The Truth About Withers Clearance

One of the biggest misconceptions in saddle fitting is that two-three fingers withers clearance means that the saddle fits. When I check saddle fit there are actually 36 points to consider, and withers clearance is only one of them.

The withers are a very sensitive area of the horse with different interacting muscles and bones. Obviously you do not want the pommel of the saddle pushing down on the wither bone of our horse which would cause sores.

This is the area that veterinarians sometimes refer to as the ‘vise grip’ of the saddle, and is where the stallion bites the mare to immobilize her during mating. This is the exact effect a pinching saddle will have on your horse – whether it’s a stallion, gelding, or mare, since the musculature is the same, as is the effect.

A fact that is not widely known is that if the saddle pinches on the sides of the withers just down from the bone at the top it can cause a lot of pain and even lameness in the horse. The Trapezius, Rhomboideus, and Spinalis Dorsi all tie together at the top of the withers, and all of these muscle require clearance as well. Regardless whether you have a mutton withered, or no-withered horse, or a very high withered horse, the three finger rule doesn't work.

A good rule of thumb is that as much clearance as you have on the top of the withers you need on the side of the withers as well, leaving room for these three muscles and also for the shoulder to move under the front of the saddle. This is even more clearly necessary for when the horse starts to move, since these muscles will contract during movement, needing even more room to stay comfortable and be allowed to do what they are supposed to do.

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Comment by Ruth Vale on October 13, 2013 at 5:54pm: When the saddle is sliding forward, it may well be that your horse is muscling up, or growing in the loin in front of the quarters and you in fact need a SMALLER tree, to raise the front to level with the back. Problem is, then, that your saddle may be bridging - no resting on the horse in the middle and putting all the weight on the points at front and back, leading to soreness and we wonder why the horse bucks or inverts. Please arrange for a professional saddle fitter to assess all the points of fit, including the profile of the horse's back. Buy an adjustable tree so that you're not saddle shopping for the rest of your riding life.

Comment by Jochen Schleese on December 2, 2009 at 10:31am: Valerie, great question - and one I will address in a future blog because the answer is pretty involved! Watch for it - I'll make this the topic of my post in two weeks.

Comment by Valerie Tate on November 27, 2009 at 2:56pm: Hi, Jochen, When the saddle is on and girthed up, how much room should there be under the front panel? Should you be able to slide your hand under it? Also, I occasionally find that the hair on the side of the wither is 'roughed up' after a ride. Does this mean I need to have the tree widened?

Comment by Jochen Schleese on October 15, 2009 at 7:07pm: Thanks Katherine - there shouldn't be that much of a difference that it impacts the fit because the gullet plate should not 'spread' that much to come down significantly when the rider sits on top. If you have enough space as mentioned when you're checking unmounted, you should be fine when you're on top.
Kinni - it may be that the saddle has enough clearance, but that the tree point angles are not quite correct which explains the sliding forward. Try the half pad and see what happens; you can also try crossing the billets to secure the saddle a bit more.

Comment by Susan on October 15, 2009 at 10:04am: Very interesting about the stallion and mare. Just shows the importance of proper wither clearance.

Comment by Kinni P on October 15, 2009 at 9:23am: I've been riding a young Oldenburg mare. My saddle has the kind of clearance you're talking about, but I'm having problems with it slipping forward. Her shoulders are still quite narrow and I can't seem to get the girth tight enough to keep the saddle back. Would putting a half pad under it completely negate the clearance or would the squishiness make it acceptable?

Comment by Katherine on October 15, 2009 at 9:20am: EXTREMELY interesting article!
Will there be a big difference between wither space when the rider is on or off the horse? How do you check for adequate space in that case? Thank you.