I need HELP! saddle help?

Question

I have problems fitting my horse with a saddle, her withers are hit and the horn always is pressing on her withers, also sometimes it is tight in the shoulders. any suggestions, or any saddle that you know might fit?

Answer 1

You need a saddle with a very high channel, and as someone said, make sure you're not placing it too far forward.  The saddle shouldn't be sitting right on the shoulder blade.  It needs to rest in the indentation in back of the scapula.  Are you using a treeless saddle, by some chance?  Because they don't work well on horses with high withers.  Saddle pads won't really fix the problems you're describing, as a thicker pad would make the saddle "tighter", and, unless maybe you tried a cutback pad. any other type would only exacerbate the fact that the saddle is too low for high withers.  People familiar with specific Western saddle brands my have better, more specific suggestions.  Whatever you do, don't ride in a saddle that's pressing on your horses withers.

Answer 2

are you sure your saddle isnt' too far forward?

also you could try buying cutback saddle pads... they could help with the height of the horn...

i ride english so that's all i can help u with :)

Answer 3

You need to get a saddle fitter to fit her a saddle, this is the only way to ensure it will not cause her pain.

Answer 4

Whoa too tight in the shoulders and the withers hit?  You have a very odd shaped horse or are putting to wide of a tree and trying to slide it back too far to compensate.  It sounds to me like you need to get a narrower tree and slide the saddle forward more than you are.

Typical tree widths are in order wide to narrow (though admitted there is no factory standard here)

Draft horse bars

full quarter horse bars

quarter horse bars

semi-quarter horse bars

semi-quarter horse are designed for the high withers that most of todays breeds have.

Answer 5

i would suggest you ask a person who fits saddles on horses...its kinda hard to tell without a pic. or video

Answer 6

Maybe you should just try an orthopedic gel pad. If you are already have the saddle, it may be help to try other things before buying a new one.

Answer 7

Here are some links so you can visualize and read about saddle fitting in depth...

http://petcaretips.net/saddle_fitting.ht...

this one has more of a pictoral guide..

http://www.equilibriumproducts.com/horse...

This one has more info. for Western saddles..

http://www.horses-and-horse-information....

Hope this helps you..glad you were aware of an issue!!

Answer 8

you could get a build up pad or just a really thick pad. the pads that are stiffer usually keep the saddle from rubbing on their withers too ( i have that problem with my TB cause she's built so skinny. ) when i ride her i usually just use two thick saddle pads. As for it being tight on her you might need one with a different size tree. try searching how to fit a saddle or something on Yahoo.

Answer 9

Dont be afraid to loosen it up a bit. And make sure its not too far forward, nor too far back. You can buy a saddlepad that has a very thick and strong area by the withers so the horn will not hurt her withers, and for her shoulders, you need to loosen the cinch and move it over a little bit. I hope I helped! I ride English so i dont really know about Western saddles.

Answer 10

You didn't say what type of horse you have.  For TB types I've used semi Quarter Horse treed saddles and make sure that I can get pads that are built up on the sides, but just have fabric in the middle of them.  Also a cut back pad can do the job too.

You can also take a wire coat hanger and shape it across the middle of your horse's withers and take it into the saddle shop where you frequent and you can check the saddles they have on hand that have the clearance.

Answer 11

well it looks like u barrle race so try a 6in QH connie comb barrle racing saddle