How to measure a horse for a saddle

How do you know what size saddle your horse needs?

Attach the saddle to your horse and sit down in the saddle. While riding, you should be able to fit 3 to 4 fingers in between the swell and your thigh. If you can fit more than 4 fingers, your saddle is too big. If you can’t fit 3 fingers, then your saddle is too small.

How do you determine saddle size?

Measuring your Saddle Seat Size

1. Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the ground so that your knees are bent at a 45-degree angle. Be sure your buttocks are touching the back of the chair.
2. Take a measuring tape and run it along your thigh bone, measuring from the end of your knee to the backside of your buttocks.

How do you measure for a western saddle?

Fitting the Rider

The seat size on a Western saddle is determined by measuring the saddle from the back of the horn to the top of the cantle and ranges from 12 to 18 inches. When you sit in a Western saddle, you should be able to fit two to three fingers between the front of your thigh and the fork of the saddle.

How do you tell if your saddle doesn’t fit your horse?

Here are six signs to watch for which could indicate that your saddle doesn’t fit your horse.

1. Pressure On Your Horse’s Withers. …
2. Sore Back. …
3. Unevenness From Front to Back. …
4. Extra Movement. …
5. Uneven Sweat Marks. …
6. Poor Horse Behavior.

What happens if a saddle is too wide?

When a saddle is too wide in the front, it can sink down over the withers. This takes the saddle out of balance by making the pommel lower than the cantle, which in turn carries more pressure over the front of the tree (at the withers/shoulders) than a saddle with a properly sized tree.

What width saddle do I need?

Scientists have measured sit bone spacing for large populations. On average, men’s sit bone width ranges between 100mm – 140mm (give or take a few mm to round), and women’s range between 110mm – 150mm.

How do you fit a saddle to a rider?

Place the saddle on the horse’s bare back without a pad. There should be two to three fingers space between the top of the wither and the gullet of the saddle. If you can vertically fit your whole hand between the bottom of the gullet and the wither, the tree is probably too narrow.

Where do you measure a saddle gullet?

The saddle gullet should span the withers, resting on the withers about 2 inches below their highest point and leaving a gap between the top of the withers and the bottom of the saddle. Place your hand into the space between the saddle and your horse’s wither, using your fingers to measure the vertical space.

Are old saddles worth money?

If your saddle was a low end saddle or you have abused it and not cared for the leather properly, you should not expect to get a lot of money for it. … Used saddles can sell for anywhere between several thousand dollars to less than $100 dollars, depending on their condition and value.

What is a gullet on a saddle?

Unfortunately, no standards for gullet measurements exist within the saddle industry. … The gullet is the tunnel underneath the fork and rides over the horse’s withers. The design of the fork and the angle of the bars of the saddle tree determine the width and height of the gullet.

How tight should a saddle cinch be?

Cinch Checkpoints

You should be able to put one index finger under the cinch to your finger’s first joint. If you can reach in at the back of the cinch more than that, it’s probably too loose. If you can’t fit a finger in at all, it may be too tight.