I was at the barn today and a very sweet boarder was having issues girthing her horse. After a quick look it was quite clear to me he was very uncomfortable in his saddle. If bridged (she had a makeshift pad under it), pressed right into the back of his shoulder. She is now on the saddle hunt and western and/or trail saddles aren’t my specialty! His build is a very long sloping wither with a long shoulder. His shoulder protrudes out quite a bit as well. He is slightly sway backed as well. Is there a saddle that works best for this type? She feels best in Western but is open to an Aussie or something with a horn. So essentially something with a curvy tree, flexible in the front and short paneled. Does this exist? Thanks so much!
I have a cheap Aussie that fit my mare pretty well. She has decent withers and a dippy back. I now ride her in a Bob Marshall treeless. Boarder could contact someone at Down Under saddles if she can’t find a used Aussie that works. When I ordered my Skito pad for my treeless I sent pictures of my horse so appropriate shims could be made too.
He best bet would be to enlist the help of a reliable saddle fitter, even if she had to do it via email.
Do you have any suggestions for online saddle fitters for western saddles? I have a great fitter but she is English only. None in our area I can find that do Western 
http://www.saddlefitter.com/ Can try Cordia Pearson. I don’t know if she does it via email or not. The Horsey Habit might do Western fittings. Maybe try a Google search, and make some calls. Somebody should know of someone. Or maybe someone here knows.
A swayback pad might improve the fit of some saddles too, but she needs to get a decent fit first.
Here’s a “bridge pad” that fills for hollows etc and is to be used under a regular pad. http://www.horse.com/item/circle-y-long-shoulder-bridge-pad/E004577/
This is a more typical “bridge pad” in that it’s a full pad that has extra thickness where the horse tends to sway or hollow.
The horse still needs a saddle that fits reasonably well - through the shoulders etc - but bridge pads will fill in what is missing.
Skito also makes really good shimmed pads. Beyond the ones you can just order or buy off the shelf, they can also make shims and pads that will fit very well (assuming you have a reasonably fitting saddle.) He is very easy to talk with and will work to get you and your horse comfortable. http://www.carouseltights.com/ is their website.
My 22 year old is built like this and has had a bit of a sway back for years. Although she has mainly enjoyed the life of a broodmare she is a wonderful trail and fox hunting horse. She is far more comfortable with and english saddle. The western saddle has always bridged and was never comfortable.
Cashel has a great swayback pad. Shapes for english and western. Thickest in the center, then gradually thinning out toward the edges. Filling in that dropped back will make it a lot easier to find a new saddle.
I used to be a saddle dealer, have since retired. The Steele AW tree is curvy with a lot of shoulder flair, the best I’ve seen for a dropped back and boiler shoulders. Lots of companies use Steele Saddle Trees, but I like AMTS. They do a good job forming skirts and keeping them short.
http://trailridingsaddles.com
One of my horses is low backed. I’m thinking of getting a tree-less saddle. I’m trying to imagine the physic in relation to a saddle tree (wood /metal/fiberglass) & spinal movements involved w/a sway back ?
