Checking your saddle’s fit is more than just a one-time task—it’s a vital part of keeping your horse comfortable and pain-free. In this story, we’ll show you how to recognize the telltale signs of a saddle that’s too wide or too narrow and explain how sweat marks can reveal hidden pressure points. With these best practices, you’ll be equipped to make sure your saddle fits your horse perfectly every time.
First, be sure you know the correct saddle placement on your horse. To determine if a saddle is too wide or too narrow, you will need to put the saddle on your horse WITHOUT a saddle pad.
TOO WIDE
If the front of the saddle is resting on your horse's withers or if there is only room for one finger between the withers and the gullet, that's a good sign the saddle is too wide, and a narrower tree is needed to distribute the rider’s weight.
You can see in this example that the saddle is tilting forward, with the front resting on the horse and the back of the saddle not making contact.
TOO NARROW
If the front of the saddle is perched up on the horse's withers that's a good indicator that the saddle is too narrow, and a wider tree may be needed.
In this example, the saddle is perched on the horse's wither, and a side view would show that the saddle is tipped back.
SWEAT MARKS
Sweat patterns can give an indication of how the saddle fits. Ideally, the sweat pattern will be even, without dry areas that indicate pressure points, areas where the hair has been rubbed off, ruffled hair, or swirl marks than indicate excessive movement. Keep in mind that damage from past saddle fit issues can cause areas of dry spots or white marks. Ask yourself: has this horse ever sweated there before? Is my brand-new wool pad doing its job and soaking up the sweat?
This photo shows sweat patterns from a bridging saddle. The saddle bars put pressure at the front and rear only and not down the middle creating pressure points against the horse. Serious damage and soreness will occur. A bridge pad is needed to fill the gap between the horse’s back and tree bars to distribute the rider’s weight.
All saddle trees are built to fit the average build. If your horse's conformation is outside of average, he'll need a pad solution to create a better saddle fit.
