Saddle fitting can be a nightmare for several reasons, too many to list here.  However, one of the most frustrating is that many times saddles that appear to fit a standing horse prove to be ill fitting and can actually have adverse effects upon the horse when the horse starts to move.  It becomes  yet more frustrating because the saddle itself is covering what you need to see.

The following is what I recommend you do when you receive one of our saddles. The steps are provided so that you can determine if your Crest Ridge Saddle is properly fitted to your horse; since I can not be there in person to check the fit of your saddle. So it becomes your responsibility as the customer and horse owner, to act as my eyes and hands during this proceedure. Remember, you have the final say in this matter; you must determine whether or not your new Crest Ridge Saddle is a 'fit', or not, for your horse.

To start your fitting check, and to be assured that we are going to get an accurate test, do not groom the horse before you ride. Simply brush off any excess dirt and mud to protect the saddle, but leave the deep down dirt on the animal to assure a nice imprint on the white towel after you finish.

When you first took your measurement of the horse according to this page: You were asked to place a wire above the horse’s back edge of his scapula to determine proper gullet and shoulder width.  Now that you have your saddle, place a white towel on the horse and a thin Navaho blanket (unless instructed otherwise by your original fitter) on the horse’s back.  Next, place your saddle so that the breast collar rings on the saddle are up and over the same place you had that wire when you measured your horse's whithers.  

The next step is to fully girth the saddle as you would when you prepare to ride.  With the saddle cinched up we now look at the bar angles to match the angle of the horse’s shoulder as illustrated below.
 
 

Too Close and Improper Angle	Good Clearance and Proper Angle

 Next slip 4 fingers of your right hand up to your knuckles in under the saddle between the very top ring of the near side of the saddle. Now with a sliding back and forth motion continue the downward back and forth motion until you reach the breast collar ring. This area should feel snug with even pressure, and is the first indication of a good fit. You do not want to be able to get your whole hand in there easily; because this would indicate a “sloppy” fit.  This would also mean that there is no support to prevent all of your weight from being transferred to the top of the tree, resulting in painful pressure points for your horse.

Now, place your 4 fingers back in a central location between the top ring and the breast collar ring and ask the horse to take a few steps toward you while your 4 fingers are still in place. Again you should feel snugness but no pinching. If you feel pinching make sure that you have the front edge of that tree in the saddle up and over where you initially measured the horse. 

Next, check the clearance under the swell. There should be at least 1-inch clearance on a Western Saddle between the bottom of the swell and the horse’s wither and no more than 2 inches unless your horse is mutton withered. 

A mutton-withered horse naturally is going to have more clearance because there is no wither where there is supposed to be. So, as long as everything else is correct the fit should be ok. I would also like to add at this point that on a mutton withered horse your saddle is going to fit more snugly than it would on a horse with more developed or pronounced withers because instead of the bar having 8 inches of surface to rest on, the lack of wither can reduce this surface up to as little as 5 inches. So naturally with less surface area to divide the weight there will be a bit more pressure, but the most important point is that the saddle needs to be level.   With these types of horses girth them up with the appropriate rigging, and then check all that has been mentioned in this article. 

The next step to do is the off side of the horse, simply repeat the instructions in the above paragraphs.

When the above finished has been properly accomplished, attach your breast collar making sure that it is as snug as a leather belt would be to hold your pants up. People that you see riding with a flopping breast collar have improperly attacted the collar.  The purpose of a breast collar is to hold that saddle exactly where you originally placed it and if it is “sloppy” in its fit, it is merely a decoration and provides no added security with regards to saddle placement.

Next you need to check clearance at the back of the saddle.  Place your right hand under the saddle from the rear, along the horse’s spine, and all the way so that your fingertips are under the cantle back. Now, with your left hand gently push down on the seat. There should be no pressure there at all. If there is any pressure here it needs to be corrected with a pad that has an additional channel for spine relief of the horse.  We have a special PB Tree spacer available in most models of our saddles for horse’s that have a protruding spine and are not protected by muscle. This spacer needs to be placed in the tree as the saddle is being built. 

Tie your horse on level ground and take a few steps back to analyze the whole picture at this time.  Is the saddle level? If it is rising in the back there are several causes and further work will be needed.  Is your horse mutton withered? If your horse has a lower wither than most horses then there is inadequate wither to hold this tree level. In this case your horse will need a rear flank set (rear girth) or V-Rigging and some people refer to this as Center Fire Rigging.

Another cause of the saddle rising in the back is that the tree could be too narrow or too wide. To check this, look at the front of the saddle making sure that it sets down nicely on both sides of the wither.  After you place the flank set or the V Rigging on the horse flip the stirrup up and over the horn and reach in under the saddle bars and above the pad. Apply downward pressure on the saddle again to check the bars to make sure that they are resting on the horses back in the very same manner you did on the front edge of the saddle, but now check from the front to the rear of the bars.  It should be a snug fit and there should be even pressure from the back of the wither to the back rings behind the cantle of the seat. 

The next step is to ride the horse for a very minimum of 30 minutes. The point is to work up a nice sweat on your horse under your new Crest Ridge Saddle, when you are finished, photograph your horse with his saddle still in place from the various angles that are shown here.

If you have any reservations about the fit on your Crest Ridge® Saddle, Send me photos at the angles shown below.

Then untack the horse and photograph his back showing the sweat patterns as well. We are looking for ruffled hair where the bars were resting or uneven sweat patterns. Ruffled hairs on the horses back is a pretty good indication that the saddle is too big allowing the saddle to move around. If this is the case please discontinue use of the saddle.

 If there are dry areas then we need to more homework.  If your saddle slipped back during the ride leaving a space between the saddle bars and the wither there will be dry spots. If the dry spots have wavy or ruffled hairs, discontinue use of the saddle. If the first was the case, try retacking the horse with a fresh towel and a snugged up collar and repeat the riding part of this test. If the results are the same then try a ½ to ¾ inch pad and if this does not fix the problem, then this saddle is inappropriate for your horse.

Lay the soiled white towel on the ground with the soiled part up.  Take a photo of it and send it to us along with the photos at the various angles. Make sure you include your name as it appeared on the order and your phone number along with the best time to reach you by phone.

Your saddle fit is only as good as the accuracy of the measurements you provide us, before and after you receive your saddle. Remember you make the final decision as to whether or not this saddle is properly fitting your horse. After all this work is finished and if you are not totally 100% sure that this saddle is fitting, or you are not happy in anyway, I would like for you to clean it up and send it back to us here at Crest Ridge Saddler in the same shape that you received it, and I will cheerfully refund your purchase price less shipping. 

If you need an extension past our 3-day policy simply call      1-888-297-1261 or write Saddles@CrestRidgeSaddlery  and ask for one; we will make every reasonable effort to help you.  It is our desire here at Crest Ridge Saddlery to make the experience of purchasing a saddle from us pleasant, educational, and to see to it that your Crest Ridge Saddle is “the one that fits”. 

Sincerely,
Debra K Racheter
Crest Ridge Saddlery