I’m often approached by those who consider me a saddle expert. And yes, I have designed saddles with manufacturers that I’m extremely proud of. However, I’d hesitate to call myself a saddle expert. I spend my energy thinking about the horse and what they need far more than I think about what adjustments I need made to any given saddle. I like to keep things simple. My saddle should be basically neutral, not causing myself or the horse any problems. You may’ve gotten advice from a saddle expert, talking about saddle fit and custom saddles, but before you run off and get something tailor made I’d ask yourself this: where are this expert’s intentions coming from? We’re giving you the rundown on my take on saddles this week, so let’s head off.

Key Takeaways

It can be intimidating when you go into a tack store and see racks and racks of saddles. You’re not alone if you find yourself not knowing where to start. So, let’s make your saddle buying decision a bit more simple. First, let’s see if your current saddle is the cause for your horse’s riding issues. 90% the saddle has nothing to do with your horse’s behavior. I’ve made every stupid mistake you can think of with a horse and saddle, and every time both have come out completely fine and unharmed.

Keep in mind that different breeds have different builds. A huge mistake I see all the time is this: someone’s selling a saddle online. They put down a tape measure in front of the gullet to show how wide it is. This is completely wrong. Because after the saddle is manufactured, you can only gauge that width by the saddle tree itself, because the tree is the foundation. It has to be a bare naked tree to understand the true width.

What are some scenarios in which you might consider getting a custom saddle made? Well, if your horse has some sort of deficiency - say one shoulder is atrophied and the other is more developed. This might be a case where you’d want to look into getting a custom saddle built to compensate for the lesser shoulder.

Horses generally show weight gain most prominently over their withers and buttocks. This can be a bit of an issue with custom saddles, because as seasons change grasses become more abundant or sparse. This results in weight gain and loss. Does this mean you need a new saddle every time your horse packs on a few pounds? Of course not. You just need to invest in quality saddle pads to compensate for any change.

What’s a good saddle worth? A better question is how much cheap saddles are going to cost you as they wear out over and over again. Go buy yourself something with great workmanship, great materials, and that’ll last you. Be picky, inspect the stitching - you want something that you can really rely on to withstand what you’re going to put it through. Remember, a good quality saddle doesn’t cost you anything to keep.

If in doubt about making any saddle purchases feel free to ask me any questions - I try not to push my own products on anyone, although I love that I’ve had the opportunity to work with manufacturers and design my own products. But send me an email at info@vanhargis.com - I’ll respond best I can, but including any pictures of your horse and current saddle would definitely be helpful.