You can find many articles on the internet about how to buy a saddle that will fit your horse. Most of them contain very good advice. There are even devices you can purchase that measure your horse's back. Some saddle shops will allow you to take a saddle home for a few days to try it out on your horse, while others ask you to make an appointment to trailer your horse to their store where they can assist you in fitting a saddle on your horse. And sometimes, you cannot try the saddle first, whether you are buying privately or at auction or even from a shop. The best situation is to be able to borrow the saddle for a few days, as simply putting it on the horse's back will not tell everything about its suitability. Riding in it will. With most saddles you borrow from a saddle shop, you will need to leave a credit card record or check in the full amount of the price as insurance, and with an English saddle in particular, you may be asked not to use stirrup leathers, as they may leave marks on the saddle, or you may be asked to wrap your (new English saddles often do not come with leathers or stirrups) leathers in soft cloth to prevent marking. You will definitely have to use a pad under the saddle to prevent sweat or dirt marks. If the saddle does not fit and is dirty or marked or damaged when you return it, you will be charged a fee. Often with used saddles, you won't have as many restrictions.

Interestingly, the saddle that has fit your horse well may suddenly not fit so well anymore. This can be because you haven't ridden for a while and your horse has either lost condition and the muscle bulk that was once there is no longer, or your horse has gained some weight (fat), or it can be because you've ridden your horse so much that it has put on muscle. So, the saddle could be too wide or too narrow. If it is too narrow, it really is going to cause problems with your horse's back, and you'll need to either find a way to get some of that extra fat off the horse without using that saddle, or use a different saddle if the extra flesh is muscle. If it is too wide, you may be able to use extra padding until the horse builds back up to where the saddle fits well again.

You can use a coat hanger to take to the shop, auction or private owner of a saddle. Unwrap the hanger so you have a length of wire, and place this over your horse's back at the place the pommel of the saddle will fit. Bend it to conform to your horse's back. To be sure the wire does not get distorted on the way, you can place it on a large piece of paper (an unfolded paper bag will do) and trace the outline. Take both with you to the saddle. If the wire no longer fits the pattern on the paper, bend it so it does, then put it up under the pommel of the saddle. You should be able to see immediately if the saddle is too narrow or too wide. When you have found one that appears to have the right shape, try it on the horse.

If you cannot get your horse to the shop or have just come across a saddle for sale that you think might be right, you can bend a coat hanger under the saddle, using it to trace the outline of the underside that would lie against your horse. Then you can put this over your horse's back to see if it is too narrow (will stick up to far) or too wide (will snug right down to the withers). You'll find out if it is worth trying or buying the saddle.

To determine if the saddle fits your horse well, first make sure it fits when the horse is simply standing still wearing the saddle. Use a thin pad or blanket for this so you don't distort the fit. Cinch it down as you normally would. Make sure you've placed it properly so it will not interfere with the shoulder movement as it comes back, or be too far back on the back. In the right place, it should feel firm... if you try to push it forward or back (your hands on the pommel and the cantle), it should resist a little, as if it is "home". There should be at least three to four inches of space between the horse's withers and the pommel, as that will most likely decrease when your weight is in the saddle. On an English saddle, the pommel should never be higher than the cantle. Likewise, with a Western saddle, the seat should look balanced, the saddle neither uphill nor downhill, and there should be good clearance at the pommel.

The lowest part of the seat is where you will sit. As you stand looking at the saddle, if the lowest part of the seat looks like it is really close to the pommel or to the cantle, the saddle is not fitting right. Too close to the pommel and the saddle is probably too wide; check the space between the pommel and the horse... it will probably be too close to the horse's withers. If the lowest part of the seat is far back, the saddle is probably too narrow, and will be too tight at the shoulders... try moving it back a little in case you accidently set it too far forward. An exception is the Western saddle. Many if not most Western saddles are made so that the seat is slanted, high at the front and low at the cantle. This is supposed to give you an easy ride with the high Western cantle providing some back support. In truth, it puts your weight too far back and can be hard on the horse's loins. If at all possible, do not buy a Western saddle of this type for pleasure or trail riding. They may be useful for roping and team penning, barrel racing or other speed sports, but definitely are not good for any kind of distance riding. If you intend to trail ride very much, find one of the good brands that have a relatively flat seat. If he could, your horse would thank you.

For a donkey, because of the way their spines and shoulder blades are built, a saddle should sit a little further back than on a horse. It is almost imperative that a crupper be used, since donkeys don't really have withers and the saddle may slide forward. The crupper should be adjusted to keep the saddle properly placed whether riding in a ring or down a hill. You can use britching instead of a crupper.

For any horse with low withers and a round back, you can have problems with the saddle slipping to one side or another. For this problem, use a breast collar. It will help prevent this side slipping, and also any slipping to the rear. IMPORTANT: if you use a tie down or standing martingale, be sure to unfasten it before crossing water that could be deep (and you can't always tell, if it is unfamiliar or there have been heavy rains lately). A horse cannot swim if it cannot get its head way up high in order to breathe (much higher than while being riden). Each year, horses drown while trying to swim but having their heads tied down. In an emergency, you can reach forward and cut the tie down... every horseman should carry a pocket knife for emergencies.

A common problem with Western saddles is the rigging. Many modern Western saddles are rigged for roping, which is a sport of short runs and hard stops, with the saddle being pulled by the tension of the rope on the horn and the steer or calf on the other end. These saddles will have the cinch rings pretty far forward, in what is called "full double" rigging, and is proper for the sport of roping. However, it is not good for trail riding or other sports where the horse will be ridden for longer periods of time possibly up hill and down, and does not have to do any serious roping. The cinch will be too far forward and can interfere with the elbow and shoulder movement, even pinching the shoulder. For pleasure, trail and general riding, what is called 3/4 rigging is more appropriate, as the front cinch will be a little further under the horse. You will need to be careful with a 3/4 rigged saddle not to place the saddle too far forward, as that will sore the shoulders and defeat the purpose of the rigging style. "Center-fire" rigging is similar, and often used on long distance rides.

Western bars, the long support pieces that form the basis of the saddle (called the "tree" for an English saddle), generally come in Full Quarter Horse, Quarter Horse, Semi-Quarter Horse, and Arab bars. The Full Quarter Horse bars are the widest, made for horses with fairly low withers and wide shoulders and backs. The Semi-Quarter Horse bars are more narrow and suitable for a horse with normal to higher withers and a somewhat narrow back. Quarter Horse bars are somewhere inbetween those two, although some saddle makers have the Semi-Quarter Horse bars more narrow than the Quarter Horse bars. (Confused yet?) The Arab bars are made for a rather flat back with rounded sides. You can also get a saddle built with an extra tall gullet for high withered horses. If you find a very old saddle in still good condition, it probably will not specify saddle width, but many of the older (and I mean before 1950 or so) Western saddles were made for narrower horses. Extra wide saddles are now being made for draft type horses as well. Comment: When using a back cinch on a Western saddle, be sure that it is not so loose the horse can get a back hoof caught in it while kicking at belly flies. Likewise, don't cinch it up skin tight or you may be in for a rodeo. Because of the wide weight bearing area of a Western saddle, they can be more forgiving as far as fit, but you should still try one on your horse to be sure, especially checking the fit in the shoulder and withers area. Also, there are many variances from maker to maker in what the saddle sizes are called. Lastly and sadly, there is a prevelance of crooked trees (bars) -- in English saddles as well.

English saddle tree sizes are not uniformly described either. One maker may use letters or numbers, such as "A, B, C" or "1, 2, 3" (usually County saddles), while another could use centimeters as in 29cm, 30cm, 31cm, 32cm (usually Stuben and some other German makes). Some use words, "regular, medium, wide, extra wide". This isn't very useful as they do not necessarily correspond, but a saddle store employee will be able to help you. Generally a regular tree (30cm to 30.5cm or "2") will fit a refined or smaller Thoroughbred type, a medium tree (31cm or "3") will fit a less refined TB or a horse with defined withers and broader shoulders, and not too round a back, while a wide tree (32cm or more, "4" or higher) will fit a Quarter Horse type, Warmblood, Arab type (though there are companies that make saddles especially for Arabs, which may be the best way to go for that breed), or in the case of extra extra wide, a draft horse. You can also get a cutback pommel, which is good for high withered horses. The English saddle is generally less forgiving as to fit, since its weight bearing area is smaller than a western saddle's, so trying it out is quite important. I would try to be specific for mustangs, but they vary so much, it isn't really possible. Some are drafty, some are Spanish, some look Morgan, and some obviously have a bit of Thoroughbred. And those are just a few!

Another problem to check for is bridging. This is when the front and the back of the saddle contact the back well, but the middle of the saddle is not touching down firmly on the back. It will sore your horse in the loins and shoulder area. Check for this in both the English and the Western saddle. When the saddle is cinched down firmly (and do this in two or three stages), run your hands along the back about three inches below the backbone. It should be a pretty firm and even fit all the way to the back of the saddle. If you feel an area in the middle that is not as tight, the saddle is not suitable to your horse's back. It could be a saddle that is too long (in a Western saddle, you could try a barrel racing, rounded skirt, or Arab type saddle instead), or it could be the type of panels (on an English saddle). French panels (look like a banana) have been used for many years, and there are usually fewer problems with bridging with this type of saddle. Gussetted panels are a relatively new style in English saddles; they are very wide, and you usually can see a seam along the side of the back of this panel. It is better for a flat backed horse, like a warmblood. It does not fit the Thoroughbred type back as well -- this type of back has high withers and a sort of dip in the back towards the front (except for those that don't...).

Now. Here is the final test... riding your horse in the saddle. Ideally, it is warm weather and you can ride the horse (using a thin pad) until it is sweating, as you want to see if there are any places on the horse's back that did not sweat under the saddle. If it is too cold or you cannot ride the horse long enough to work up a sweat, you can sprinkle his back evenly with baby powder, then very carefully put on the pad and saddle. Use a mounting block or fence or stump to mount, as pulling the saddle when mounting will disturb its fit. Ideally, you will ride at all gaits on the flat and up hill and down (walking the hills is sufficient). When you are finished with your workout, you will know a few things already. The horse may not go as well as usual, either taking shorter steps or protesting in general when you want him to go forward, trot or canter. If this is not normal behavior for your horse, it is a clear indication that the saddle is not comfortable for him. The saddle may slide up or back on the hills (although some horses will need a breastplate and/or crupper with any type of saddle for hill work, especially if steep). Further, you will know how the saddle fits you. If at all possible, when you have finished your test ride, have a friend examine the saddle fit while you are mounted. She should look for the pommel being too close to the withers, the saddle being too high in either the front or back, check with her hands for bridging (Check both sides!), and should have watched while you rode to see if the saddle rocked or moved in any way not attributable to a too-loose girth (which should have been remedied immediately). If all is well at this point, it's time to examine the horse's back.

Carefully remove the saddle and pad (lift them together straight up from the back, even if you must stand on a mounting block to do so). Now, look at the back to see if there are any areas where the horse did not sweat. There are two reasons for dry spots. One reason is that the saddle is pinching and doesn't allow circulation to the skin (bad) and the other is that there is ventilation space at that location that allows the sweat to evaporate (not bad). The way to tell the difference if you aren't sure that the dry spot is bad or OK is to watch for dry spots that begin to sweat after a couple of minutes. This usually means the circulation was cut off by the saddle, and is now returning. You may find all along the backbone there is no sweat; this usually means that the gullet opening all the way allowed air to get to the back, which is good. Very good, as long as there are no pressure points elsewhere.

CHECK BOTH SIDES! The saddle tree may be crooked, and one side fine, but the other pinching. This is not as unusual as it should be for both English and Western saddles. (I know I said this before, but it is a very important aspect that many people overlook.)

If you used baby powder, check the back for areas where the powder remains undisturbed. This could be an area of bridging (bad), or if the backbone area where the gullet was clear, good. Look for evidence of areas where the powder was compressed into the back, or on the pad. These will be pressure points.

You can also run your hands lightly over the horse's back feeling for slightly swollen or hard spots, often the size of a dime or smaller. These will be pressure points, and may be painful. You can use some warm salt water and very gently massage them to bring back circulation. And return that saddle; it didn't fit your horse.

I will not touch on Endurance saddles, since there are a variety of types, and they are fairly new on the scene. People have definite preferences as to brand (and there are many), but fitting is still important, especially that the saddle not be too short (thus putting pressure on the horse's loins) or too long (pressure on the loins again). For instance, the Wintec Endurance Pro, a lovely saddle, does not work for most Arabs or other short backed horses. However, the Wintec Dressage saddle is often used on short-backed endurance horses, as the tree is not as long. Likewise, the new "treeless" saddles still require that the pommel be a good fit, plus in general, they are not good for heavy weight riders as their weight can push the seat down against the backbone of the horse.

One additional note: NEVER use stirrups on a bareback pad. The pad has no true tree, even those with a handle and "tree" at the withers area only (which puts too much pressure in that area). The stirrups will be hung from a strap that puts weight across a narrow part of the horse's backbone, with no tree to spread the weight, and if used very much, will sore the horse's back. More importantly, it is easy for a bareback pad to slip to one side if you happen to weight one stirrup more than another, and usually it just keeps going over, thus either dumping you or causing you to hang to the side or worse, under the horse. A bareback pad is to help protect the horse's backbone and your butt bones and keep the sweat off you. And even without stirrups, it gives little protection to the horse's back. If you want to ride with stirrups, use a saddle. You may get away with a bareback pad and stirrups for quite a while, but sooner or later, it will slip. This is especially important for children, so if yours are using a bareback pad, please remove the stirrup leathers and stirrups and lock them away for their own safety... or better, throw them away.

Fitting YOU

In general people believe that an English saddle seat should fit the human posterior. While this sounds like common sense and is true, actually, English saddle seat sizes are more related to the proportions of the rider, from hips through knees to feet. So to find a seat size that suits you, try this chart, which relates height to seat length (measured from either of the pommel buttons to the middle of the cantle):

4'8" to 4'9" = 15"

4'10" to 5' = 16"

5'1" to 5'3" = 16-1/2"

5'4" to 5'6" = 17"

5'7" to 5'9" = 17-1/2"

5'10" to 6' = 18"

6'1" to 6'2" = 18-1/2"

Over 6' 2" = 19"

Ideally, when mounted on an English saddle, you should be able to place the palm of your hand (minus thumb) between your backside and the end of the cantle. However, if you have a plump build and are short, you may have to go up a size or two in the seat size. This won't be a big problem unless you are using a very forward seat saddle, usually a "close contact" (CC) saddle or some types of extreme cross country (XC) saddles, made for jumping at speed; in that case, your knees may not reach the knee pad area. A solution is to use an all-purpose (AP) saddle with a tendency to dressage (VSD - pictured above), that is, one that is not too forward. This type of saddle will still have some forward flap, but it will not be as extreme. It will be fine for jumping to about three feet. For a dressage saddle, just be sure to get the flap length that suits you -- there is often an option for a regular or long flap. Most dressage and all-purpose saddles are suitable for trail riding, while the close contact type has thinner panels and is meant for schooling and showing, and can be painful to the horse (and rider!) on trail rides longer than one hour or so.

The Western saddle seat relates more to general size, which would be weight and height combined. If you are a hefty but short person, you may have trouble with a saddle whose seat size is perfect, but the stirrup leathers are way too long. You'll need to talk with the saddle shop about this. If you are quite tall but slender, you probably can use a smaller seat size. Generally, an average adult takes a 15" seat, a large adult takes a 16" seat, and a very large adult needs a 17" seat.

A few final comments. You are often better off buying a used saddle of good brand than buying a cheaper new saddle. The best made saddles last generations if properly cared for. As to caring for your saddle, if it is a leather one, do not use neatsfoot oil on it more than once a year, and when you do, make sure that it is 100% pure neatsfoot oil... neatsfoot oil "compound" has mineral oil in it, and that will cause stitching to rot out. When you do use oil, be sure to get all the underside of the leather, as this is the part that will "drink up" the oil, plus get it in those squeeky, hard to reach places as well. Don't dunk your saddle in oil... over oiling can weaken the leather. Put it in an airy place to dry, and next day, wipe off any excess oil that remains. For suede or "rough out", simply use a stiff brush (some shoe stores sell a small metal tined brush for this purpose) whenever you finish a ride. This will prevent flatening and loss of nap in the suede. Don't brush if it is wet -- wait until it has dried. Never use oil on suede... it will just soak through to the next layer of leather below plus destroy the nap. On a rough out saddle, use oil and soap on the under-side of the saddle where the leather is smooth (if the under-side is also rough out, only use saddle soap, and only a dryish glycerine bar lather worked in well... for squeaks, push the lather up into the squeaky areas with a Q-tip).

If you find mold on the leather, clean it up with white vinegar, which will make an acid environment and prevent mold for some time... then clean with saddle soap over the area. Mold on leather is usually due to dampness, so if mold is a problem for your tack try to keep it in an airy place; either your house or in a tack room with a ceiling fan going most of the time (and in really damp climates, a dehumidifier). Use a good saddle soap after each ride -- for this purpose, you can use one of the liquid saddle soaps such as Fiebing's Liquid Glycerine Saddle Soap, Horseman's One Step or Leather New. Makes for a quick job, then a few times a year you can take the entire saddle apart and use a bar of glycerine saddle soap and a little elbow grease to really clean it up (do this every time your saddle gets really muddy, dusty or grubby from a ride -- if really dirty, use a the liquid saddle soap first, and gently to remove the dirt and prevent its scratching the leather). Work up only a small lather (not too much water), and go over every bit of the saddle you can reach, under side and all. If necessary, use a Q-tip to get in those hard to reach areas. Hint: if you find spots of ground in dirt you just can't get out, take some mane or tail hair, roll it into a little ball, spray on a little liquid saddle soap, and use it like you would steel wool... it will usually take all that dirt off and will not mark the leather! Let the saddle and soap coating dry overnight in an airy place, then polish with a very clean, lint-free cloth the next day. You can hand a saddle taken care of this way down to your children!

Finally, thanks to Willis Lamm for his contribution about sweating to find pinch areas, and using the coat hanger to fit the underside of a saddle. Any mistakes with that information are my own.

-Diana Linkous, 2002