How to measure horse for 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 measure the size of a saddle?

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 a horse for an English saddle?

If you are unsure of the right size for the gullet for your horse, you can measure your horse’s withers. Take a flexible-but-firm wire and place it over the horse’s withers two inches behind the horse’s shoulder blade, then bend it so it lays over the withers against the horse’s skin.

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.

Where should the saddle sit on a horse?

Place the saddle on the horse’s bare back (no pad). There should be two to three fingers space between the top of the wither and the gullet of the saddle. If you can fit your whole hand (vertically) between the bottom of the gullet and the wither, the tree is probably too narrow.

How do I measure a saddle gullet?

Place your hand into the space between the saddle and your horse’s wither, using your fingers to measure the vertical space. The gap should fit no more than two fingers to two and a half fingers. If three or more fingers fit, the gullet is too narrow. If fewer than two fingers fit, the gullet is too wide.

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.

Is my saddle too narrow?

Place the saddle on the horse’s bare back (no pad). There should be two to three fingers space between the top of the wither and the gullet of the saddle. If you can fit your whole hand (vertically) between the bottom of the gullet and the wither, the tree is probably too narrow.