Buying a new (or “new to you”) saddle can drum up dread in the most stoic of souls as you’re presented with a seemingly endless array of choices. I encourage everyone that comes into the store looking for a saddle to first  do some research on our Saddle Resource Page, where you’ll find some helpful tips that can shorten your search and have you in the right saddle in no time.

Coming into the store armed with wither and back tracings and a filled-out saddle questionnaire makes everyone’s job a great deal easier.  Taking the time to take tracings of your horse’s back means that I can better assess which saddles in the store might be a reasonable fit. I can place them in the gullet of the saddle to determine if the width of the tree and the shape of the panels are similar to your horse’s shape.  While it’s not as good as having the horse on-site, it’s easy to rule out the saddles that are completely inappropriate for the horse’s body structure.

Filling out the Saddle Checklist questionnaire provides me with information about your horse’s history that can influence the way a saddle ultimately fits.  For example, if your horse is just starting out under saddle after a year of being out of work, I know that his body will most likely change, and I’ll help you select saddles accordingly.  The Questionnaire further alerts me to your preferences as a rider, so I can further narrow down the list of saddles to take home and try.

Finally, bringing pictures with you to the store or emailing them to  me at dawn@olsonstack.com is a great way to help me visualize the horse that’s being fitted.  The horse should be standing squarely, and photos of both the right and left sides and the shape of his back from above should be taken.

You can also take photographs of the saddle(s) you’re trying on the horse.  The saddle should be girthed up, without a pad, and again, with the horse standing squarely, take photos of the left and right sides, up close at the shoulder on both the right and left, and a picture of how the panels lay against the horse’s back  (see the Saddle Fit How-To pdf for an example).

And of course if you decide to go the custom saddle route (and if you live in the Seattle area), I’m available to come to your barn and take measurements of both you and your horse and have the saddle made for you.   Visit our Custom Saddle page for more information.