Used Saddles
Should you buy a used saddle for your horse?

When looking for a used saddle, the most important consideration is the fit to the horse and the rider. The nicest looking, well built used saddle in the world is worthless if it is causing either the horse or the rider discomfort.

For the rider, the most important consideration is if there is enough room between the bottom of the cantle and the swell or pommel. Seat sizes between manufacturers vary. A 16" seat in one manufacturer may equal a 15? or 16?" seat from another manufacturer. Use seat size only as a guideline and make sure you have adequate room for your thigh between the swell and cantle. In addition, the width of the seat should be another consideration. A slim, lightweight rider would feel too spread out if the seat is too wide. A bulkier, heavier rider would not have enough support area if the seat is too narrow.

If you can?t take the saddle to the horse (or vice versa), at least make a tracing of your horse from about 2" behind the shoulder blade so you can try it in the gullets of different saddles. This will at least get you into the right width and type of tree that your horse needs. Keep in mind that the saddle still might not fit in other areas of your horse's back. The rock and twist of the bars also need to fit. About 50% of horses can be fit this way without a problem but if your horse has a back that isn't considered ?average? for that saddle maker, you may end up with a horse with a very sore back.

By keeping some of the basics of saddle fit in mind when you are shopping for a used saddle for your horse, you can greatly increase your chances of getting a proper fit. Two dimensions on the horse's back must be addressed for proper saddle fit.

First, the front to back curvature of the saddle tree, referred to as 'rock' or 'rocker', must match that of the horse's ribcage. Secondly, the change in angle of the bars from the front of the tree to the back, referred to as 'the twist', must also match the horse's ribcage. If the front of the bars don't have enough ?flare? in them, there won?t be enough room for the shoulder to operate comfortably or for the horse to move his neck laterally. Gaited horses, with their more animated shoulder motion, need even more flare than other breeds. In the rear of the bars there must be enough flare for the horse's hips to alternately raise and fall.

A Word of Warning ...about saddle trees! Some of the more popular are Semi-Quarter Horse, Quarter Horse, and Arab-Morgan saddle trees. If we divide up different horse's ribcages into narrow, medium and wide classifications, Semi-Quarter Horse barred trees would be a suitable starting point for narrower horses, Quarter Horse barred trees would be for the medium range and Arab-Morgan barred trees for wider horses. That said there is absolutely no standard between tree manufacturers. If we took three Quarter Horse barred trees from three different tree manufacturers, there would be significant differences, not only in gullet height and width, but also in the rock and twist. That?s why one saddle maker?s full Quarter Horse barred tree might work fine and then you switch to another production saddle brand you may well end up with a very sore horse.

		"...the most important consideration is the fit to the horse and the rider"

If you can?t take your horse to the saddle, the absolute minimum you should do is make a wither tracing. (See Illustration 1) You can take something flexible like wire or buy a drafting tool called a Flexible Curve and mold it over the horse's back about two inches behind the shoulder blade and then trace it on a piece of stiff paper or cardboard. You can then try your template in the gullets of different saddles. The angle of the panels should match the tracing as in picture (See Illustration 2) The angles in (See Illustration 3) might not seem to be off that much but it?s definitely bad enough to sore a horse. Keep in mind that if your horse's back isn't average for that width tree you might still have problems with the rock and twist of the bars. Look at the EQUImeasure Kit molds from the front of two different horses. (See Illustration 4) They are almost identical so if you were using the wither tracing method, both of these horses would take the same tree. But the wither tracing is only a snapshot of one very small area of the horse's back. Look at the same forms from the back. (See Illustration 5) The horse on the bottom has average rock while the horse on top has quite a bit. Obviously the same saddle is not going to work on both of these horses. Remember, taking a wither tracing is better than nothing, but it still tells very little of the story when it comes to fitting a saddle for the back of the horse.

A superior way to check to see if a used saddle will fit your horse is to use an EQUImeasure saddle fitting kit to make a 3-D model mold of your horse's back. This unique mold system will provide an accurate 3-D model of your horse's back. With an accurate form of your horse's back you can conveniently try many different saddles. Using the inexpensive EQUImeasure mold tool you can check the entire length of your horse's back for contact and minimize the chance of buying a saddle that may end up hurting you and your horse!

We love the EQUImeasure Kit because with it, anyone can easily make a 3-D model of his or her horse's back. The EQUImeasure is a flat sheet of thermal plastic material that you slide into the oven and heat up until pliable and then mold to your horse's back. You can try the mold in different saddles (See Illustration 6) to see which is the closest. If the shape of the bottom of the saddle doesn't match the shape of the form, you?re headed for trouble!

- Dave Di Pietra

What We Do at the Saddlery... At the saddle shop we like to use Bickmore leather care products. We use Bick1 to clean without stripping the natural oils out of the leather and Bick4 to periodically condition the leather between cleanings. Bick4 will also take out a lot of the surface scratches in the leather. Both of these products are available at 25% off from our website right now. Click » to check it out...