Please be patient with me…I am a total novice when it comes to western tack (I used to do hunters and now event).
I have a 5yo OTTB that will be doubling as a trail horse and I would prefer to trail ride him in western tack. I have a western saddle I like, but then again, I know almost nothing about western saddles. So a few questions for the experts (or at the least, the more knowledgable)…
Just by what you can tell…what kind of western saddle is this and is it crap? (Based on the balance of it, the way the fenders are placed…I guess?)
I noticed while I was on him today that the sides feel tight on his shoulders/sides to me and the part underneath the horn/the bottom of the horn? (is that still called a pommel?) was pressing on his withers (only while I was mounted in the tack). What does this mean and how can I try to fix it without a new saddle? With my English saddle, the pommel pressing down on the withers implied that the saddle was too wide so we got a Mattes half pad with front shims to put more under the saddle and lift it off the withers. I would think that maybe the saddle is too wide and that’s why it presses down, but then it wouldn’t be tight on his shoulders so that can’t be it, right? Or at least I think it feels tight on his sides/shoulders. To me anyway… I know they have thinline wool pads you can add shims to…would that be any help?
Still relating to question #2…is the saddle positioned too far forward? Maybe sliding it back would help?
Still relating to question #2…when purchasing a pad, would it be better to get a nice thick pad for this horse or a very thin saddle blanket?
My lovely boy didn’t seem irritated or anything but he is also quite stoic so I wouldn’t expect an explosion out of him for tack that doesn’t quite fit.
Here are some pictures that may or may not be helpful…thanks!!
Nice horsie!
Saddle doesn’t look to be crap, but nothing special, either.
In short, you do not want the saddle EVER to come down and rest on the withers.
Get a cutout/contoured, or cutback thick pad…your saddle is too wide but a thick pad might make it work.
I just went through a saddle pad search and found that I don’t like pads with wither cutouts because they are never where they are supposed to be for my horse, who does have withers. I ended up with a Toklat Woolback pad that has a wither contour but not cutout and I love it!
Next time you’ve got that saddle on your horse, leave the blanket off and don’t cinch it up. Put your hand underneath the bar at the highest point near the wither. Slide your hand from the top (near the wither) to the bottom (near the rigging). Does the pressure feel even, or do you notice the pinching at the wither and then less pressure as you go down?
Here’s an interesting thing to do to get an idea of how the angles all along his back are matching up - a back map:
I’m guessing that if it’s sitting low but also tight it’s just a poor fit. Sometimes pads can help, but if you get a pad to lift it up I’d think the sides are just going to be tighter. Pocket Pony makes very good points.
There are several good websites with saddle fitting info. Sometimes it’s still tough to figure it out, which is why a saddle fitter can save you time, even if you can only find one to do it via pictures /long distance.
Good luck. It’s not fun! Oh, and pads can be almost as mind boggling. I wouldn’t go with anything too thin. I’ve used everything from the cheap ones from local farm stores to 5 Stars. You tend to get what you pay for.
The (mentioned in the above post) has downloadable gullet templates at http://www.horsesaddleshop.com/easy-saddle-recommendation.html#.UwU6JPldVNQ which you can use to check the saddle and the horse for sizing. (You print the templates, trace onto cardboard, cut them out, try on the horse and the other part you can use to check the saddle.)
I think your saddle is cute, but if it won’t work, sell it and get something else that will fit your sweet horse.
I second the advice the other posters have given. You might be able to make do with that saddle using the proper pad, but you’d always have to fiddle with it–which takes the fun out of your ride.
If you live near a tack store, TAKE your horse there to try on whatever pleases you.
I think you’ll fix a lot of your problems with a good pad. Normally I like the sensorflex pads, but I’ve had better luck with the classic equine neoprene pads with a small wither cut out on TBs. Generally if it’s tight at the bottom but sits down in the withers I’d say to look for a narrower gullet with a flatter pitch to the bars, but I think it’s worth it to try a thicker pad first. I prefer a pad that’s at least an inch thick (I was looking at a pad that’s 2 inches thick back when I was riding). I also like the wool felt pads with a Navajo pad (like you have on in the picture) underneath it, but IME unless you but a really high quality one they flatten out very quickly and I’ve always found them a little tight across the withers.
