Can Any Saddle Fit Any Horse?

Short vs Long Answer

The short way to answer this question is to say “no, any saddle can not fit any horse” 

The real question should be “Why can't any saddle can’t fit any horse?”.  

Most horse owners are aware that there are so many different horse body types

and that justifies our short answer that you can't effectively just pick a random

saddle and try it on 3 different horses expecting a good fit on all three.

How You Should Start Your Search

The first thing you should do is take into account the different factors of a horse's body

Next

Gather saddle options. You should pick options that design aligns with your horse's back and body shape.

Example 1: Your horse has high/pronounced withers and a Flat/Straight Back

For this example, you didn’t think to choose a model that was shaped more like your horse's back

you have just been hearing about this saddle that is great for horses,

meets your riding needs, and is comfy for the rider so you decide to try it out. 

The model has more curve in the seat area and in the shape of the saddle

like one of our El Campo models in our baroque line 

Why? 

A model that is curvier like this will have a lot of rock while the saddle is on your horse. 

It will cause issues with the amount of contact you have between your horse's back and the panels of the saddle. 

To ensure you have a good fit you should make sure you have even contact along the entirety of your horse's back that the saddle touches. 

Even Contact is found when you can glide your hand between the panels of the saddle and your horse's back and always feel the same amount of contact on the palm and top of your hand 

(that means no spaces or points when your hand is not touching both the saddle and your horse)

What Model Should You Look For?

Some models that may be a better option for the horse that we showed above could be our Ronda Deluxe Jerez, or Cadiz which are also a part of our baroque line. 

These saddles have a design that is more suitable for horses with straight backs. 

They are not very curvy, more of a straight design so it would give you even overage and contact between the horse's back and the saddle. 

The takeaway here is there are multiple factors in finding out if a saddle will fit your horse(s) or not and although we only focused on one aspect of it your main focus should be saddle placement, length, wither clearance, gullet/channel width, and contact. 

We will have a post on proper saddle fit soon so subscribe so you won't miss when it is posted. Also when you sign up for our email list you get a FREE downloadable saddle brand buying checklist! If you’re interested click here to sign up.

FAQ’s:

Answer: Your saddle fits just right if it sits level on your horse's back and the bars of the tree do not pinch. The front of your saddle should be positioned behind your horse's shoulder blade, allowing him freedom of movement. Your saddle is too narrow if the front of the saddle sits high. Read More

Answer: It is important always that the saddle fit the rider first – because if it doesn't then no matter how well the saddle fits the horse, the rider's discomfort due to poor rider saddle fit will always translate down to the horse. This limits both the horse and rider in attaining optimum performance. Read More