Although there are many types of riding in this world of horses, there are some basic premises in fitting a rider to a saddle. There must be allowance for comfort that is balanced with the performance expected. For instance, when roping, enough room must exist between the belly and the horn to dally. A tall thin rider with a very long arm may need a 17” seat saddle to have enough room to work. This same rider may fit in a pleasure saddle with a 15.5” seat. Assuming the same rider decides to jump his horse over fences, his fitting may require another seat size to ensure enough flap under his leg.
Yes, if you have the funding, we can custom make your saddle to fit all parts of you without being sloppy anywhere! But if you are on a budget, you may have to weigh the options and live with a pretty good fit in a production saddle. One of the things we like is the availability of working with saddlers to make adjustments for an extra short or long leg. When ordering your saddles, be sure to ask if this may be an option.
We can chase our tails with options and opinions forever, but, assuming we have to start somewhere, let’s begin to discuss fitting. When riding Western, there are some basics for which I like to look. Those saddles defined as a pleasure saddles usually place the rider in a comfortable sitting position. They are more forward in the position of the stirrup leathers so that you have your legs in a more angled sitting position, somewhat similar to sitting on a tall barstool. This is a good choice for most riders. Adjust your stirrup leathers till you can stand in the stirrups and have about 4” to 6” of clearance when standing in the stirrups. This allows enough room to stretch comfortably, and to place enough pressure on the balls of your feet so that you can keep the stirrups from becoming lost. There must be allowance to let your heels relax downward when riding. This allows you to use the calves of your legs for directing the horse. I like to see about two fingers (width sideways, not length of fingers end to end) of spacing between the front side of the cantle and your lower back. I also like to have two or three fingers of width between the front of the thigh and the pommel or swells. This allows room for properly shifting my weight to direct my steed. I want the stirrups to swing forward and rearward comfortably. If my horse travels up or down hills, I can remain in more of a position that is perpendicular to level ground, while my horse changes planes.
Western saddles designed for more rigorous activities are usually designed for you to ride deeper in your seat. Roper saddles are made to stand in the stirrups to throw at cows. They are built somewhat narrower than a typical pleasure saddle so that you can stand in those stirrups more comfortably. Most people adjust the stirrup leathers so that there is 3” to 5” of clearance between your seat and the saddle seat when standing. This also works well for people that simply do not like to ride with their legs so far apart. Riders with hip problems usually like this narrow build. Keep in mind that just because a saddle is labeled for a particular use, usually means more of how it is designed, rather than to limit its use to certain activities. Team roping saddles come with a 4” high cantle. Barrel racers come with 4” to 5” cantles. These higher cantles, when combined with a ground seat can provide lower back support for the rider. This higher cantle usually works well for riders with lower back pains. However, the calf ropers usually come with a lower 3.5” cantle that makes mounting and dismounting faster. The lower cantle has less support, but does make getting on and off the horse a little easier for some people.
Endurance saddles are trail saddles that have specialized in lighter weight and speed. The lack of a horn makes it easier to lean forward on your horse. Leaning forward is important in keeping a center of balance while jogging up steep hills. There is just enough front on the swells to keep you from falling. The cantle is supportive, but not too high. This time the lower height is to allow you freedom to lean backward while coming down steep inclines. A high cantle will jab into your lower back, or prevent you from keeping a proper center of balance while descending.
Reining saddles, like barrel racers and cutters usually have free-swinging fenders and stirrups to allow you flexibility and mobility with your horse. Reining is sort of like fast dressage in a Western saddle. You need to keep your balanced centered in all movements. There is usually a rise in the front area of the seat for helping to hold your seat into the rear of the saddle seat. This rise can help an inexperienced rider to control movement of the lower back and hips by slightly forcing your seat into the cantle. The rise should be comfortable, not restrictive. This was sometimes called an equitation seat in years past. With competition in the show arenas being as good as it is today, it is best to ride in a saddle that does not obviously help you ride in an equitation show class. When judging two equally qualified riders on horses that are as good as they can get, the judge will get picky to find a winner. The rider using fewer “restrictive measures”, (aids to hold you in proper position such as a high front rise with a deep ground seat and high cantle combinations, like the characteristics of the 1970’s equitation seats), will be selected as the winner.
Cutters have a high horn to help when you need to hold tight. Rounded bottoms of oxbow stirrups allow you to hold fast to the stirrup at which ever position you need. The first cutting horse I rode tucked, ducked and rolled all the way from under me! I was left in the air while he did his business. Here, a more securely seated position with roughout leather might have held me in place. I was trying to ride a style that at the time, I knew nothing about! Riding saddles which I need to hold onto a horn and brace against, I like to make sure the saddle matches the length of my forearm as well as my seat. I must be able to stabilize my wrist in a position that helps brace my body, rather than being bent in an awkward state, or extending so far that I can’t support my elbow with my trunk.
In barrel racers, I like the cantle to come around into the jockey a little less than other saddles. If my horse is close to a barrel, I can more comfortably move back with that inside leg as the horse rounds that barrel. The cantle needs to be a bit high to prevent being left behind on a powerful take off.I like a horn that is a bit forward to allow my body to get low on the straights. Most ladies like the freedom of leg movement combined with the lower support of the barrel racer cantle. This combination is comfortable to them for all but the most steep of terrains while riding trails. I like to be able to swing a leg back easily when “Dobbin” wanders close to a tree trunk.
Hard-seated ranch saddles are made for riding long in the saddle and in any type of weather. The smooth one-piece seat will not readily absorb water from crossing creeks or from rains. Even though you may doubt the comfort of this design, don’t. he saddle carries your weight on your entire saddle block rather than just your seat bones. Spreading your weight over more area allows less pressure on a small bottom. You ride in a great posture, but if you only ride once every two weeks, this saddle type will make your inner thighs sore. There are few other exercises that work this group of muscles.
I prefer enough room in the seat to allow my body to move where it needs to perform the task at hand, without so much room that I am rolling back and forth. Saddles that fit too large often create a sore back on the rider from a tendency to slouch more than you would with a tighter fit. Conversely, saddles that pinch are no fun at all.
We touched on the advantage of oxbow stirrups. Wide roper stirrups are best for standing in the stirrups or for long periods in the saddle, because they give greater surface to rest against. I love leather bottom boots. But, the slickness of leather soled boots on leather covered stirrups in a wet arena has created a demand for tire rubber bottoms on work boots to be used for riding horses. Try attaching a piece of rubber tread onto the roper stirrup. CC can provide you with a synthetic tread to velcro onto any western stirrup. Now we can stay in the stirrup better with a leather bottom boot. True, the leathers that are used in saddles today, and the nylons, turn easier. This eliminates much of the need for a pointed toe boot. After all, that toe was developed to better catch the stirrup, not for impressing females at the local watering hole. This is one reason you see broad toed boots in style.
Visalia stirrups or contest stirrups are tapered. They are narrower at the tops to lighten weight, and have a flat tread that gives comfortable fitting at the bottoms. Stirrups should allow you to place your feet, and remove your feet easily. This is to prevent hanging if you should fall from the horse, and to prevent slipping when trying to mount. If your foot is wide, you should search for a stirrup that will accommodate your width. If you have a narrow foot, choose one that allows you to be able to stay in that stirrup. Too loose situations often cause the stirrups to twist under your feet. Remember never to shove your feet fully into the stirrup. These instruments were designed to ride using the ball of your feet to apply pressure, not your arch. Tapederos are used today for fancy parades. They were designed to help keep vines and briars from hanging into your stirrups. hey have also been used on saddles for children to help prevent them from holding their feet too far into the stirrups. When your stirrups are covered in the front, but not so flashy in style, they are called hooded.
Rigging a saddle to fit is another area of combining suitability with comfort. Ranch saddles, ropers and other saddles that require heavy work are usually built with sets of rings that are set in full, 7/8 or ¾ position. These rings are secured to the tree of the saddle by direct attachment of leather, sometimes reinforced with nylon, to the tree. This is the most secure method of rigging for the girth. This is also sometimes somewhat bulky. The leather tie straps are tied at a point that holds your leg away from the horse.
One solution is to use nylon tie straps. When using any nylon ties, it is important that you take two wraps across the front of the loops made from girth to saddle rigging ring. Then pass around the ring and dive through both wraps. As you tighten, the nylon will bind itself from several directions and not slip like it does when you only take one wrap. Another solution is to have a dropped heavy leather plate hold the rigging as if attached to the skirting, but tied into the tree itself. The “Bork” rigging is one often used in this situation. Normally “Bork” rigging is slotted brass. Stainless steel or three-way plates may be used on this drop rigging .This places the knot lower, below your thigh, and out of the way. When the rigging loosens in the leather plate, you replace that leather plate much easier than your skirts.
In-skirt plate rigging is great for lighter duty. It allows you to be close to your horse for greater control. A sort of half ring is attached to the skirts’ bottom edge by heavy rivets. Three-way rigging is sometimes used in-skirt. When you have occasion to ride several different horses, this three way allows you to tie in 7/8, ¾ or half way between these settings. For most riders, this is getting sort of picky, but for those finely tuned horses, a little adjustment can go a long way. Tying half way is performed like the tie used on centerfire rigging. I n-skirt rigging gives a clean appearance and allows your stirrup leathers to swing more freely.
The shape of the swells can help when fitting a rider to saddles. Swept-back swells are made to give something to throw your thigh into in case of emergency. For some beginners, this gives a psychological feeling of security as well as the physical. People who break horses to ride often like this feature. These swept-back swells also give more of a resting place for those riders who like pommel, or horn bags. They sweep rearward above the attachment to the skirts so there is usually room for the thigh to be comfortable even if it looks tight. Roper saddles use large swells that stand straight. These can help keep a rope from cutting across your leg when pulled tight. Pleasure saddles normally have some swell on the pommel, without becoming excessive. A fork saddles are known for a high pommel with minimal spread on the swells. This is a great design for people with larger diameter thighs, or those who like very little restriction in the front of their saddles.
Stirrup straps come in leather, reinforced leather, nylon, and nylon with leather reinforcement. Your stirrup straps are almost always called stirrup leathers, even when nylon, not leather is used to build them. The heavier you will place force against these straps, the more you need the security of wide leather. Ranchers and ropers use heavy weight 3” leather and the stronger have Blevins type buckles that are set vertically. I always recommend using stainless steel Blevins type buckles. Stainless will not corrode with the sweat of riding and the conditioning of leather as will other metals. Cutters use the 3” leathers, but use a more subtle weight of leather for more flexibility. Barrel saddles may use 2.5” or 2” straps for quicker mobility, but should use a stronger material when going down to the 2” levels. Nylon is often lined with a piece of leather to prevent the nylon from fraying. Leather is sometimes lined with nylon to prevent stretching. If a rider has knee issues, that rider should use straps that mold and move easily. When roping, heavily stiff straps are appropriate because flimsy straps will tend to trip the roper back into the seat. Be sure to set the stirrups to your most comfortable riding height before you tie them to turn. This will make riding much more comfortable. If we know your true inseam, we can have custom or semi custom built saddles set and turned for you. On these saddles, we can also shave the width of the fender, or adjust the length of the stirrup strap to assure better fit for you, (not too short or not too long). When fitting saddles to husky children, I find it useful to order a saddle with an extra set of stirrup leathers so they can be interchanged as the child grows and the shape of their body matures. Often you need a set of shorter straps for now and longer for later, while remaining the same size in the seat.
Fit your saddle to yourself now. Don’t worry about what will happen if you lose weight, gain height, change riding habits, etc. Most people will change a lot during their lives, including saddles. I ride several specialized saddles so that I have the right tool for the right job. I look silly trying to jump 4’ fences in a roping saddle, and I sure don’t want to catch a wild cow while riding my close contact jumper! I know that is far fetched, but remember how that cutting horse left me in the air? The air wasn’t what hurt. The cost of permanent injury, or even being banged for a season is much more than the price of a saddle designed to fit you, the rider, for the type of riding you desire.