What could possibly cause a saddle to list?

[Go2Tex]

What could possibly cause a saddle to list, (sit crooked), to one side or the other, barring the obvious, i.e. stirrup leathers? Now, I can't believe a reputable saddlemaker would build a saddle on an obviously crooked tree, so let's rule that one out for sake of this discussion.

What else could cause it? Let's assume the rider is very experienced and knows a good seat from one that is not right. I'm thinking the groundseat is a bit uneven.

[AndyKnight]

??? Does it do it with all horses ...Does it do it with other riders.... Are the riggings even. Is the cantle set at 90 degrees . is the ground seat even. What does it do riderless.

If a horse isn' t "straight" can cause some crookedness. ..Often see very uneven withers .

I have seen trees that sit on the Block square that the bars are at different angle while not obvios will cause all kinds of issues.

I have seen quite a few where tha cantles are crooked which causes the rider to sit crooked.

Had one customer complain..finially figerd out that one leg was shorter than the other since an accident.

[greg gomersall]

The rigging being in crooked from one side to the other could do this as well but I would suggest you pull the skirts and check the tree. I have a tree here that i changed out for a client. The saddle was made by a local saddlemaker of some reputation, the tree actualy has 2 different bars on it and they are set at 2 different angles. The tree maker had wrote the shop's name on the tree as they usually do so I keep this covered with duct tape so people don't know who built on it out of courtesy but i do use it a prime example of what a tree factory will ship to someone. Greg

[Rod and Denise Nikkel]

There are at least five components that all need to be looked at when checking out a saddle fit problem - the horse, the rider, the padding and "extras", the saddle and the tree. Any and all can cause the problem you mention. Here's our idea of how you can check them out, easiest ones first.

1.) Are the pads worn unevenly? Is the extra weight on the saddle (saddle bags, etc.) even? Is the breast collar even? Take everything off the saddle, use a good pad and have the owner go for a ride. Still have the problem? You've ruled out the padding and extras. Problem gone? Figure out what component was causing it.

2.) Have the same rider use the saddle on different horses. Have the same problem consistently? You've ruled out the horse. Problem gone? The horse is uneven. It happens more often than we think.

3.) Have at least one other rider use the saddle in the same way the owner does. Have the same problem? You've ruled out the rider. Problem gone? The rider is either built unevenly, or rides unevenly. You might have to be diplomatic in telling someone they ride crooked, but this kind of a test makes it pretty obvious. (Note: Some ropers purposefully ride with uneven stirrups. Check that out too.)

4.) Now you are down to the saddle. Rigging, stirrup leathers, groundseat. The saddle makers here can tell you a lot more than I can about how to check for evenness.

5.) If they all check out, then you have to rip things apart to check out the tree - Is it broken? Has it warped? Was it built symetrically to start with - bars, cantle, forks, how it was put together?

We find that going at these problems systematically is worth it, since so many things are involved. It would be a shame to rip a saddle apart to find out that the rider consistently puts 2, 500 ml bottles of meds on the same side as his fencing pliers are attached and then hangs his canteen on that side too. Tree makers and saddle makers are human and make mistakes and miss things. Never say never. "More things are missed by not looking than not knowing."

Our 2 cents worth (worth about 2 cents US today)

Edited November 30, 2007 by Rod and Denise Nikkel

[Randy Cornelius]

I would start by looking and measuring. I would pull up the jockies and look at the rigging, If nothing sticks out I would use a string and start from some point of refernce on the horn or cantle and measure each side of the rigging. If it all checks out within say 1/8 inch +/- . I would then look at the skirts just to see if they measure up. Then would look at the tree. Don't overlook the rider, does the rider have one leg shorter than the other. That would make the saddle list! if he walks into your shop with a noticalbe "catch in his get-a-long" you might have your answer.

RC

[Go2Tex]

Appreciate all the responses. I don't have the saddle myself, (thank god), it's somebody else's saddle and problem. I just find it interesting that a saddle could sit that "wrong" due to a tree being out of wack and the maker not notice. But, I guess it could happen.

[David Genadek]

It is very rare that the saddle has any thing to do with a saddle listing to one side. In most cases it is poor horsemanship that is the culprit.

Everyone in the horse industry should be well versed in the information contained in this article.

Saddlemakers take way to much blame for ignorance on the part of the horse owner.

David Genadek

[RidersChoiceSaddleCo]

I concur with everyone on the paths to solving the problems. I can tell you that over the years I can remember about a dozen times I had people to call and say that their saddle tree was warped or the saddle listed to one side. I always had them ship the saddle into the shop and 90% of the problems were a simple solution. The riders had set the blevins buckles in the same hole number but didn't know they could adjust the height/length of the stirrups by pulling the strap through the tree. Generally there was about a 1/2" difference in length of stirrups on each side. Even though we were sure we had found the problem with the crooked rider, we always removed the skirts to check the tree to make sure everything was square. Hope this helps.