# western saddle for high withers horse



## Vidaloco

Looks like you need to go with a gaited horse bars saddle, or a semi QH bar. they are made for higher withered horses. I have an Abetta that is a wide full QH bar that I can't use too. Are you near any tack stores that do consignments? Maybe you could do a trade. See if you can find someplace that will let you try out the saddle before you buy.


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## kitten_Val

Thank you, V! in fact, my wintec was semiqh, but it didn't fit (not even withers part, I guess the whole thing is just poorely made). Yes, I'm looking at stores around, however not much success so far...


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## Vidaloco

You might want to look into gaited horse saddles then. The only difference is, besides the narrower bars, they have a rounded panel at the front for freedom of shoulder movement. Good luck in your search.Have you checked ebay?


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## Appyt

Sure you can. My QH has some withers too and my nice leather saddle fits. You may not be able to use a synthetic or perhaps a different brand. I'm not very familiar with them even tho I have an abetta(spare for kids). I don't think it fits my very well QH either. 

Try to measure the height of the gullets on the saddles you look at as well as the tree width. If you can take your horse to the saddle or take one on trial that will help you fit him easier also. 

Here is a pic of my QH Abe.


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## kitten_Val

Appy, what saddle do you use? Yeh, looks like your horse withers are even higher...  

I did find a store in PA, which has number of saddles plus they do custom. I may drive there on Fri and see what they have. Can't take horse there (it's 60 miles drive - too long), but will take pics and all measurements I can. They also said they exchange - refund if saddle doesn't fit. Looks like nice place to go...


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## The Funny Farmer

I know you said that you took back an ausie saddle becouse of not fiting properly but we had the same problem on honey (brown)and the ausie gives plenty of clearence. don't know what type of tree it is sorry.


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## kitten_Val

BTW, I posted the question because the guy in local tack store told me it's IMPOSSIBLE to fit high withers horse with western...


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## kitten_Val

Farmer, aussie indeed gave lots of clearance. You are right about that. But it was sliding everywhere. Looks like not the best aussie. Lol! The problem is there are no aussies around, and all I can do is just keep ordering. I think it's just easier to go with the western (we have 3-4 stores in reasonable driving distance, so I can at least exchange it.


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## Vidaloco

kitten_Val said:


> BTW, I posted the question because the guy in local tack store told me it's IMPOSSIBLE to fit high withers horse with western...


I think he was full of horse manure! probably had some english saddles he needed to sell.


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## kitten_Val

He-he... Good point! In fact he tried to sell me english with motivation it'll fit and it's great on trail. I do have english wintec and it's great in ring, but I don't consider english being very convenient on trail (I know number of people won't agree, but it's just my opinion).


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## Appyt

kitten_Val said:


> Appy, what saddle do you use? Yeh, looks like your horse withers are even higher...
> 
> I did find a store in PA, which has number of saddles plus they do custom. I may drive there on Fri and see what they have. Can't take horse there (it's 60 miles drive - too long), but will take pics and all measurements I can. They also said they exchange - refund if saddle doesn't fit. Looks like nice place to go...


Uhm, I dunno.. It's a longhorn I think.. Hasn't a name on it tho. lemme find a pic of it on him. K, here's one.. Pay no attention to that child. lol Oh, that is a built up pad that I don't use anymore. Shoot.. I forgot that part. He didn't need it, I needed to put saddle a lil farther back.  That is great news on that store in PA.. And exchanges are always great. Maybe they will even have some used ones. Gotta love those already broke in saddles.


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## kitten_Val

Thanks, Appy! From what I see on pic the saddle sits really good on your horse. Well, I called PA store. They have respected brands there such as circle y, tucker, etc. so will see...  At least they have no Abettas (looks like EVERY single store in my neighborhood carries mostly abettas and try to sell it to me hard despite the fact i'm saying it doesn't fit both my horses :/ )


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## Vidaloco

Before you go shopping take a piece of wire and form it to your horses back were the pommel of the saddle sits. Then put it on a piece of paper and trace it. Cut out the shape and take it with you to the store.


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## kitten_Val

Yes, that's exactly what I gonna do tonight.


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## DGW1949

kitten_Val said:


> BTW, I posted the question because the guy in local tack store told me it's IMPOSSIBLE to fit high withers horse with western...


I think they guy who told you that is mistaken.
In my experience, I've found that there's two kinds of Western saddles.......
There's some that are made for selling.
There's some that are made for using.
Maybe your guy don't know the difference ?


To my way of thinking, when you find the right saddle-dealer you'll know it imeadiately because the guy will be just as concerned about your horse as he is about you. Maybe moreso.
I've also learned to be very cautious about buying pretty saddles out of a catalog. :wink: .

Having said that......

The best saddle that I've ever owned is an old 'Ranch King' which was made by the Tanner Leather Co., of Dallas Texas, some 50+ years ago. 
That particular model is made from buffalo hide, has solid-brass D-rings, real sheep padding and a rawhide-reinforced oak tree that is made for high withers. I got it second-hand from a friend who's father owned it since new and I used it for 12 years on a TB which had withers about-like the photo which Appyt posted. Since that time, it's been used on ther horses which were built simular...and without a single problem.
One of the drawbacks these old-type saddles have is that they are quite heavy by modern standards and are often difficult for a youngster(or weaker adult) to handle. The horses that I used it on liked it a lot. I like it a lot. My 95-pound wife hates it. :lol: .

What I'm trying to say here is.......
Don't neglect looking over the used saddle rack while shopping around. There's a lot of good used saddles that gets traded-in, simply because they are no longer trendy. 
You might find just the right thing and save some money to boot.

Good luck in your search.
DGW


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## kitten_Val

Thanks, DGW! I agree it's better to buy good used one than crappy new one. Buying from catalogs is a real pain: did buy other stuff and in many cases they were much worse quality than they looked at pic.


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## iridehorses

I found that an "A" fork saddle has a nice high gullet and fits a wide range of horses. I also use a gel/felt contoured saddle pad under it (about 3/4" thick) as I've found that it conforms nicely to both my walking horse cross and my QH


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## DivasMom

*I have the same problem*

My horse has the same problem. She's a saddlebred and she has a long neck, long legs, average back and super high/narrow withers.

I've tried an aussie saddle but her withers get smashed in the gullet area ( under the pommel/swell. I have to use a booster pad to raise it up but I don't want to do that.. I want a saddle that FITS.

I recently tried an 18" western saddle on her. It was a beautiful saddle, affordable and it fit ME but sadly it didn't fit her. Couldn't get a finger under the gullet...withers were too high and saddle was too wide.


I love my baby girl and I want to ride... but it's on hiatus until I can find the right saddle that i can afford and fits properly.

Kind of hard to do when I don't have my horse with me to model the saddles at stores or at people's homes ( if they are selling their tack).

Going to measure the gullet width in the shoulder/back area of my aussie saddle and use that to help me when looking at saddles. Hey it's worth a shot. 

I might also get lucky and have people willing to let me try before I buy but that's pretty rare around here unless you know a lot of people, which I don't.


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## DivasMom

Vidaloco, that is an excellent suggestion. I'm going to do it! I will use measurements and cut-outs. ANYTHING to help make this work. If i'm...mentally picturing this correctly, it will help with height but not with width?

So I would make a second measurement for that and trace it etc.


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## boots

All three of the following get ridden with a western saddle. Semi-QH bars. Made by McCall. I consider their withers prominent.







Pardon their condition. This was a year ago when they had just come in from winter pasture.


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## boots

Here's a shot of the sorrel with the saddle on.


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## flytobecat

Mona's got high withers and a big barrel. It took me a long time to find something that fit her. I ride her in a full QH Bar Courts Saddle and a Parelli air pad. Basically, the pad is what made the difference. It's an expensive pad, but it kept me from having to buy a new saddle. 
I would look for a good quality saddle with a decent if not perfect fit and then get good quality pad. The air, memory foam, and gel pads are nice because they can give a little in the right places. 
Making a tracing of your horse's back helps, but I tried on every saddle I could. I would borrow my friends' saddles and put them on her just to get an idea of what works and what didn't. I found that Abettas and Wintecs are nice but the trees tend to run narrow. Gaited saddles give good shoulder clearance but run narrow also. The roping and work saddle trees run wide and tend to give good shoulder clearance.
Sorry, I don't have very good pictures of Mona.


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## bsms

You might consider this program:










Steele Saddle Tree LLC - Fit To The Horse

They make a lot of the trees used in western saddles, and this program would make it obvious which of their trees fits the horse the best.
_
"These fit forms are fiberglass moldings that duplicate precisely nine of the most widely used fits in our *Equi-Fit ®* saddle tree line. When placed on the horse's back, the fit forms literally allow the fit to be seen unobstructed by the saddle skirts, rigging and stirrup leathers. We realize that not everyone is an expert on fit, but serious fit problems are usually obvious with an unobscured view."_


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## DivasMom

*Road bumps*

I think the closest I can describe my girl is.. a giraffe. lol wish I had the right pic to show it. Look at a giraffe and that's my girl and her withers.

It's nice to know there are others out there who have horses with such giraffe like wither problems too.. it looks like she goes from hump to neck and nothing in between. Her withers are her neck almost. 

She's also got that gaited build so I don't want a saddle that drapes down her front legs/shoulders and hinders her movements when she's picking her front legs up high while doing a rack. I'm thinking a treeless saddle might be a good direction to head in. Gaited saddles are a bit too expensive for me right now.

Regardless of what she looks like or how other friends tease me about her ( good naturedly).... she will always be beautiful and perfect to me.. I just have to find the right clothes for her 

P.S. don't mind that wooden structure she's running alongside.. those are NOT spikes in that picture..they are T -posts waaaay far back towards the field. Nowhere near her.


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## DivasMom

*So close*

Like this saddle here...

Looks like there is enough room in the gullet for her withers but when you get up in the saddle... it touches and puts pressure on them. It fooled me! At first glance I thought WOW so much space! There is no way that is going to put pressure on her withers. I was wrong. So sad too because it was a beautiful saddle and i wanted it.


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## DivasMom

*still trying*

Well, tried a treeless saddle... didn't work. 

Tried a semi qh aussie saddle... was very close to working but she'd need lots of padding. 

Bought an endurance saddle... here is to hoping that fits!


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