Western Saddles and Extremely Hard To Fit Horses/Riders

[Montanas_Girl]

I’m starting to investigate western saddle options for my little (14-14.1) Arab mare. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a bit of a nightmare process. She is very short backed and VERY wide/round, with almost no withers:
https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/20784_10100472547233878_8026589087357069877_n.jpg?oh=d363b8986e1f5e0490b565b93a2b96e4&oe=5698E45C

She is so wide that the close contact saddle I have for my old also quite round Half Arab hunter doesn’t even come close to being wide enough for her. It climbs up her neck almost immediately after she starts moving, which is obviously a problem for even short-term use. I’m afraid that finding a western saddle to fit her is going to be a nightmare of a process.

To complicate matters, I’m only 5’1" but not exactly slim anymore, so I also need a non-youth/pony sized saddle (probably 16" seat) with either very short fenders or at least fenders with minimal tooling/leatherwork so that they can be cut down without looking terrible.

Are there going to be ANY options for us that don’t cost an arm and a leg? I know that, had she turned out to be a hunter, a custom saddle would have been my only option. Is that what it will take for us to get a reasonable fit in a western saddle, too? I don’t want or need a ton of tooling or silver (she’ll likely end up being a Ranch Pleasure and/or Reining horse), but I’d like a well-made saddle that is comfortable for both of us, and used would be great since breaking in a western saddle is such a pain. I don’t have an exact budget - I’ll just save until I can afford what we need, and she’ll continue enjoying her vacation - but I’d really like to find something as affordable as possible.

Any ideas? Or are we simply doomed?

[Donkaloosa]

Easy — look for a saddle with an Arabian tree. The saddle will have shorter skirts, possibly rounded, and will be very wide. And they come in adult sizes like 16 and 17 inch.

[aktill]

Though finding a dressage saddle for my wife’s mare was a pain, finding a western saddle was easy. I have an off the rack Irvine’s that fits her, and made her a custom one on a custom tree:

http://www.easphotography.com//Carly/NewSaddle/8.png

Fits equivalent to an 18" length English seat, wide twist.

[Tee]

I had a 1/2 Arab, same build. The western saddle I found that fit him like a glove was a Crates semi-QH bars trail saddle. Short enough that it didn’t interfere with his loin or hip, and everything else fit nicely.

[Bluey]

I had trouble fitting my arabian gelding and found an old Courts barrel racing saddle that fit him like a glove.
Too bad it didn’t fit me too well.

After he was gone, my neighbor one day used it, loved it and I didn’t see that saddle again.

You could look at barrel racing saddles, the less extreme ones.
Those with the tall spikey horn, that just gets in your way.

[Flash44]

Good luck! I have one of those too. You can download tree templates from horsesaddleshop.com, and they will make suggestions as to what saddles are likely to fit your horse. All the specs (skirt length, etc) are listed for the saddles on their website. Surprisingly, I needed the xwide tree, which is actually wider than the wide arabian tree.

[Montanas_Girl]

Thanks for the suggestions! I’m glad to know that others have found options for this problem, and I’ll check them out. I have downloaded the tree templates from horsesaddleshop.com - great tip! - and I’ll try them on her as soon as it stops raining.

My initial impulse was to look at Arabian tree saddles, but all of the descriptions I’ve read for them describe them as narrow over/behind the withers, and there’s no way that will work for my mare (or any other Arab I’ve ever met!).

[Rackonteur]

Check out these if you haven’t already:

http://www.horsesaddleshop.com/arabiansaddles.html#.Vgyg-exViko

An article about Arabians being tough to fit:
http://www.theconnectedrider.com/blogging/saddle-fitting-the-arabian/

Another Arabian article about saddle-fitting the wide-short-backed Arabian:
http://www.arabianhorses.org/home/faq/AskExpert5.asp

And still another article:
http://www.western-saddle-guide.com/arabian-saddle.html

[Montanas_Girl]

[QUOTE=Rackonteur;8339521]
Check out these if you haven’t already:[/QUOTE]

Thanks! Most of that I pretty much already knew, but it’s nice to see other perspectives on just how tough these horses are to fit. Many of those talk about Arabs having long withers and/or a curvy back, though, and my girl definitely doesn’t fit that mold. She’s flat as a board! Here’s a photo I took from today to show exactly how flat/wide/mutton withered she is:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/gparksTN/Saddle%20Fitting/Khali%20Saddle%2004_zpslbyq3ssj.jpg

I cut out the horsesaddleshop.com templates today and took some photos. Looks like we definitely need a wide/full QH tree; luckily, it appears that the standard bar angle for that tree size will work well for her. Now I need to measure her back to see exactly how short the skirt needs to be to work.

In case it helps others visualize tree width fit, here are pictures of her with the three tree templates.

Medium/Semi-QH - You can see by the visible gaps between her barrel and the top part of the tree that this is much too narrow:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/gparksTN/Saddle%20Fitting/Khali%20Saddle%2001_zpsoj5soh94.jpg

Wide/Full QH - Nearly a perfect fit:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/gparksTN/Saddle%20Fitting/Khali%20Saddle%2002_zpsaakfcyue.jpg

Extra Wide/Draft - It’s harder to tell in this photo, but the tree is a bit too wide, as evidenced by the way the angle of the template starts to flare out away from her side at the bottom:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/gparksTN/Saddle%20Fitting/Khali%20Saddle%2003_zps6zra3qv1.jpg

[clanter]

[QUOTE=![](ontanas_Girl;8337899]
I’m starting to investigate western saddle options for my little (14-14.1) Arab mare. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a bit of a nightmare process. She is very short backed and VERY wide/round, with almost no withers:
?[/QUOTE]

well that was my Morgan mare to the T. We had to have her replacement saddle custom built… replacement because her hand-me-down custom saddle that had been made in the 1950s was stolen

Still have her saddle setting in the house and really have no plans on selling it.

photo of daughter was about your size at the time this was taken, horse is 14.1 and 1/2 hands, mare was short backed and no withers,

[IMG]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b386/clanter/AimeeandTheFox.jpg)

this was the mare in the 1950s saddle, wife up
[IMG]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b386/clanter/NitaandFoxie.jpg)

if you can get to Oklahoma City October 10-17, 2015 the Morgan championship show will be taking place… should be able to find a saddle there

[Flash44]

LOL OP - did the bell go ding ding ding when you had the correct template on her? That’s what happened to me. Don’t be afraid to CALL the people at horsesaddleshop - they can make recommendations for you. They know their saddles well. And they have many many online articles and videos about the saddles they stock, as well as how to correctly fit a horse.

[Montanas_Girl]

[QUOTE=Flash44;8343430]
LOL OP - did the bell go ding ding ding when you had the correct template on her?[/QUOTE]

I mainly felt a sense of tremendous relief. She’s not as much of an oddball as I thought!

I will definitely call the people at horsesaddleshop; I actually have my eye on one of their used saddles that looks like it might work for us. I just need to sell my close contact saddle first.