Here are more saddles that usually fit on a mutton withered horse that fit into a normal or narrow gullet: Take a look at the Billy Cook Trail Saddles or Tucker wide tree saddles. Another saddle that fits well is a Crates saddle with the equi-fit tree. A straight-back pad will help too.

Elastic on one end of your girth may cause the saddle to slip sideways, especially on broad horses, try turning the girth around or replacing with a girth with elastic both ends or no elastic.

The “mutton withered” horse (very low withers) tends to be quite round, instead of ‘A’ shaped at the withers. There may be a lot of fat or muscling on top of the shoulder blades that make it seem like the withers are low. This horse will generally need the cinch or girth very tight to prevent the saddle from slipping.

The saddle needs to be in the right position on the horse’s back in order to judge its fit, and to allow the horse correct movement.

• The saddle needs to sit 2-3 fingers behind the shoulderblade and its muscles (see picture below).
• The saddle must nowhere touch the spinal processes, or the dorsal ligament system.

Sometimes, a horse may have no withers at all. Low withers are common among American Quarter horses, ponies, and Arabians. Due to its conformation, your horse may have a decreased range of motion compared to those with normal or higher withers.

This can lead to injury and breakdown, as well as being jarring to the rider. Some horses have withers higher than the croup after they finish growing. Too-high withers makes the saddle tend to slide back toward the loins, putting the rider too far back on the horse.

Cutback Cutback saddles

The cotton Treeless Saddle pad is designed to match the LightRider Bareback Pads. It has pockets either side of the spine with foam inserts that can be left in for horses with high withers or poor muscling, or removed for rounder horses.

If the angles of the points are too narrow, the points will dig into the horse’s muscles and most likely, the middle of the saddle will not come in even contact with your horse’s back. If the points are too wide, the saddle will sit low in front, putting pressure on top of the withers or the back.

How often is regular? It is advisable to have your saddler fitter assess the fit of your saddle every 4-6 months as your horse changes shape, due to age, muscle development or wastage, weight gain or loss, and various other factors. However, your saddle should be fully checked internally every 2 years.

There should be two to three fingers space between the top of the wither and the gullet of the saddle. If you can vertically fit your whole hand between the bottom of the gullet and the wither, the tree is probably too narrow.

When a saddle is too wide in the front, it can sink down over the withers. This takes the saddle out of balance by making the pommel lower than the cantle, which in turn carries more pressure over the front of the tree (at the withers/shoulders) than a saddle with a properly sized tree.

Saddle shape Wider saddles tend to be more comfortable so are good for long rides or leisurely riders where extra weight from more materials isn’t an issue. Thinner saddles tend to be better for short efforts – such as racing – where comfort isn’t dispensed with entirely but is compromised in favour of other factors.