I just took a wither tracing of my mutton withered pony along with a midback and last rib tracing. Now that I have them traced out, how do I use them to find a saddle?
Trace it onto cardboard, cut it out and you’ll end up with a mountain shaped (wither shaped) bit of card.
Get a saddle. Turn it upside down and put the tracing in the gullet at the same point where the saddle points hit the horse.
If the tracing hits the gullet, the saddle is too wide. Then look at the angle of the saddle bars compared to the tracing: they should match.
Alternatively you can mail copies of the tracing to saddlers so they can help you find a saddle.
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Some tack stores that do online (remote) fittings will also let you send them the tracings and will suggest suitable saddles from their inventory. (Pelham Saddlery used to do this; don’t know if they still do).
Sadly even with a correct wither tracing it is hit and miss on fit. It does help greatly though and gives you a great staring point. I was actually shocked at how " wide" my mare really was. If I hadn’t done that I would still be looking, riding bareback or given up all together!
Good luck. The first saddle I bought after getting her correctly measured was a great fit. I still was nervous about it though.
Trace it onto a plain folder (that you’d put in your file cabinet).
Unfortunately, be aware that it may not exactly fit your horse. I did wither and midback tracings once and the owner of Custom Saddlery did one on my horse. Ummm, they didn’t exactly match!! I tried it again years later with another saddle fitter and my tracings weren’t the same as hers. I don’t know how much of a difference it would have made but they were visually not the same.
I’d suggest asking a saddle fitter or saddle seller how much you should press, etc. If you wanted to, say, buy a used saddle from Pelham saddlery, you could sent them the tracing and they could tell you what saddles they have (new and used) that might fit your horse and might definitely not fit your horse. Other saddle sellers should be able to tell you whether your horse is a narrow, medium or wide or in between. I’d make a few folders so you have copies of the wither tracings.
If you’re like me, don’t take your wither tracings toooooo seriously. Put different saddles on your horse’s back and see what fits. If you don’t have a local saddle seller near you that can lend out saddles (I have one near me, I leave a check for the price of the saddle and I have a few days to try it), put a bunch of friends’ saddle on your horse’s back and narrow down what fits and what doesn’t.
Good luck in the hell that is finding a good non-custom saddle! It’s not a fun experience…
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