Master Saddler and Master Saddle Fitter Kay Hastilow looks at the reality around this increasingly discussed question...
There are many different methods of adjusting saddles, including tree squeezers, click bits on the tree points and a multitude of adjustable bars, this latter, when done correctly being the most common and successful in my opinion. Surely then this is all you need? Choose the saddle that you like, make sure it’s the right width fitting (easier said than done) and away you go! Where is the problem with this? No need for a saddle fitter and they are always so hard to get hold of anyway. They are always so busy! (I wonder why?) Here are some reasons explaining why fitting your own saddles isn’t such a good idea.
The first problem is that not all adjustable saddles will fit all horses. Some horses, such as but not exclusively, those with high, long withers (think thoroughbreds amongst others) need more support down the front of the tree points, which themselves will need to be longer, therefore needing a longer bar. Conversely, use a tree with long points and a long bar on a cob with a broad back and it is likely that there will be excess pressure either side of the back behind the shoulders. Also, the points may well stick out and catch the rider’s leg as they don’t follow the curved shape of his back. These shaped equines need a shorter bar, preferably more open at the head. In other words it’s more like an upside down U rather than a V.
Using a tree with short points on the more angular high withered horse means that the panel is not supported beyond the point ends. As a result, the saddle is ultimately supported by the rib cage of the horse. Although there is muscle and fascia above the ribs, muscle works by expanding and contracting but cannot, of itself support weight. This is easy to prove for yourself. Make your thigh muscles as tight and rigid as you can. Press your thumb into it. See? It sinks into the muscle, doesn’t it?
It's also the case that in high withered horses, the rib cage starts considerably lower down the horse’s sides than in a cob type and the muscle there can no more support the saddle and rider than the muscle in your thigh can support your finger. This is why the currently popular short tree points on many saddles need to be so much narrower than anything that I have fitted for many years. These tree points will put direct pressure through the muscle causing atrophy and scarring. Also, these saddles usually drop onto the wither so several pads are needed to get clearance. Err… close contact so that you can feel the horse – with loads of pads? This doesn’t equate for me but perhaps you see it differently?
Having decided on the type of saddle that you think will suit your horse, what width bar do you need? You might take a guess and you might be right but in my experience the more common problem is that too wide a bar is used. Thinking that wider is better for the horse is so totally wrong, as Russell Mackechnie-Guire’s work undertaken for The Society of Master Saddlers has proved. A bar that is too wide just causes all the weight to concentrate under the front third of the saddle, resulting in huge areas of excess pressure, often leading to white hairs, if not open saddle sores, behind the shoulders as well as restricting the movement of the horse. No, the muscle will not develop here if you allow space for it. The excess pressures will in fact cause the opposite effect, as many have found to their cost.
Having seen the importance of the length of the tree points, you now feel able to order the right saddle. He’s a thoroughbred so long tree points. Check. But hold on a minute? Is his back level or is he a bit uphill or downhill? Does he change when ridden? This will dictate the depth of rear gusset that he needs, so now you will at least need a friend to film you riding to see this - but hold on! Horses don’t always go the same in one saddle as another, so might be different in the adjustable saddle that you are going to buy…. Have to take a guess then.
This is the same in reverse for cobs. You might well need little to no rear gusset or a fairly deep one. Suddenly this isn’t looking just so easy is it?
Tree shape is next. Flat in the back or curvy? Something in-between? Tree types for each, both with long and short points. Mmm.
What about girth straps? Well everyone knows that you use the first and third don’t they? Not necessarily so with adjustable saddles. Many have several strap positions so that the saddle fitter can find the optimum girthing arrangement for you and your horse. With many, the first strap is attached to the tree points, a point strap. This is to help position the girth straps vertically with a forward girth groove. In this case a point strap is a preferred option, as otherwise, the saddle moving forward onto the shoulders will restrict movement and be uncomfortable for the horse. However, if the point strap isn’t needed, using it will tend to hold the saddle too far back and is likely to pull the front of the saddle too low on the withers.
For saddles with five strap position options the equivalent of 1 and 3 is 2 and 3. The fittings that you can fit straps to at the back are for when point straps are being used to prevent the back of the saddle lifting, or where an active horse tends to bounce the saddle at the back (so long as the front is fitted correctly and isn’t too wide). Another use is to help keep the saddle straight when either the horse’s action or an unbalanced rider tends to take the saddle over to one side. This usually calls for slight and skilful flocking adjustment as well, not something that the owner should be trying.
Talking of flocking adjustment, this is one of the things that saddle fitters will usually have to do when fitting even an adjustable, as often the saddle will need a touch of wool here or there so as to get the balance, contact and straightness correct. Those who have had the misfortune to see a badly flocked and lumpy saddle will realise that it’s very easy to get flocking very wrong.
It is because a saddle fitter will be aware of all of the questions above plus many others and have answers to these that it is still necessary to have your saddle professionally fitted. One of the leading manufacturers of adjustable saddles will only sell through qualified saddle fitters so that their end user will get the very best out of their saddles. And you know how busy saddle fitters are? Much of our work is sorting things out when someone has gone the DIY route. Often this has caused the horse pain or discomfort and often the saddle has to be replaced as you have bought something unsuitable. This can become a very expensive cost cutting exercise!
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