Saddle Fit: An Enduring Western Myth

[oldtimer]

I don't know if I am worthy enough to post on this discussion. But here is something I once heard... A few years ago I contacted jeremiah watt concerning this very topic as I was interested in building my own trees and his reply cracked me up. He started by saying " First off before we delve into this let me give you a history lesson left out of the history books","The gun fight at the O.K. corral was actually started by two saddlemakers sitting around a bottle of whiskey talking about saddle fitting"...

After reading these very interesting posts I am now wondering if he may have been correct

[HorsehairBraider]

There is no way I have enough savvy to add to a discussion about saddle fit... but I sure find this old thread fascinating.

There is ONE subject on which I am considered knowledgeable, and that is fiber. So when Dusty was discussing cinch material and said "but cotton looses much of its strength when wet" I can tell you for sure - that is not so. Cotton is a plant fiber, and like all plant fibers, it becomes STRONGER when it gets wet. (That's one reason they used it to make sails for ships!) Protein fibers, such as wool (which comes from sheep), mohair, alpaca, yak etc. become WEAKER when they are wet. Also, Dusty stated that "The next best is . Mohair is a blend of Angora Goat hair and Wool." that is also incorrect. Mohair is the name of the fiber that comes from the Angora goat. Now, maybe there is someone out there who does blend the two fibers, wool and mohair; but if it says "mohair", it means the fiber from an Angora goat, and not a blend. If it's a blend they will say so.

This is a minor point and no big deal. I hope the discussion continues!

I don't ride that many different horses in a day, but I've still got three saddles. One is a real trooper for me; it's a McClellan that was made around 1900. If I've got a horse that I can't seem to fit, I use that saddle; works (almost!) every time...

[Saddlebag]

Am I going to get my head bit off? I bot a big mutton-withered gelding that got a pretty good fit in a quality roping saddle with what are often called qh bars. When he was 10 this wasn't such a good fit so I went with wide bars. The year he was 18 nothing sat on him right. At 19 semi bars were a pretty good fit and that's what he used until he was retired at 27. All the saddles were of pretty good quality altho the semi was hand crafted.

[troy]

Not being a saddle maker on par with Bruce or dusty or any other the other saddle makers on here having only made 20 in the last three years I really apprechiate these conversations about saddle making, if only to illustrate that I am not the only one encountering problems with it.

Comparing the style and type of rider/horse/activity from BC Canada (where I was taught) and back home here in scotland, the idea's about saddle fitting are remarkibly different unfortunatly - in most cases I am making saddles for leasure riders onto horses treated more as pets or prize possesions which span from highly (and expensive) breed American horses to mostly highland ponies/horses.

The majority of my customers do have the sense to understand that when it comes to saddle fitting, that it will never be perfect. That the horse will change over the year as will the rider and not to always believe the advise of trainers/vets when saddle fitting is blamed for odd things - plus being local I am always willing to come out to them and sort any problems out.

Of course I am not a registered proffessional as in the trainers and vets and over here that is an important point to some - in fact now I just make saddle when and how I like then sale them on as they are - in the long run I find it more rewarding for me - like the saying states 'you can't please everyone, so just please yourself' which I guess is my version if stepping back and recapturing the joy I had from creating saddles in the first case.

Troy

[Saddlebag]

I'm with Dusty in that we can only try for a fairly good fit. In reading about the Huns during the time of Ghengis Khan his warriors each had 3 saddles for their horses-those for when the horses were in soft condition from winter, those for mid summer as the horses hardened and those for fall when extremely toughened. We need to keep in mind that these people almost lived on their horses. From what I've seen some of our biggest saddle problems arise from a rider allowing one hip to collapse and the corresponding shoulder drop. If this occurs on the right side there is additional pressure on the left. This produces a twist and can drive the front of the bars into the shoulder blade. Another common problem is riding with one hip ahead of the other which again causes the saddle to not sit squarely on the horse. So even if one could custom a tree to a horse's back it would come back with complaints about soring the horse if the rider has the aforementioned riding faults.

[Saddlebag]

Horsehairbraider - being a history buff on almost any topic, I'd read that the sails and a lot of clothing back then, especially trousers were made of hemp which lasts much longer than cotton.

[Suze]

hemp - flax - or wool were the more common fibers found pre 1600 (I play history - this is what **I** know and I may be wrong)

cotten was a "luxury" fiber back then - so not likely to have been used for something so mundane as horse fittings.

[Janice]

Ahhh, but back then horse fittings were not so mundane, but rather a lifeline to survival, as was the horse, for many people. Livings were made, familys were fed, with the horse.

(Just a thought that passed between my ears Suze)

[Janice]

A point for the newbies as well, as I have found this to clear up alot of confused saddle shoppers.

There is no set standard for saddle trees, no industrial gauge, so to speak, when refering to the bars.

By this I mean, if a saddle in a store says it is "full quarter horse bars", if can be different from one brand to the next.

Example, a "billy cook" full qtr hrs bars saddle can be different from a "circle Y" full qtr hrs bars saddle, UNLESS they both used the exact same tree, from the same manufacturer.

So when you say full, semi, arab, mule etc, it is a generalized label, which can vary with the brand or maker of tree, not an exact measure.

So for those buying "off the rack", you may fit a semi in one brand, and need a full in another.

Trick is to keep an open mind, and not tie yourself to a label.

Hopefully that was clearer than mud?

Edited April 18, 2009 by Janice

[Suze]

Ahhh, but back then horse fittings were not so mundane, but rather a lifeline to survival, as was the horse, for many people. Livings were made, familys were fed, with the horse.

(Just a thought that passed between my ears Suze)

Would you make a cinch out of "velvet fabric" today? probably not - it is expensive and not the "right fit" for the job

the era I am talking about (pre 1600) cotton was a RARE thing and priced acordingly. (think high end silk)

I use mundane as a term for "everyday" item.