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About This Week’s Lesson

Saddle Fitting - adjustable Western Saddles

Hello! 100 lessons completed

Very interesting to watch the session on saddle fitting. We have a Quarter Horse who we initially had a lot of problems with saddle wise - as he changes shape a lot from resting in Winter to working in Summer. This is particularly a problem with Western Saddles where the amount of adjustment is limited & even more so in UK where Western skilled fitters are spread thinly.

We have found a good solution in the Specialized saddles (made in US but available in Europe). These are widely used in Endurance riding. They have a system which allows the owner to easily adjust the saddle fit as the horse changes shape. We now have these (one Western one Endurance) for both our horses, we regularly tweak the fit (2-3 times a year) and then check with a pressure pad (a "port lewis pad").

I think if you could combine the measuring gauge shown in the lessons with this type of saddle you could get a very good fit indeed. Have a look at http://www.specializedsaddles.com/ if you are interested (I have no relationship to the company - just a customer).

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Thanks Jules,
I will look into that. My horse is growing daily, it seems and is constantly changing.
This is a good idea.
Ronda

Gen (Queensland, Australia)
Hello! 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed

Thanks for this link Jules :-) its excellent information.