The saddle is a necessary hindrance. Necessary because it helps us mount the horse and stay on. A hindrance because it comes between us and the horse and therefore interferes with one important channel of communication between horse and rider-the movement of the horse’s back.

But as long as we have them, let’s be quite sure they fit both the horse and the rider.

First a few terms to help you through this exercise;

Panels: The two pads that rest on the horse’s back. They are normally filled with wool or synthetic flocking but sometimes are made from a solid piece of foam or felt. These are called French or close Contact panels and whilst they can be adjusted, it is far more involved than for flocked panels.

Channel: The gap between the Panels running the length of the saddle.

Pommel: The top front or head of the saddle

Gullet: The underside of the pommel

Cantle: The rear edge of the seat

Outer Flap: The large piece of leather against which the rider’s leg rests

Sweat Flap: The second flap resting on the horse’s side

Girth Points or Billets: The straps to which the girth is attached.

Stirrup bars: The metal bars which hold the stirrup leathers

Skirt: The leather flap covering the stirrup bars

Tree: The frame on which the saddle is constructed

Twist: a term used to describe the width of the saddle across the narrowest part of the tree.

Knee rolls: The pads against which the thigh and knee rest. They can be of various sizes and are either attached to the sweat flap or built into the outer flap. Jumping saddles and stock saddles sometimes also have a rear thigh roll as well.

Let me say at the outset that my comments relate mainly to dressage, jumping, stock and all purpose saddles, although the principles apply to most other saddles. They also relate mainly to new saddles, because it is impossible to give definitive advice on fitting used saddles without knowing the state of the flocking. Suffice to say that the panels should be evenly filled with no hollow spots, high spots or hard spots. They should have some give and not be rock hard and they should sit squarely on the horse’s back so that the saddle does not lean to either side.

Fitting the rider

Once you’ve decided on what type of saddle you need, you must determine the correct size for you. There are two main considerations:

Your thigh length and the size of your bottom.

With the exception of stock and western saddles, most saddles nowadays are measured from the saddle nail-that broad brass or nickel stud on the side of the pommel-diagonally to the centre of the cantle (the back of the seat). That measurement for an adult saddle is normally between 40cm and 46 cm. Children’s saddles mostly measure between 38cm and 40cm .

There should be at least 50mm clearance between the rider’s bottom and the cantle. I prefer to see a little more, but the ultimate judge is the rider. Go with what feels comfortable-back and front.

Your knee should rest at least 75mm above the bottom of the saddle flap and fit comfortably against the knee roll. Suggestions that thigh length dictates the size of the seat make little sense. It is nonsensical to tell a rider of small build that she needs a 44cm seat because she has a long thigh!

Because we are all built differently, you may find that the shape of a saddle doesn’t suit your shape. The twist or the shape of the seat may be too wide or too narrow for your pelvis or it may force you into a position which is uncomfortable. The only way to find out is to ride in the saddle.

Fitting the horse

The horse would rather not have this strange thing strapped to his back so it’s encumbent on us to make it as comfortable as possible.

Deciding whether a saddle fits is a very quick job for anyone who knows what to look for. The more difficult task is making a saddle fit. That’s a job for an experienced saddle specialist.

What to look for:

1. Position

The saddle is positioned behind the horse’s shoulder-not on it. Saddles are made to sit in the groove behind the shoulder. If placed too far forward they will usually slip back anyway as the horse moves, but if not, excess pressure will be placed on the horse’s loins, causing a sore back. This is one of the most common errors I see.

The position of the girth is determined by where the saddle sits on the horse-not the reverse. A horse with a long sloping wither will carry the saddle further back than a more regularly shaped horse.

Even without a girth, a saddle should give the appearance of snuggling into the horse’s back rather than sitting on top of it. It should look as though it doesn’t need a girth to keep it there.

It is vital that the weight of the saddle is carried evenly along its length. There should not be any gaps between the panels and the horse’s back and the pressure should be even.

It must not rock from front to back, like a rocking chair or bridge the horse’s back, and it must sit so that the rider will be in the correct seat position i.e. over her legs. Therefore, it should not tilt back or forward, but sit squarely on the horse.

Because modern saddles vary so much in the height of the cantle, there is no fixed rule on the height of the cantle in relation to the pommel, but with the rider on, the cantle should never be lower than the pommel and in most cases should be at least 2-3cm higher. The more important guide is that the rider is placed in the correct position.

The panels should be broad and sit flat on the horse’s back when viewed from the rear when the rider is mounted. The channel between the panels must be wide enough not to pinch the horse’s spine. Ideally it should be at least 3 fingers wide.

Occasionally, problems arise if the saddle is too long on the horse and sits on the sensitive loin area. The rear of the saddle should end well before the horse’s hip bones, but provided the saddle fits well and doesn't dig into the loins, there are very few cases where the length of the saddle is a problem.

But if you are a large person riding a small pony, you have a problem. A saddle which is the correct length for the pony may be too small for you, whilst a saddle that fits you, may be too long for the pony. If you try to squeeze into a small saddle, you will put pressure on the ends of the panels and therefore on the horse's loin area.

Extended Panels

This term describes saddles which have panels extending beyond the cantle. They are designed to provide a longer weight bearing area and are common on endurance saddles and some dressage saddles. Provided they do not dig into the horse’s loins they are fine, especially for the heavier rider, but note my comment in the preceding paragraph.

2. Tree Shape

The tree is the frame on which a saddle is built. It can be made from laminated timber, reinforced with steel or it can be made from a range of synthetic materials. Only those with flexible synthetic trees lend themselves to a quick change gullet system, but we are able to alter the trees on most of the saddles we carry.

By far the most important consideration in obtaining the correct saddle for your horse is the shape of the tree-the whole tree-not just the gullet area.

The first thing I look at is the amount of dip in the horse’s back, because that determines the shape of saddle needed.

A thoroughbred for example usually has a moderate amount of dip in his back and an aged horse quite a lot, whilst a Warmblood or a rotund pony may have a much straighter back..

So you need to find a saddle whose tree corresponds in shape to the horse’s back shape.

The shape of the panels can be altered to some degree by re-arranging the stuffing or adding stuffing or an insert (if it has flocked or Cair panels) or in some cases removing a small amount of stuffing, but this should only be done to effect minor adjustments such as rounding the centre of the panels slightly, where there is a small degree of bridging, narrowing or increasing the gullet width slightly, or flattening the panels.

Care should be taken that any extra stuffing does not cause a hard area in the panels. This is particularly common when attempts are made to raise the rear of the saddle or narrow the gullet excessively.

In those cases where the back of the saddle needs to be raised more than a centimetre or so, it is possible to insert a gusset in the rear of the panel. But this should be approached with the overall balance of the saddle in mind because it can increase the pressure at the front of the saddle.

If for example a saddle lifts at the rear when girthed up, it usually means that it is too wide in front or that the tree is too curved. In this case, the width of the gullet needs to be checked rather than padding up the rear to fill the gap because this would only cause the saddle to be held in an incorrect position creating pressure on the horse’s shoulders. If it is the shape of the tree, it may be possible to flatten the panels slightly by removing a small amount of flocking. If not, search for a tree which is flatter.

The angle of front of the tree (the gullet area) across the shoulder area, should follow that of the horse’s shoulders to allow free movement. This is very important. Many a horse has been restricted in its movement and muscle development by a saddle that is jammed into the shoulder. As with the rest of the panels, there should be no sharp point of pressure apparent if you run your hand down the shoulder line under the front of the saddle when it is girthed up.

3. The saddle must not touch the spine

As with humans, this is a very sensitive area and the tree of the saddle is hard so the channel which runs the length of the saddle between the panels, should not touch the spine. You should aim for an eventual clearance of approximately 3cm under the pommel and the rear of the saddle with the rider on and with a normal saddlecloth. Just how much initial clearance is required depends on the saddle you are fitting and the weight of the rider. Firmly packed saddles will settle less than soft ones. Synthetic saddles tend to settle quite a bit in the first week of riding and therefore you need to allow for this. Heavy riders will cause a saddle to settle more than lighter riders. My rule of thumb with a new saddle is that with a rider of average weight, there should be about 3 fingers clearance vertically from the wither to the underside of the gullet when the rider is mounted. This can be less for a light rider.

Obviously with a used saddle there is no need to allow for settling.

4. No top line?

This is a common problem. If a horse lacks top line to the extent that the saddle sits on the spine, you should either find a saddle with thick panels that lift it up or substitute two pads to compensate for the missing muscles.

This is my preference, because they can be removed once the top line improves. They are best placed inside a pocket saddle cloth. The pads we use are made from dense felt which can be made to the required thickness.

It is particularly inadvisable to put a narrow gullet plate into adjustable saddles in an attempt to hold the saddle off the wither where the horse is very high withered with no muscle either side and no top line. This is likely to pinch the wither. It is preferable to use a slightly wider gullet plate and to add some padding so that the weight of the rider is then borne along the length of the saddle, rather than just on the wither, and the shoulder is free to move.

Where the horse has good top line, but a very high wither, a narrow gullet should be OK, because the back muscles will support the bulk of the saddle.

5.Very broad wither?

Another common problem and one which needs to be approached with some caution.

These days, it is often possible to adjust a saddle so that it is wide enough for most horses. We can widen most of our saddles. The danger in widening a saddle however, is that it may cause the back of the saddle to lift, particularly if the horse has a flat back. Any adjustment made to the front of saddle changes the shape of the tree to some degree and the wider it is made in front, the greater will be the amount of curve in the tree from front to back., with the result that it may fit well on the wither, but rock on the horse’s back.

6. Signs of a poorly fitting saddle

These are things to check out, but they may not necessarily be the fault of the saddle

The horse throws you off-you don’t want this. (In fact, you may not want the horse! But before moving him on, have your saddle checked.)
He has a sore back.
He has begun to step short or alter his gait in some way.
He has trouble flexing laterally or coming down onto the bit.
He takes evasive action when you approach with the saddle.
He begins to refuse jumps.
He has very dry patches around the wither area. (In the absence of any other problems, I don’t get overly concerned about uneven sweat patterns.-they are a very imprecise indicator.)
He has bare patches or rub marks under the rear of the saddle.
The saddle keeps moving –either forward or back..

If a saddle fitted well initially, there only a few things that can alter its fit:

The horse’s shape has changed.
The stuffing has flattened.
The rider has gained weight.
In rare cases the tree may be broken. Modern trees almost never spread.

7. Repacking

Saddles should only be repacked if the flocking has hardened or changed to the extent that the saddle no longer fits correctly. Routine re-packing is a waste of money and may well be counter-productive. Flocked panels will gradually mould to the shape of the horse and so once this has happened, it is pointless to alter the flocking and begin the remoulding process all over again.

8. Templates

Where it is not possible to actually try saddles on the horse, templates can provide a broad guide to what shape saddle might fit, but they make no allowance for the rider's weight or the amount a saddle is likely to settle, because this depends on the flocking-how firmly it is packed and the type of flocking used. By far the better option is to try saddles on. It would be a brave person who had a saddle made purely from a template.

It is very rare that a horse needs to have a saddle specially made and even rarer that the rider is of such a standard that they cannot find a saddle from the vast array of quality, adjustable saddles available these days to match their ability.

Notwithstanding the many claims that are made and the technicalities that saddle sellers insist make their saddle unique, I have found that quality saddles with some minor adjustments, will fit most horses. After all, it would be a foolish saddle maker who made saddles that didn’t fit as many horses as possible.