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Western Saddle Fitting and Different Tree Sizes.

There are several different tree sizes. The most common being Quarter horse (regular bars QH). Full Quarter (FQHB) also known as Wide Tree, Arab, Gaited Horse, Halfinger, and Draft Horse.

• Quarter horse bar or Semi Quarter horse bar is by far the most common tree. It has a higher pitch as opposed to the flatter pitch for FQHB. It is for the medium back, decent wither and often mixed blood decent. Most of our saddles are Semi QH bars QH bars usually have the higher pitched angles.
• FQHB Tree (usually 7" gullet) is often used for "Bulldog" Quarter Horse or horses with broad backs and sometimes mutton-withered Quarter Horses. The FQHB will usually have a flatter pitch than the QH/semi QH bar.
• Arab Saddles are for the Arabian as they have a narrow (usually 61/2 - 63/4 width) gullet like the semi QH but a flatter pitch angle like the FQHB-sometimes flatter than the FQHB.
• Gaited Horse Bars have a higher gullet for higher withered horses. They usually have a wider gullet front that narrows towards the back to allow shoulder movement. They usually have more rock.
• Halflinger Saddles (7 1/2 " gullet) are great for Halflinger or short backed mutton withered horses. Often have the flatter pitch and very little rock.
• Draft Horse bars (8" gullet) are for the large Draft Horses.

Goal in Fitting:  Make as much saddle bar to horse back contact as possible.

How much is enough? Two things determine this.
How much the rider weighs. The heavier the rider, the more contact is needed. The reverse is true the lighter the rider you can get away with less contact. Remember you are trying to distribute pounds per square inch.
How much bar surface is available. The less bar availability the more contact is needed. Vice versa the more bar availability the more you can get by with less contact.

There are two major areas of concern when fitting a saddle!

1. Wither. In the saddle industry, there is no definition for tree width sizes. There are generic terms such as semi QH and FQH which give an idea of what type of horse the tree should fit, but there is no rule for measurement. Each tree builder has their own idea of what fits each breed of horse the best. There are several things to consider when fitting the wither.

(a) Width

1. If the tree is too narrow, there will be contact at the bottom of the bar and not at the top.
2. If the saddle is too wide, there will be contact at the top of the bar and not at the bottom.

(b) Bar Flare

1. If the bar is flat at the wither, it can cause the saddle to be pushed back as well as restricting shoulder movement. This is more evident with gaited horses.
2. Bar flare can be evident in the front and rear of the saddle. As the front can restrict movement, the rear can dig into the croup if the rider is heavy and sits deep into the seat, or the horse is short backed, or sway backed. Each of these could cause sores if the saddle doesn’t have adequate flare.

(c) Slope. There are two areas of concern here when looking at the slope of the horses back.

1. Bridging: Bridging occurs when there is bar to surface contact on the front (wither) and rear (croup) of the horses back but not in the middle. Usually, you can tell your saddle is bridging if there is a sore or white hair in the wither or croup area. This is caused by one of two things:
   1. Bend or Rock. If the saddle doesn’t have enough bend in the bar to fit the sway of the horses back, it will bridge.
   2. Length of Back. If the bar is longer than the horses back, it will bridge. This is most evident on Arabs, Paso Finos, Missouri Foxtrotters and other short backed horses.

White hair and sores are not always a sign of bridging, it could be a result of

1. Tree width - explained above.
2. Rigging position. As a rule most horses do not need full rigging. They need rigging that gives more pull toward the center of the saddle or throughout the whole saddle rather than the front only. There are four rigging positions available in the industry
1. Center - fire. Lines up directly in the center of the saddle.
2. 3/4" rigging which is 1-2" in front of the center.
3. 7/8" rigging. This rigging is most common and gives the best option between the 3/4" and the full-rigging option.
4. Full rigging. This is when the rigging is directly beneath the swell or pommel. Most ropers like this type of rigging because of the pull on the horn when roping.

1. Rock. The opposite of bridging. Rock occurs when there is more bend in the bar than the horse needs, therefore it makes contact in the middle of the back before it makes contact in the front or back. Usually, when rock is visible the saddle will tip back and forth on the horses back. When the saddle is girthed up it will tip forward with the rear of the saddle sticking up in the air. When the rider sits in the saddle it will force the saddle down in the rear causing pressure in the front of the saddle going toward the middle of the back. This is most evident on mules. Be aware if the saddle is sticking up in the rear it may not necessarily be a rock problem but could be a width problem.

Common questions:
What do white hairs tell me? Normally, white hair is caused by a lot of pressure in one area over a long period of time. What takes place is the pressure stops the blood flow to that area which in turn kills the sweat glands and causes the hair to turn white. The hair may never turn to its normal colour. This alone is not something to be alarmed about and does not cause long term permanent damage, unless you don’t pay any attention to the problem. (You should consult your veterinarian about any sores your horse may develop. )

What about padding-up or saddle pads? Good saddle pads can help the saddle fit better. There are big advantages in the technology of the saddle pad industry to help a saddle fit better and you should take advantage of that technology. Padding-up to help eliminate sores from a poor fitting saddle is not a good choice. ie if a saddle is too narrow, padding up to buffer the pressure will make the horse wider resulting in more pressure.