well for you. Otherwise, watch the tree length and the skirt length.
Yes, you have to consider bar angle, twist, rock, flare and whole gammit of other things. Here’s a couple of good resources:
http://www.rodnikkel.com/content/tree-and-saddle-fitting/factors-that-affect-tree-fit/
and
http://saddlemakers.org/id193.htm
With western saddles, there is no standard in the industry. So one saddle makers full QH bar saddle will NOT fit the same as the next. It’s frustrating. But you just have to do trial and error.
Of course considering shipping costs, it’s always easier if you can find a tack shop, or try on any friend’s saddle you can get your hands on. You can try ordering saddles online, but always read the return policy very carefully because you will never know if it is goin gto fit or not.
Was the Billy Cook you tried a semi or full tree?
Bluey, I did look at the sites you sent but the problem is they are reining saddles and at my age I can’t swing them up. I’ll be pushing 70 soon and need a much lighter saddle.
coymackerel, thank-you very much for link. I’ll read through the site.
beau159, thanks for your input as well. I’ll be sure to read through the link explaining bar angle, twist etc. as this is important information. I only know of 2 people who ride western and both have the real cheap synthetic - $299 special.
Unfortunately I have no idea if the Billy Cook was a semi or full. This site has a photo of my girl with the saddle on. It fit her in length so I know I need a round skirt but the gullet, bars etc I just don’t know. At that time, she was only 4, now she is 10. The one place I contacted said to come and buy 3-5 saddles, take them home, try them on, return them, get some more and keep trying until I find one that fits. Yea sure if I was made of money. I’d have to pay for them up front and if anything happened, such as a mark then the saddle would be mine.
http://www.mysciencesite.com/horses1.html
I have posted an ad on facebook looking for a western saddle fitter that would come out my way. fingers cross. In the mean time I want to become more familiar with how to fit a western saddle so thanks for the sites.
They do have light saddles.
Looks like in your location, you would have several western type saddle shops you could check out?
With western saddles, you have to try each one for fit, because they tend to be each one a little bit different.
I recently went western as well, finally found a Cashel Western Trail Saddle, they are made by Martin Saddlery. Sounds like we have the same horse-my guy is 15.1, and also built like your girl. It fits him really well. Got mine off ebay for $900, they run about $1600…a definite plus is it weighs only 26 pounds!! Hubby rides our other horse in a Bob’s Custom Monte Foreman western saddle, that one also fits my guy, but it is quite a bit heavier, and more leather under your leg. Smart Pak used to sell the Cashel, not sure if they still do.
Looks like Smartpak still does sell them:
https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/cashel-western-trail-saddle-12114
So do Sneiders and many others, used ones go for half the price of new.
OP, this website has gullet templates that you can download and try on your horse to see what kind of tree the horse needs. Customer service is great and will recommend saddles that are most likely to fit your horse, and be light enough for you to throw up there. The specs of each saddle are listed, so you can see how long the skirt is and exactly how much the saddle weighs. Even if you don’t buy a saddle from them, you’ll exit the experience with some good ideas of what you need to look for.
I used this process and discovered that one of my horses, although small, needed an extra wide (draft horse) tree. I always had her in a plain wide tree. Once I got a better fitting saddle on her, she moved like a dream. And their prices are good.
I too had similar saddle fit issue. I made a mold of my horses back and took that with me to a horse fair to saddle shop. FYI. The circle y Lisa Lockhart has the eldest flattest tree in a shorter skirt. This saddle has a flex tree which then changed pitch in front when I girthed and dat in saddle. I got a les brown saddle pad with a panel inside the pad and it solved the tree flexing. That said when I changed my horses diet to a low sugar low startch her shape changed, she developed withers and saddle fit was much easier. Could you post a picture of your horse?
I second horsesaddleshop.com. You can send them photos of your horse and there are templates on the site that you can download to determine what size gullet you need. I think you might even be able to make a tracing of the horse’s back to send them to get the best fit. I also did a lot of research on saddle fit when I had a horse who was super sensitive to saddle fit. And I attended saddle-fit clinics at Equine Affaire. I am by no means an expert at saddle fitting but it helps a lot to attend clinics and do as much research you can do. I’m sure there are plenty of videos on youtube that would be helpful.
If you go the route of horsesaddleshop, ask if they think a Steele tree with AW bars would work. That’s what the fitter found my flat-backed Arab cross needs. I ordered a Dakota from horsesaddleshop with that specific tree in it. Haven’t got it yet, so praying it fits. It should, since the fitter sat the actual tree on my mare. She does have a bit of a wither, not mutton.
There are places online that will send you tree forms to try on, if you don’t have access to a fitter.
I second Bob’s. Friend of mine has a super short backed reining mare (table top back, slightly downhill, big shoulders) and Bob’s is the only thing short enough. However, hers weights a ton. I don’t know if it is because it is a cutting saddle, and maybe a different style would be lighter, but I really struggled lifting it on to my 16.1 hand mare when I borrowed it from her for a clinic.
Horsesaddleshop can be hit or miss who you talk to. Some of them really know their stuff, and some do not. I hauled down there to have my mare fit after going through A LOT of saddles to fit her super wide self. The one girl really knew a lot, and I am sorry I am blanking on her name, where as other girls I had dealt with on the phone and in a previous visit didn’t seem to understand some of the terms (bar angle, bar spread) that I was throwing at them.
I ended up with a Pards Advantage reining saddle and it fit my wide mare well. She doesn’t have a short back, but I could measure length if you want me to. Another brand that fit her well is Billy Royal, but their quality is “meh” compared to some other brands I tried.
Bob’s makes a light line also, that weight much less, plus the lady reiners are already lighter than other saddles, as they are generally aimed to the senior market.
Mine is so light, every time those with regular saddles lift it are surprised it is way not as heavy as their saddles.
Then, I would not want to rope anything big from it.
One reason western saddles are heavy is because the traditional use demanded a more hefty saddle.
I also recommend a Bob’s Saddle. His saddles are fabulous and Bob is extremely helpful.
I ride a lot of short-backed, barrel-shaped Arabians so I hear your plight. This has been my fave:
Well that’s good to know for future reference. I liked the quality of the Bob’s, but not the weight (and the cutting seat was super uncomfortable).
What is the max saddle weight you want? Heavy and light is relative. My 35 lb Crates feels light to me after hoisting my aunt’s ranch saddle up on my horse for a year, but 35 lbs is heavy to someone used to lifting an English saddle.
I think if you can find a ladies saddle, that will be lighter than the regular model. I know Crates made a Ladies Reiner that I really liked.
Thanks to all of you wonderful people for giving me your suggestion, experiences, and links. I was given the name of a saddle fitter and through some internet research and talking to western riders, I found out that he is one of the best and would make the trip to my barn. He came last week, took some measurements and then spent another 45 minutes showing me different trees, their twists, bar angles etc. I was extremely pleased with the visit. He and his family are also saddle makers. He said that the mare needs quarter horse bars with no twist in the tree and the tree has to be very flat. If I wanted a used saddle then I had to be patient as it will take some time to find one for her that is also a light and a fit for me. My understanding, from speaking with people here in southern Ontario, their saddles ‘Bailey’ are well built and are good saddle so I am thinking that maybe having a saddle built for her is the way to go. I figure that by the time I pay for a good used saddle and all the visits by the saddle fitter it wouldn’t be much more to just get the saddle made. His travel time to get to my barn is close to 2 hours.
http://www.baileysaddlery.com/
Thanks again for everyone’s input. It has been greatly appreciated. I forgot to mention to WhoaNellie44 - 26lbs.
I absolutely cannot say enough good things about my flex tree Circle Y. It is a round skirt park and trail model. They are well made, easy to find, and the leather is butter soft. The whole saddle is very lightweight and easy to manage. I ride in mine very regularly on all sorts of horses. Mine has been on a 16.3hh (high withered) barrel horse, a 14.1hh (round and a little fat) reiners, and both my current gelding (15.2hh high withers) and my old mare (super odd shaped with a wide round barrel but then freaky wide shoulders and lots of muscle loss behind her shoulders, she too was very picky about her saddles). I have also ridden in it on all day trail rides through the mountains and it has been amazing. It has been hands down the best saddle I have ever owned! It is also nifty in the way that it does not have a double skirt (although some models do and can be square skirted if you prefer) so it doesnt get squeaky sounding and is very quick and easy to clean. It is not treeless so still very structured and normal feeling, but as the horse heats it up it flexes with them, gives them much more shoulder room and I haven’t seen a single horse out of 10+ its been on seem even a little bit touchy our ouchy. It also offers Circle Y’s new double rigging options which I havent messed with but have heard good things about. Best of luck to you!!
