Saddle Fit: An Eight-Point Check
If you are reading this, you have already turned off the “ignorance is bliss” highway. Anyone who wants to do right by horses gets on this road eventually, and I will warn you: it is bumpy. Once you can see the signs of mismanagement you cannot unsee them.
It is disheartening at times. It is also the only way the industry gets better.
What a bad saddle looks like from the outside
There are physical and behavioural signs. A horse that bucks, rears, swishes his tail or shows any of the other signs of pain under saddle is telling you the saddle may not fit.
White marks either side of the withers mean an ill-fitting saddle has been used for a long time: nerve damage kills the pigment in the follicle and the hair grows back white. A horse that bloats or gets cinchy when you tighten the girth is telling you the saddle has been uncomfortable. I have met plenty that bite the handler when the saddle goes on, and some that bite the rider’s leg as they mount. A horse that will not stand at the block, or walks off as you mount from the ground, may be anticipating what the rider’s weight is about to do.
Where the saddle sits
I talk about anatomy in most of my articles because it is the ground zero of not causing harm, and saddle fit is no exception. A saddle fitted wrong causes irreparable nerve damage, unwanted behaviour, and more risk to the rider.
The spine has five sections: the cervical vertebrae in the neck, then the thoracic — where the saddle sits — then the lumbar, then the sacrum and tail. The saddle acts on the thoracic section, which includes the withers and shoulders, and on the lumbar if it fits badly. A horse in constant discomfort from a saddle eventually shows it through the whole body.
Schleese Saddlery leads on saddle and rider fit. They were the first maker to account for female anatomy, they research pressure on the horse’s back continuously, and their YouTube library goes into far more detail than I will here. I will keep this to the checklist.
The eight points
Balance
The saddle should not tilt forward or back in a way that moves the rider’s point of balance. Tilted forward, the rider’s weight goes forward with it, loading the front of the saddle. And vice versa.
Wither clearance
Two to three fingers all the way round, between the withers and the underside of the swell, so the saddle never touches the withers. Pressure there causes real pain and opens the door to lameness.
Gullet channel
The channel keeps the saddle off the spine and puts the rider’s weight where the back can carry it. Pressure on the spine interferes with sensitive nerves and shows up as performance problems.
Panel contact
Even contact along the whole panel. No hollow spots between the panel and the back, no concentrated pressure anywhere.
Billet alignment
The latigo and cinch should hang perpendicular and line up with the girth groove. When they do not, the saddle creeps forward onto the shoulder cartilage and withers.
Length
The bars must not bear on the shoulder cartilage or the lumbar. The flare of the bars can extend past those points as long as it puts no pressure on them.
Straightness
A tree can warp, and a horse can be asymmetrical. Either way the saddle should sit straight and parallel to the spine. Look from behind, towards the horn: the centre of the saddle and the horn should line up exactly. If they do not, the pressure is uneven.
Tree angle and width
Probably the most important of the eight. The bar angle should match the angle of the horse’s shoulder. Steeper than the shoulder pinches and damages the cartilage. Wider than the shoulder sits the saddle too low and puts the weight-bearing surface on the wrong part of the back.
Then check again
A saddle that fits today may not fit next year. Fitness, muscle, weight and age all change the back. A fall or careless storage can warp or break a tree. Use a reputable fitter periodically. Several makers now build saddles with adjustable bar width and angle; they cost more, and they are usually cheaper than buying three saddles across a horse’s career.
Final thoughts
Any change in a horse’s behaviour under saddle is a good reason to stop and check every piece of equipment for pain. Horses are truth tellers; they do not have it in them to be “naughty” on purpose. Bucking, crow-hopping, rearing, tail swishing, teeth grinding, pinned ears, reluctance to go forward — that is the horse telling you he is not comfortable. Never punish a horse for telling you the truth. Look for the external cause first.
And, as I keep saying: once you know better, do better.