Some tips for checking the fit on your horse:

Set it on his back without a saddle pad, but with a clean cloth between the saddle and horse if working with a new saddle. The front of the saddle should rest two to three fingers back from the horse's shoulder blade. You don't want the saddle interfering with his shoulder rotation. If this seems back too far, look at where the girth would be, you should have about 3-5” behind the “elbow” to keep the girth from interfering or rubbing the back of the leg.


Once you've determined position, check the tree fit. The saddle should not “perch” on the horse yet you should be able to get about three-four fingers between the underside of the swells or pommel and the wither before tightening the girth/cincha. More space than that is not a good sign, but continue checking before ruling out the saddle. Before girthing, check with your hand all along the underside of the saddle on the horse’s back to determine if there is contact along the entire panel (English saddles) or underside of the tree (Western Saddles). At this same time, before putting a pad under the saddle; try to rock the saddle by holding the cantle in one hand and the swells/pommel in the other. There should be very little up or down movement. Look also at the saddle to see if it looks level as opposed to high in back or high in front. Some styles of saddles will appear high in the back because the cantle is higher such as Dressage or Highback Western saddles, so do not be fooled by “looks”; but few if any saddles will appear high in the front.

IIf everything has looked well so far, take the saddle off and put a pad on top of the clean cloth, replace the saddle and tighten the cincha or girth up depending on the type of saddle.

As the cincha/girth tightens, the saddle may settle down to two to three fingers over the withers. This is not a bad sign, but watch that the back of the saddle does not “pop up” 3-4”. Also, as you tighten the girth/cincha, watch your horse. Look for signs of irritation and discomfort. Tail swishing, ear pinning, biting the air, moving away from you can all be signs that the saddle is pinching the horse. If these occur, you might want to go back a step and look again at how the saddle is sitting on the horse. If all is going well, you should lunge the horse for about 5-10 minutes and watch the movement and attitude. Once the initial “freshness” wears off, the horse should move into frame, with the head at a comfortable level and rounding up into the saddle. A horse that travels high headed, with the back hollowed out under the saddle could be trying to let you know that this is not a comfortable saddle for him. Especially if the animal adds ear pinning and tail swishing opinions to the hollow movement.

Assuming that the signs are all positive, this is when you get a chance to ride the saddle. If working with a new saddle, be certain to protect the fenders/leathers and stirrups to keep the saddle new looking in case you need to return it. However, if things have looked good thus far, you have a good chance the saddle is fitting.  Again, watch the attitude of your horse as you mount. Ride out at a walk and then move up to a trot and canter/gallop if the space allows. Ask your horse to perform maneuvers that will cause bending under the saddle and watch his attitude as he follows your cues. Simple spirals or tight turns in both directions will show a lot if the horse is not comfortable.

After about 10-15 minutes of riding, take the saddle off very carefully. The clean cloth under the saddle pad should show an even dirt pattern (no matter how much you brush, there is still dirt) from front to back along either side of the spine. If there is a left to right clean spot in the center of the saddle, the saddle is “bridging” and not making contact in that area. If the horse has worked up a sweat, there should be no dry spots or rub marks (broken or bent over hairs) from the front to the back of the saddle on either side of the spine.

By this point, you should have a good feel about the fit of the saddle. Keep in mind that horses can and do change physically as they mature, gain or lose fitness, or age. Every time you remove your saddle, look for rub marks or dry spots. Adding extra pads NEVER helps if you have a dry spot. That is like adding thick socks to your tight boots – Ouch. Orthopedic pads can fill in gaps and level out minor high spots, but the most expensive pad in the world will not make a saddle that is pinching your horse fit. Saddles that have trees geared to a specific breed do not automatically fit all animals of that breed. That would be like classifying shoe size by nationality. Each saddle should be fitted to the horse wearing it, regardless of breed specific trees. Your Arab could need a Full Quarter horse tree or a Semi-Quarter horse tree or an Arab tree. I have three horses and each wears a different size, including one that has to have a Custom made saddle because he does not fit any of the standard size or shapes of saddles. There is no true Standard for tree shape or size in the saddle making industry. Gullet width, and angle will vary from maker to maker. Even English saddles have no set standard and they have been in production longer than Western saddles by a hundred years or more so do not expect any standards any time soon.