Horse Care Riding and Training Young Rider

Western Saddle Fit 101

Did you know that your horse’s back changes shape as he ages—and even at different times of the year? It’s good to check to make sure that your western saddle fits your horse well, distributing weight evenly over as much of his back as possible. 

We chatted with expert saddle fitter and maker Darrell Nephew, executive vice president of Circle Y Saddles. He’ll help you look at your horse’s back and your saddle to make sure you have a good fit. He’ll also help you learn what to look for if you’re shopping for a new saddle.

How a Saddle is Made

A saddle tree is the part of the saddle beneath all the leather and decorations that is built to distribute weight to your horse’s back. The tree may be listed as “regular” or “wide,” or use language such as “semi” or “full Quarter Horse bars.” 

A saddle tree of a western saddle.
The saddle tree is the part underneath all the leather and decorations that distributes weight along the horse’s back. Photo courtesy Circle Y Saddles. Photo courtesy Circle Y Saddles

On the horse, the tree’s “bars” are what touch the horse’s back. The bars are the long pieces under the saddle that are angled to comfortably sit along the horse’s topline. They distribute your weight evenly over the horse’s back. The fit of the saddle, for the horse, comes down to the tree and the bars. 

The language depends on the saddle maker, but the angles and fit are usually similar. A regular or semi-Quarter Horse bar saddle usually fits a horse with defined withers and a refined build. A wider or stocky horse usually fits into the fit category of wide or full Quarter Horse bars.

Darrell says that most horses can fit into a “normal” category of saddle fit, and don’t need a saddle with a custom tree. 

Western Saddle Shopping

If you’re shopping for a western saddle, visit a store with several options in stock. Talk to a veteran saddle fitter and make sure to tell them all you can about your horse, his condition, what sport you’d like to focus on most, and how long you hope to have the saddle. 

“Instead of going in and giving lots of measurements, tell me about your horse,” Darrell says. “I would say, ‘I have a 15-year-old horse that’s starting to lose a little bit of [muscling in] his back. He’s a bit wide. I ride about 10 hours a week.’ With that info, the fitter can pull a few saddles for you to put on your horse and try.” 

If you’re not sure what your horse should wear, Darrell says it’s never bad to get your horse measured by a saddle fitter. However, he likes to place saddles on the horse to check the fit instead of purely relying on measurements. 

Your horse’s back can change because of his age, what he’s eating, and when his fitness changes. 

You’ll also want to know if your horse is short-coupled (has a short back) and may need a saddle that is also short so that it doesn’t sit far onto his hips.  

Saddle Fit Checkpoints

It’s a good idea to look at your saddle and feel where the bars make contact with your horse’s back at the start and middle of your riding season so you can see if any changes occur. 

To evaluate your saddle, put your saddle on your horse and see if it sits level on his back. You don’t want the saddle to appear tilted to the front or back of your horse. 

Darrell advises looking at your saddle and learning what to see. A level saddle that doesn’t make contact at the withers is a good place to start as you train your eye. 

Look at the saddle from the front to make sure that there’s wither clearance. You don’t want a saddle to sit down on your horse’s withers and cause rubbing or pressure there. All weight should be spread over the horse’s back.

You also want to make sure that the saddle doesn’t pinch your horse’s shoulders. The saddle’s bars should not dig into your horse’s sides at his shoulder blade or anywhere along the bars. Instead, it should sit comfortably along as much of your horse’s back as possible. 

You can put your hand under your saddle at your horse’s shoulder to make sure that the saddle isn’t angling in and pinching your horse—or your hand. 

Placing a hand underneath to detect any pinching.
At the horse’s shoulder, use your hand to check if the saddle is angling in and pinching your horse (or your hand). Photo by Heidi Nyland Melocco

Keep in mind, you want to feel some pressure, just not a pinch. A saddle that is too easy to put your hand under may mean that the saddle’s bars are too wide and not making contact.

A western saddle on a horse's back.
If the saddle is too wide, the gullet may be too close to the withers, with the bars not making contact along the back. Photo courtesy Circle Y Saddles

“The first thing I’m looking for is that the saddle makes good contact where the bar is,” Darrell says. “I’ll take my hand and feel under the saddle, close to the horse’s wither. I’m looking there to see if I make some contact from top to bottom of the bar. If you have to guess, then it’s probably making contact. It’s really obvious when it’s not—you can put your hand under the saddle too easily.”

An illustration of the different widths of bars.
A saddle that’s too wide (left) will result in bars that pinch the horse’s back. A correctly fitting saddle (center) has bars that make even contact along the horse’s back. A saddle that’s too narrow (right) will pinch as well, in this case because the bars don’t make even contact. Photo courtesy Circle Y Saddles

Darrell says after he feels the saddle’s bars, he steps back and looks at the length of the saddle compared to the horse’s back. He wants to make sure that the saddle is level and that it doesn’t look like it’s making contact only at the front and back.  

Saddle Width

How do you know if the saddle is too narrow or too wide? Darrell says that if the saddle is too narrow for the horse, it will sit high on the back. It will look like it’s perched and should be pushed down (but don’t push it down!). If you can see 4 to 5 inches of fleece under the gullet (the opening under the horn), that’s too much, and the saddle isn’t sitting down far enough. This will make the horse feel pinched, and will cause the bars to dig into the horse’s back.

A western saddle that fits a horse too narrowly.
A saddle that’s too narrow will perch up high, showing a few inches of fleece above the back. Photo courtesy Circle Y Saddles

If the saddle is too wide for the horse, the gullet may be too close to the withers, and the bars won’t touch the horse’s sides. This can also cause the saddle to pinch because specific points touch the horse, but the bars don’t make contact along the horse’s back. 

Darrell advises trying out a few different saddles after you tell a fitter or dealer about your horse. 

“The fitter can give you a good place to start, and you can see what looks and feels best on your horse,” he says. “Make sure you can try a saddle for a few days so that you can ride and see what happens with the saddle in motion. The burden of finding the best fit is always with the horse owner—you’re the one who knows your horse best and knows how he feels to ride.”

This article about western saddle fit appeared in the May/June 2024 issue of Young Rider magazine. Click here to subscribe!

Heidi Melocco

Heidi Nyland Melocco holds a Bachelor's degree in English from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master's degree in journalism from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University with a concentration in magazine and photo editing. At the latter, she was named Master's Student of the Year. Her stories and photographs are seen regularly in many equine publications, including Horse Illustrated and Young Rider. Melocco is an author of Western Horseman's Understanding Lameness, Western Horseman’s Legends 6 and 9, and Goodnight’s Guide to Great Horsemanship, and she’s a contributing photographer for the Certified Horsemanship Association's Instructor Manual, Hitch Up & Go, The Revolution in Horsemanship by Rick Lamb and Robert Miller, DVM; and Breed for Success by Rene Riley and Honi Roberts. She and her daughter are currently writing a new children's book called Pony Powers—all about what it's like to keep a pony at home. Melocco's photos have won awards from the Equine Photographer's Network and an AIM Award. Melocco holds first-prize awards from American Horse Publications (AHP) for training stories and equine photography. She has had more than 35 magazine cover photos. Melocco continues to write about and photograph horses and also works in video broadcasting. She directed and produced a popular RFD-TV show for more than 10 years. Melocco stays up to speed with social media and has grown accounts to reach and engage with hundreds of thousands of fans. She served on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Horse Council and has presented social media seminars at the PATHi and CHA International Conferences.She started riding Ponies of the Americas at age 5 at Smiley R Ranch in Hilliard, Ohio, with Janet Hedman and the W. E. Richardson family. In college, she was president and later assistant coach of the Ohio Wesleyan University Equestrian Team, coached by world-champion-earning trainer Terry Myers. Keeping active as a rider and riding instructor, Melocco began studying Brain Gym—an international program based on whole-brain and active learning. As a 4-H advisor, she used the simple movements to help horseback riding students relax and achieve their goals in the saddle. Melocco became a registered instructor with Path International, helping to combine horse knowledge and therapeutic experience with horsemanship training. Melocco has presented demos at Equine Affaire and at the Path International and National Youth Horse Council Annual Conferences. She taught at the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center in Longmont, Colo. Melocco resides on her small-acreage horse property with her husband, Jared; daughter Savannah; registered AQHA gelding, Charlie; pony, Romeo; dogs Lucy and Rosie, and three orange barn kitties known as the "Porch Patrol."

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