Thank you so much. I have been looking for a long time for a good video on how to use a wire/wither tracing to check saddle fit. Also, you gave a great explanation of why my horse has those dips in his shoulders and withers etc. It comes back to a saddle that doesn't fit right.
You are very welcome!! Your horse is lucky to have you! There is more information on our website for you to read if you like: outwestsaddlery.com/fitting-a-saddle/fitting-how-to-guide/
I agree with your wire demo in regards to the tree width however the 1/2" no contact gap in the middle of the bars isn't as big of a deal when the horse is in motion. The back muscles tighten and lift with every step at least a 1/2". As the horse gets worked more those muscles will develop bigger to fill in that gap
Hi Jennifer, there is no such thing as a stupid question! It is a 24" piece of 12:2 Romex housing wire. You can sometimes get scrape from an electrician, buy at a hardware store or electrical supply store. There is more info on our website on these pages: outwestsaddlery.com/fitting-a-saddle/fitting-how-to-guide/ and outwestsaddlery.com/fitting-a-saddle/fitting-info-philosophy/ We are glad this was helpful for you!
thank you - I just lost all my tack in a barn fire and want to make sure i get proper fitting stuff - one of my girls took me 2 years to find a saddle that fit her and I dont want to do the buy and sell again :)
I am so sorry to hear that!! If we can help let me know! My husband has engineered trees that fit todays horses really well and we have the only tree maker we know of that will make the front bar angle like we have figured out most need. We can do lots of different angles and rockers as needed. Thank You!
Actually the flexible rulers are not accurate! They are too flexible and don't hold their shape from forming to the animal to tracing paper. We have received many tracing using these and they had to be redone.
Yes, the saddles that she wore before Terri got her definitely didn't fit right, and caused a lot of the atrophy issues she has. The difference between a horse saddle and a mule saddle are in the "rocker" of the bars. A typical mule saddle will have flatter bars, because most mules have very flat backs. However, that shape doesn't work for her, because her topline is dropped, and it creates a sever bridging issue with pressure points in the front and back, and no pressure in the middle. You are correct that a more horse-shaped saddle with more rock fits her better in the bars, but the height of the gullet should be determined based on the individual animal's conformation. A normal gullet height works fine on her when the saddle is shimmed right. Dilly does have high withers, but a lot of why they are so pronounced is because of the atrophy on either side of them, meaning that any saddle will fall into those dips and probably make the gullet look too low. It doesn't matter if it is a mule saddle or a horse saddle, they will behave the same in this way. The correct fix for her atrophy, and therefor the wither height problem, is to shim under the middle and back of the saddle which will raise it up off the withers, and leave space where these dips are, so that her musculature can fill out there, and naturally raise the saddle over time so that eventually, she wouldn't need shimming at all.
Their ribs and spine don't change, just the "fluff" in between. If you have the proper bar angle in the front of the saddle tree you can use our saddling fitting pad to help do saddle fit correction for the changing body. Most horses like people change with age, conditioning and diet. My mule was obese, had terrible ulcers and was metabolic when I first got her. through diet change (simplifying her diet) and putting her on an herb program (one of our services, I do long distance evaluations using kinesiology and set up herb programs to balance their body) she is now normal weight and she is free fed a low protein grass hay in hay bags for slow feeding. She is in great shape now for her age. For more information see our web site www.outwestsaddlery.com or call me Terri at 970-264-2524
Thank you for such a clear video! I've never *quite* understood how to use the wire to check fit before. :-)
Your very welcome!! Let us know if you have any other questions 970-264-2524
Thank you so much. I have been looking for a long time for a good video on how to use a wire/wither tracing to check saddle fit. Also, you gave a great explanation of why my horse has those dips in his shoulders and withers etc. It comes back to a saddle that doesn't fit right.
You are very welcome!! Your horse is lucky to have you! There is more information on our website for you to read if you like: outwestsaddlery.com/fitting-a-saddle/fitting-how-to-guide/
Thank you so much. This is exactly what I need to know right now.
Wonderful!! Feel free to call me at 208-756-3333 if you need more help! ~Terri
I agree with your wire demo in regards to the tree width however the 1/2" no contact gap in the middle of the bars isn't as big of a deal when the horse is in motion. The back muscles tighten and lift with every step at least a 1/2". As the horse gets worked more those muscles will develop bigger to fill in that gap
every horse deserves a well fitting saddle
Really good info. Thank you!
Thank you so much for watching and sharing your feedback! Feel free to call us if you have questions 970-264-2524
Thank you!!
This is a stupid question but what is the wire (or where can I get on) that you are using called? Great explanation on the rest :)
Hi Jennifer, there is no such thing as a stupid question! It is a 24" piece of 12:2 Romex housing wire. You can sometimes get scrape from an electrician, buy at a hardware store or electrical supply store. There is more info on our website on these pages: outwestsaddlery.com/fitting-a-saddle/fitting-how-to-guide/ and outwestsaddlery.com/fitting-a-saddle/fitting-info-philosophy/
We are glad this was helpful for you!
thank you - I just lost all my tack in a barn fire and want to make sure i get proper fitting stuff - one of my girls took me 2 years to find a saddle that fit her and I dont want to do the buy and sell again :)
I am so sorry to hear that!! If we can help let me know! My husband has engineered trees that fit todays horses really well and we have the only tree maker we know of that will make the front bar angle like we have figured out most need. We can do lots of different angles and rockers as needed. Thank You!
Staedtler makes a flexible ruler that is great for this!! :)
Actually the flexible rulers are not accurate! They are too flexible and don't hold their shape from forming to the animal to tracing paper. We have received many tracing using these and they had to be redone.
Where do I get a wire?
We sell them, you can call to order or you can try to get a 24” scrap piece of 12:2 romex house wire from an electrician.
Probley had a so called mule saddle that mule has enough withers to use a nice horse saddle with a good nonslip pad.
Yes, the saddles that she wore before Terri got her definitely didn't fit right, and caused a lot of the atrophy issues she has.
The difference between a horse saddle and a mule saddle are in the "rocker" of the bars. A typical mule saddle will have flatter bars, because most mules have very flat backs. However, that shape doesn't work for her, because her topline is dropped, and it creates a sever bridging issue with pressure points in the front and back, and no pressure in the middle.
You are correct that a more horse-shaped saddle with more rock fits her better in the bars, but the height of the gullet should be determined based on the individual animal's conformation. A normal gullet height works fine on her when the saddle is shimmed right. Dilly does have high withers, but a lot of why they are so pronounced is because of the atrophy on either side of them, meaning that any saddle will fall into those dips and probably make the gullet look too low. It doesn't matter if it is a mule saddle or a horse saddle, they will behave the same in this way. The correct fix for her atrophy, and therefor the wither height problem, is to shim under the middle and back of the saddle which will raise it up off the withers, and leave space where these dips are, so that her musculature can fill out there, and naturally raise the saddle over time so that eventually, she wouldn't need shimming at all.
What if your mule is over weight? Will the fit still be true if you measure now, and looses weight? I do plan on bringing him down to proper weight.
Their ribs and spine don't change, just the "fluff" in between. If you have the proper bar angle in the front of the saddle tree you can use our saddling fitting pad to help do saddle fit correction for the changing body. Most horses like people change with age, conditioning and diet.
My mule was obese, had terrible ulcers and was metabolic when I first got her. through diet change (simplifying her diet) and putting her on an herb program (one of our services, I do long distance evaluations using kinesiology and set up herb programs to balance their body) she is now normal weight and she is free fed a low protein grass hay in hay bags for slow feeding. She is in great shape now for her age.
For more information see our web site www.outwestsaddlery.com or call me Terri at 970-264-2524