Unfortunately, there are a lot of myths floating around about western saddle fitting. Believing them may create a situation where you are never able to find a comfortable fit for your horse!
Myth-Busting the Saddle Fit Myths!
Number one : “A saddle should fit perfectly all by itself, no matter what rigging or pad”. Saddles aren’t made in heaven. And..God didn’t design horses to be ridden in a saddle. We’re the ones who designed a saddle and decided that it would be a good idea to use it on a horse. If God had designed horses to be used with saddle, they would have a nice groove around their belly for the cinch to fit in and the “perfect” saddle back. Horses are ridden in all different states of maturity. Because of breeding, age, illness or past neglect, horses don’t all have perfect conformation for a saddle. Horse can be sway backs, short coupled, roach backed (prominent spine), downhill built, and the list goes on and on. So, we have to figure out what equipment works best for each individual horse. And, for some horses, that means the best possible saddle fit with the saddle tree AND the right type of rigging, correct design of saddle, saddle pad, breast collar, rear cinch, other tack…and even the right type of feed and hoof care.
Plus horses need to be ridden correctly and the horse needs to be saddled correctly. A rider with a poor seat and/or lack of balance can make an otherwide good saddle fit fit poorly by the way they sit a saddle. Placing the saddle too far forward or too far backward can make the right saddle fit wrong. Using the wrong type of saddle pad can make the right saddle fit wrong.
Number two: ”Sweat marks show you if the saddle is fitting right or not”. Sometimes, but not all the time. They are a very inaccurate guide and solely relying on sweat marks to evaluate your saddle fit would be a mistake. Here’s why:
1) Not all equines sweat the same, just as not all people sweat the same. Age, health, genetics, how much water they drink, climate, body build, body fat percentage and even personality (nervous vs. calm) and more affect how much a horse sweats and where they sweat. We have an overall healthy 26 year old mare who starts sweating when you place the saddle on her, (before she even moves!)…and her back is completely soaked with sweat no matter how light of riding or what type of pad or saddle we use. Our vet’s guess is that it is related to her cycle and being an older female.
2) Scars don’t sweat. If a horse has scarring from a previously poor fitting saddle…it is similiar to a callous on a human. If the sweat ducts are plugged, they aren’t going to sweat in those areas.
3) Depends on how long you ride. You can ride the same horse in the same pad/saddle and have completely different sweat marks every time you unsaddle if you ride for different lengths of time.
4) Depends on how hard you ride. Same as above. 10-15 minutes at a hard gallop vs. an hour at a slow walk…you may have a totally sweaty back with the first scenario and no sweat at all after your leisurely stroll!
5) Depends on how warm/cold it is. We have to ride our horses in some below freezing temps once in a while during hunting season in the snow. They are usually dry and warm under the saddle and wet everywhere else!
6) This is a BIG one: Depends on the type of saddle pad you use. Design of the saddle pad and the type of material it is made from REALLY affects how a horse sweats and how much sweat actually stays on the horse by the time you are done riding. We carry the Supracor Cool Grip pad, which is made from Supracor’s patented honeycomb material which has small holes all the way through and there is no cover, just the exposed honeycomb. When you are done riding, there is no sweat on the horse, because the honeycomb allows air to flow through the pad and drys them off. Your saddle fit can be great, but you aren’t going to have ANY sweat marks. Other materials, on the other hand, can make the entire back sweaty because they hold in heat (like a solid neoprene).
7) Poor saddle fit can actually show even sweat marks. Oh, yeah…here’s the real kicker. If you have a too small saddle that perches up on your horse and slips around or a too wide saddle that slip/slides around, you can get even sweat marks with those saddles because they don’t stay in one place!