Satisfaction Guarantee

Saddle Fit

We believe achieving the most suitably sized tree and seat size for your saddle is paramount. Therefore, we collect as much information as possible from both horse and rider.

Once you’ve purchased the saddle of your choice, we will work closely with you to ensure a reliable saddle that provides comfort and pleasure for both horse and rider for many years to come.

Tree Fit

We recommend a tree to fit your widest horse because you can always pad up but not down.

We offer three basic styles of saddle tree:

Stock Horse Tree – Thoroughbred style stock horses with prominent wither and narrow shoulders.
Semi Quarter Horse Tree – Fits a wide range of horses.
Full Quarter Horse Tree – Heavy set, low withered horses.

To assist the saddler in choosing a saddle tree to suit your breed of horse, a template of the horse’s wither is helpful. To make a template, take a piece of soft fencing wire and run it up the shoulder and over the wither. Trace the shape onto a sheet of paper.

Specific photos of your horse will also assist the tree makers in choosing the best tree option for your horse:

• Photo 1: Of your horse side-on.
• Photo 2: Taken from a raised position, and from the rear, of your horse’s back.
• Photo 3: Taken as you are tracing the horse’s wither.

Seat Fit

Daniel, Paul, and Shari have vast experience in choosing the saddle size best suited to the rider.

To choose the correct size saddle for you, we need your:

  • Height
  • Weight
  • Age
  • Jeans size
  • A photo of the rider standing
  • Hip measurement (around the butt)
  • Thigh measurement (around one thigh near the top
  • Inside leg measurement (from the crutch to the floor, with boots on)
  • Do you prefer to ride with a long or short leg?

Horse Fit

How to adapt one saddle to suit a wide range of horses:
  • Placing heavy pads under the saddle changes the shape of the horse so you need to consider if they are necessary for each individual horse.
  • We recommend using a light saddle cloth to gauge the fit of the saddle. If the saddle fits well, leave it at that.
  • Comfort and fit for the horse is about saddle shape, not about softness.
  • Use a pad if necessary to fill the horse out. If there is not enough clearance for the wither use a pad with a cutaway chamber. (see our Koda felt saddle pad with leather chambers)
  • Neoprene pads (available on our Saddle Blankets page) are also great for this purpose as they have less padding along the gullet and chambers.

Chat our Saddlers

We'll speak with you to handcraft your saddle according to your specifications and measurements. If you're uncertain about anything, why not give us a call.
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SADDLE FAQ's