# What size western saddle??



## jenkat86 (May 20, 2014)

There is no standard for western saddles, so finding a nice fitting one for both horse and rider can be really tricky. 

http://www.horseforum.com/saddle-fitting-issues/saddle-fit-45868/

That is a good link full of helpful info for measuring your horse for the saddle. As far as for the rider- the best thing to do is have her sit in some different sized saddles and find out which is the most comfortable.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

No smaller than 14" seat. When she's seated you should be able to put your fingers between her leg and the forks (western pommel). Try a few 15" as well. You'll want the bars (framework that sits on the horse) to have a flatter angle so better fit the flattish back. Like riding English she sits in the deepest part of the seat.


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

Nice pony!!!!!
The saddle needs to fit both rider and ridee. That makes buying a saddle as a surprise difficult. If it is a surprise make sure it is exchangeable. You will get plenty of advice here on fitting.
Merry Christmas!
And did I say nice pony?


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## Chaz80 (Sep 29, 2015)

Dustbunny said:


> Nice pony!!!!!
> The saddle needs to fit both rider and ridee. That makes buying a saddle as a surprise difficult. If it is a surprise make sure it is exchangeable. You will get plenty of advice here on fitting.
> Merry Christmas!
> And did I say nice pony?


Thanks dustbunny!! We havnt had her long,about 3 months,she has totally changed from when we got her,I posted a few threads about her shall we say " unruly behaviour"!! But since then she has turned into an angel..think she just needed to learn to trust us.

Thanks all for your advice I have seen a few second hand ones that say they have been used on 13.2-14hh cobs so I think I have a little bit to go off!! They are all 8-9 inch wide and have 14-15 inch seats.my daughter is a slim 8-10 so the seat size should be OK.
Buying her English saddle was a knight mare but thank goodness the one I bought fit!!


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

Chaz80 said:


> She has an English 16 inch seat and 8 inch wide.
> 
> I do not know the sizing of western saddles


Since I assume your daughter is still growing, I probably wouldn't get anything smaller than a 14" seat for a Western saddle. 

My Tad Coffin jumping saddle is 17" and my barrel racing saddle is 14.5". I like a little "snugger" fit on my western saddles, so I'm a little outside the norm of 2 inches. 

Are you working with someone who DOES know how to fit a Western saddle? Having fit both, I honestly think fitting Western saddles is more difficult because it's harder to see what's going on under the saddle. Plus, with an English saddle there's lots of modifications they can make to the tree; but you can't with Western. 

8 inch wide English saddle does not translate to anything Western. You have to look at gullet width, bar angle, the rock, twist of the bars, etc. 
I advise you to read over these websites to give yourself a basic education, but you will STILL need someone knowledgeable to help you. 
THE SADDLE
Factors That Affect Tree Fit

How is your daughter going to learn to ride Western? I assume she is going to be taking lessons from a trainer? Use that trainer to also help you fit the saddle to your horse. 

Chances are, a smaller 13.2 hand horse is going to need semi-quarter horse bars, but there are always exceptions. She does appear to be a broad nice-looking horse so she may be one of those exceptions. Just depends on her shoulder angle.


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