The Smoothest Ride ... Tips, Articles, and Stories For The Paso Fino Horse Enthusiast
Paso
Fino Saddle Fitting Tips
by
Riley Kester,
www.kesterfarmstack.com
To fit the saddle to a horse first get a horse. Every now and then, a person decides to get a horse in the near further, and they see a great buy on E- Bay and they get a saddle. How will the saddle fit them and their next horse. No one knows.
First get horse(s), and take a good look where the saddle will sit on the back. If you lay a line of duct tape up the front edge of the shoulder blade over the top of the back bone. The spot where it crosses the back is a good starting point for the forward point of the saddle.
If you are just starting to look for a saddle use this time to make the most of your initial shopping trip. About 2 inches back from where the tape crosses the back form a heavy wire to the shape of the shoulder, go about 7 to 8 inches and make the second mold of the back, and another 7 to 8 inches make the third measurement. Armed with the three wires go to your tack store and turn the saddles you are looking at over and place the wires in the front, middle and back of the panel to see how it will fit on your horse. Sticker shock aside. Sit in the saddles under consideration to see how they feel to your backside. A saddle that feels too tight or just not feel quite right will not get any better during a long ride. Because there are so many different styles of saddle trees, they will not all set the same, even though they are the SAME SIZE. A difference can be in the same brand name because of a different tree even if they are the same size. The main thing is not to get hung up on a specific size, but what feels the best to you.
Once you have arrived at your best choices, it is time to get the horse(s) and saddles at the same spot and try them on. Following the line of the shoulder place the saddle on the back just behind the point where the line crosses the back.
- Does the saddle
sit level if it is high in the front the tree is too narrow, if it looks
good and you push straight down on the pommel, and the back of the saddle
comes up, the saddle is too wide.
- If the saddle
does not move when you push down on the pommel, and the saddle is sitting
level, go to the next step and carefully feel under the saddle to see
how the saddle contacts the horse. Look for even contact from the front
of the panel to the back of the panel.
- When you are feeling along the edge of the panel and your fingers can slip in over half way or farther under the saddle without moving the saddle, there is a bridging of the saddle and you do not haave a good fit. If there is not any bridging, and the saddle is sitting level now look from the front of the saddle to see if you are clearing the spine and from the back of the saddle to make sure it clears the spine on the back half of the saddle.
Now is the time to girth up the saddle and see how the horse reacts to the pressure of the saddle. A saddle to a horse can be like a new pair of shoes to us. They look great, they are the right size, but for some reason they just don't feel right. Saddles can be the same way.
There is always the question of using a "treeless" saddle, because you can feel the horse so good.
It is not uncommon for Paso Fino horses to have a slightly raised spine. A treeless saddle will have you putting pressure on the spine in lieu of on the muscles of the back and you can have a horse with a sore back, or worse.
Can you ride in a treeless saddle, and not cause problems?
With some horses you can, but if you are a full size adult, your weight will not be spread out by a treeless saddle and your weight will be on one spot.
You already have a saddle and it fits one horse great, but another horse not so great. Can we just use a thicker pad and take away some of the pressure on the key pressure point?
The problem will be moved up by thickness of the new pad. In other words, a thicker pad does not improve a bad fit.
There are some sound horses the have a lower spot in their back that a saddle will not fit; can anything be done to get a useable fit?
The answer is a qualified yes. There are a few saddlers that are making adjustable pads. That allow for a drop in the horses back. Thin layers of quality felt are slipped into a pocket to provide even contact front to back.
A more detailed discussion of the fit and purpose of Standard Saddle Construction, -vs.- Panel Saddle Construction -vs.- Changeable Gullet is for another day.
RILEY KESTER
KESTER FARMS
TACK
PFHA Pasos For Pleasure sponsor
Phone:-706-597-8457
Email: kftack@aol.com