Anyone for Side Saddle?

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 | saddle fitting | 4 Comments

This saddle was custom-made for this horse. The other saddle was off the rack at half the price. You be the judge of which one is the better fit.

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Tags: British saddlemakers, custom saddles, rider fit, saddle fit, saddle fitting trade-offs

Saddle Fit: Tree measurements and descriptions

Sunday, September 28th, 2008 | saddle fitting | No Comments

“Not everything that counts can be measured. Not everything that can be measured counts.” - Albert Einstein

Although centimeter measurements are a common means of comparing one saddle to another, in reality this means of describing the fit of a saddle is about as useful and as accurate as describing the fit of the saddle by saying, “It’s brown.”

A schematic is helpful in comparing the shape of trees

If I knew the centimeter measurements on all of the trees we use (which I don’t), I’m afraid that information wouldn’t help much in comparing the fit of one tree to another tree.   The overall shape and fit considerations of a saddle cannot be accurately expressed as a single measurement, either as a distance between the tree points or as a nominal standard such as “medium” or “wide.”

We don’t know how this bizarre idea ever got started of measuring tree points, but it is a bit like buying a pair of pants on the basis of how long the leg is, regardless of the actual size of the garment or the measurement of the waist and hips.  The measurement you are asking for – the distance between the bottom of the tree points – could be a completely misleading indicator of the actual fit. › Continue reading

Tags: saddle fit, saddle fitting, saddle measurement, saddle shape, saddle tree, saddle tree points, saddle trees