western saddle fitting for a TB with knife tall withers

[Linda]

I have been doing a lot of trail riding in the mountains where we live with my 17’2 TB with tall withers. I have been riding in my eventing saddle that is custom fitted to him about twice a yr. The withers make saddle fitting a real adventure.

We ride up and down some really steep mountains and quite frankly, my jumping saddle just doesn’t provide much support to me. I often feel like Im going to slide right off the back of him. So I have been looking for a western trail saddle. Well his build is making this a real challenge.

I am trying a saddle now that I think might work - but western saddle fitting is not my area of expertise. With a nice thick pad that has the withers cut out, the saddle sits up on him nicely. I can fit my hand between his withers and the saddle and slide my hand down the gullet.

I initially tried the saddle without the pad to see how if fit and his withers were in contact with the saddle which obviously is not good. But the pad changed that. So my question, is whether this is ok. If the pad seems to make the saddle fit him, am I doing the right thing?

[aktill]

Pads can compress and shift…wouldn’t give me warm and fuzzies. Doesn’t take much to end up with a case of fistulous withers.

[NoSuchPerson]

Are you willing to consider an Australian saddle? If you’re just looking for a more secure trail saddle, an Aussie might work, since the traditional style Australian stock saddle is constructed more like an English saddle and may be a better fit for a horse with shark fin withers.

I’ve bought two saddles here: http://www.downunderweb.com and have been pleased with both.

[Linda]

australian saddle

Had an Australian saddle. Had it reflocked and refitted three times - never was a good fit and actually made him back sore at one point. So I sold it.

I am working hard to get more weight on him with the hope that will help fill out his topline and I work him in side reins a couple of times a week for the same reason. With any luck, the weight and muscle will make saddle fitting somewhat easier…

[Burbank]

try a Tucker, they have a crazy amount of space for the withers as they started out being made for Walkers, that combined with a nice saddle pad with cutout withers should work well if the rest of the Tucker fits

[twoxover]

semi qh bars were developed for the qh/tb cross. having said that, a western saddle might still not fit. in the western world, it’s rare to get the fit that people in the English world work so hard for. so compromise is made…ie “padding up” within reason. it might be a 1" or thicker wool felt pad combined with the saddle will work.

[Linda]

twoxer - that’s what Im doing now and it seems to be working. Just wondering if there were any potential issues with using pads to get the fit. So far it looks great and he is comfortable…I have had SO many issues with this horse (health, tack etc) that I think Im always on the alert for potential problems. thx

[Linda]

Well I think the saddle Im trying is going to work fine. With a western pad, the saddle sits up off his withers and he moves well in it. Its a Bona Allen western saddle which I understand is an older saddle but good for horses shaped like mine. Im going to keep it on trial for a couple of weeks and ride up and down hills on the trails so I get a chance to make sure it works for him before I buy it. Crossing my fingers that this works.

[Amym600]

If it doesn’t then I can reccomend two types. I own a wide short backed curvy TB with shark fin withers. Nightmare for trail riding saddle. IF your horse is not curvy the Tucker Gen II River plantation or the english type plantation would work. If your horse has a banana back like mine you need the Tucker regular tree. They run narrow but have large shoulder flare so a regular tree may work. The Tucker sites often have trial saddles too. I currently ride my TB in a Annie George endurance saddle. It’s odd looking to say the least but it has wither room, shoulder room and a curved back. For me it’s comfy and has good leg movement.

[Burbank]

the average bona allen is not going to be ideal for a high withered horse, they tend to have low clearance for the withers
pads can work well as long as the saddle is wide enough to need the extra space, if not then it gets very tight in the shoulders

seriously, try a tucker, not my most favorite western saddle by far but for wither clearance they cannot be beat, you put almost any saddle side by side with a tucker and it is obvious
your next best bet would be a barrel saddle

[goodhors]

You should hunt around for the saddles made for Walkers, they have their own style tree, with the Western stuff on it. Our local Tack Store carries them, since we have a LOT of Trail Riders going there to fit their horses with saddles. Sorry, can’t remember the name brand because I don’t have a Walker, but my Trail Ride friends do and LOVE the special tree saddles. They all spend a lot of time in those saddles, covering a lot of miles, without problems now that saddles fit correctly.

You might give them a call, ask about trail ride saddles they have for Walkers, gaited horses. A brand name to hunt for should be helpful, even with these folks too far away to shop at.

https://www.tomswesternstore.com/index.php?route=common/home

[Linda]

Thanks Burbank. I had the woman who would be selling me the saddle look at it on him today. She slid her hands through the gullet and under the side panels to see if she thought the fit was appropriate. With the pads, the tree area had good clearance. She “thought” the side panels were ok - but were on the edge of being too tight. She suggested I do some hill trail rides over the next few days and check for dry spots. So far - no issues. Bit since Im buying from a local rider, I have some time to check it out. My horse is SO hard to fit…my jumping saddle gets refitted at least every 6 months due to his high wither issues. So far so good - but sheesh its a continuing process and a lot of work.

[Texarkana]

I really don’t know much about western saddles, but I do I have the same problem a lot with my western saddles and TBs.

I use a riser pad like this: http://www.bigdweb.com/Riser-Pad-For-Western-Saddle/productinfo/7320/

I often use it in conjunction with a cutaway saddle pad. I know it’s not ideal, but it works for me. I don’t use my western saddle all that frequently on TBs, so I’ve never wanted to bend over backwards trying to replace it with one with more wither clearance.

[Fillabeana]

The OLD Bona Allen saddles, and others of the 1930’s and 40’s vintage, can be great to fit a narrow horse. These trees are ‘standard quarter horse bars’, NOT to be confused with ‘full quarter horse bars’. They are narrower yet than a semi-quarter horse bar tree, usually.
Horses back then tended to have withers, and were generally NOT bulldog-type quarter horses. More like skinny mustang/TB remount stallion crosses.
Anyway, nowadays the back rooms of tack/saddle stores will have these kinds of saddles, not even on display because they are too narrow for almost any horse being ridden western today.
If you have a horse that’s narrow for a TB, you can get a western saddle, made with high quality materials, for a song. Just have a saddler go through it and make sure there isn’t anything rotten or otherwise unsound.