Question about fitting a Western Saddle

I am trying to fit my dressage horse to a western saddle for trail riding.
The local tack store owner sent me home with a Simco saddle to try.
Nice lady but I found out doesn't seem to know her product well. LOL

The saddle is a gaited horse saddle. It actually fits my warmblood quite well, but I am wondering if in the long run it will work or cause fitting/soreness issues. (PIC ATTACHED)
My horse takes a wide tree in dressage saddles. This one, as described on the Simco site, has a fiber-wrap narrow gullet. I haven't measured the gullet yet, but should.

Anyone have any suggestions? I have unlimited time to try this saddle out but should I be looking at a different tree type?

Thanks. :)

Attachments:

Saddle 1.jpg, 206 KB
Saddle 6.jpg, 202 KB
Saddle 2.jpg, 186 KB

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Permalink Reply by Nora Robinson on September 21, 2009 at 11:35pm

Hey Kathi! It would be very hard for anyone to really tell you if your saddle is fitting properly, just by looking at pictures. Possibly even more difficult because it is a western saddle. Someone who has a really good eye and is very experienced may be able to point out a very obvious problem, but there is no way to see how the underside (bars) of the tree are conforming to your horses back. If you posted a picture of your horses back with no tack on.....that would give an idea of what kind of tree might suit.

With a western saddle tree, you want to know what kind of rock (curve in the front to back) and flare (how the front point and rear points rest......more straight up and down, or curving out from the shoulder)
the saddle has. There are lots of different trees out there, and the better saddle companies usually have various trees that the saddle is "put together" on. Steele makes and "Equifit" tree, that Crates uses and is a very nice tree. Circle Y has started to develop and "Flex Tree" which is also a good choice for a horse who may have a non-Quarter Horse type back.......which by the way, is what most Western Saddles have always based tree size, rock and flare on.

Anyway it is a very big, wide world out there for western saddle fitting, and here is a link to a short video that may help give you an idea of what you want to look for when trying to fit a western saddle. http://www.bayequest.info/2minvideo/cate_5.html

Watch the How to fit your Saddle Parts 1 & 2 f "Horse Anatomy". Then watch the "How to fit your western Saddle" next. Also a very good resource is Pain Free Saddle Fitting (book and DVD for both Western and English) by Dr. Joyce Harmon.....it is an absolute gem of a reference.

Good luck and take your time.....A great fitting western saddle is an absolute pleasure to ride in. I will be looking for one for myself next spring!

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Permalink Reply by Kathi on September 22, 2009 at 10:47am

Nora
I have attached a pic of him without any tack. The video was very helpful BTW. :)

Thanks.

Attachments:

Trix.jpg, 234 KB

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Permalink Reply by Nora Robinson on September 22, 2009 at 1:17pm

Hi Kathi.......what a lovely boy you have, BTW !

Considering how high his wither is......you seem to have ample clearance under the horn. From the picture you posted without any tack, he also looks to have a fairly long back, which gives you alot more options....than say, my short backed little Arab lol! I'm not sure, because he is not standing square behind, but does he have some curve to his back? If so, then that is where you have to start thinking about the "rock" in the saddle tree. If there is not enough, the saddle will bridge I would think. One thing you could do, while trying out this saddle, is place a white saddle pad, or towel, under your other pad, and go for a good long ride. You want to ride long enough to make a nice dirt/sweat pattern on the white pad. After that, you can post the picture and that would help to see how the saddle is making contact along his back.
You also need to be able to feel if the saddle is keeping you in a balanced position. Hope you will get some more replys to this......it is always so tricky trying to find that great fitting saddle!

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Permalink Reply by Kathi on September 22, 2009 at 2:57pm

Nora,
When I rode in it for the first time last night, the pressure of me sitting in the saddle caused the gullet area under the horn (I still refer to it as the pommel) pressed on his withers. I have had others tell me to get a pad that is cut back and "built up" to alleviate this pressure but wouldn't this cause the saddle to be unstable? It fits him well without a rider, but as I said once someone is in the saddle it seems to widen out.
He doesn't have that much of a curve along his spine when he is standing square. He is a warmblood hence the uphill build.
Thanks for your help.

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Permalink Reply by Nora Robinson on September 22, 2009 at 6:03pm

This exact same thing has happened to me so many times! Looks great off the horse, but as soon as you get on......boom, down it goes on the withers! And my horse has an average wither. This can be very confusing and frustrating, because it would automatically make me think that the tree is too wide. My problem was that, as far as I knew, I was trying a Semi Quarter Horse bar, which is about as narrow as they come. So for me......it could have been that the tree and gullet width were fine, but the flare did not support the saddle staying in the right place. It's almost like you have to look at a Western saddle, piece by piece, if you don't have one of those "generic" type of conformation to work with. My opinion about the saddle pad, is don't waste your time or money trying to make a saddle work by using a certain type of pad. They all eventually compress......and if you get the saddle raised up in the front, it will probably add pressure behind, or fill in the shoulder area to much and start pinching and preventing good shoulder movement. Google "harmonyequine" or Dr. Joyce Harman and see what she has on her site about western saddle fitting. It may help you to start sorting through the info you need to make the best decision .