Ever wonder if your saddle fits your horse? Does the saddle slide forward or back when you ride? Can your horse use his back correctly? Do you worry that an incorrectly fitted saddle is affecting your horse's health and performance? To take a withers tracing and to determine a saddle fit: The best tool for doing this is a flexible ruler, but if you can't get your hands on a one, you can make a tool by making a rod of tin foil or by using a soldering or thin copper wire. Find the horse's shoulder blade. This bone is called the scapula, and it drops off very noticeably when you run your hand from his shoulder to his back. Once you've found the scapula, place three upright fingers behind it. Behind these fingers is where you should take the tracing. Place the tracing tool of choice in line with the edge of your finger, over the horse's spine. Conform the tool to the horse's back exactly, and then put the tool on a piece of paper and trace it. Repeat three or four times. Be sure to check placement of tool on both sides of horse. Some tips for checking the fit on your horse: Set it on his back without a saddle pad, with the front of the saddle resting two to three fingers back from the horse's shoulder blade. You don't want the saddle interfering with his shoulder rotation. If it seems a little far back, check where the girth would lay. You should be able to fit a hand (with the fingers facing up) between the horses "armpit" and the front of the girth. Once you've determined position, check the tree fit. You should be able to get about three-four fingers between the pommel and the wither -- girthed but without rider. Before girthing, check with your hand all along the underside of the saddle on the horses's back to determine if there is contact along the entire panel (that's the padded underside of the saddle). Then try to rock it holding the cantle with one hand and the pommel with the other. It should not rock much, preferably not at all. If this is all going well, put a saddlepad on and ride. The saddle may settle down to two-three fingers over the whithers. Questions to ask once the saddle is correctly placed: Are you relying on therapeutic, gel, foam or lollipop pads to make your saddle fit? They can cause the saddle to sit unevenly on your horse's back or to rest on your horse's spine, aggravating the effects of an already poor saddle fit. Is the gullet entirely off of the horses spine as it should be? Is the center of the seat, where the rider sits, parallel with the ground as it should be? Is the saddle tipping back - cantle low, or is it tilting forward - pommel low? Press the cantle and pommel alternately. Does the saddle rock back and forth, or does it remain stable as it should? Run your hand under the panel - under the seat and in the front of the saddle. Is contact even, which is correct, or are there gaps in contact between the horse's back and the panel? Now girth up the saddle. Make sure that you can comfortably fit a hand on the barrel between the horse's elbow and the front of the girth. Does this change the way the saddle lies on the horse's back? Does it get pulled out of balance? The rider should now mount. Can you fit three stacked upright fingers between the pommel and the horse's withers? If you can fit more, the tree is too narrow. If you can't fit two to three fingers, the saddle may be too wide. Ride in your new, wool-flocked saddle for the first 20 hours without a saddle pad. If your saddle fits correctly, you will have no need for any gel, lollipop or therapeutic-type saddle pad. You can ruin the fit by using incorrect pads. Saddle Fitting Services Fittings are done by appointment at our store. The fee for a saddle fitting is $75. If you purchase a saddle from us, the $75 is credited toward the price of your new saddle. Click for more info. sadfitser MMTackShop.com protects visitors and customers with a strict Privacy Policy. Redistribution or reproduction of any materials herein is strictly prohibited. Copyright © 2001-2007 by M&M Tack Shop, Raleigh, NC. All Rights Reserved.