Western Saddle Fitting

Fitting your horse:

Semi QH bars: An narrow to average size horse. (higher wither)

QH bars: An average size to a wider horse.

Full QH bars: A wide horse to a small draft. (flat wither)

Have you horse stand on level ground when fitting. Put on the pad you will be using and put the saddle on and move it back and forth until it finds its natural resting place.

The saddle should sit level on the horse. You should be able to fit 3 to 4 fingers together verticaly between the wither and the pommel (this will go down to 2 or 3 after the saddle is broken in). There should be no obvious gaps along the back of the saddle. You should have a space between the end of the saddle and the hips so they do not rub.

Get in the saddle and ride about 5 minutes and check the fit again.

Then walk, trot and canter for about 15 minutes and watch to see if the horse has any unusual behavior. Laying back of ears, biting at the saddle, or bucking.

Fitting you:

You by now should have determined if the saddle is comfortable for you. You should be able to put your hand on your thigh at the pommel. When riding do you feel you are in a natural position?

After you decide this is the saddle for you...condition all the leather before you ride in it.

After you ride, wipe it down with your favorite conditioner.