Each breed of horse and sometimes even lines within that breed, may have different saddle requirements.   

Our Saddle for the Narrow-Withered Horse

The Thoroughbred, Irish Sport Horse, and even some Warmbloods often have very narrow withers, plus some even have deep shoulder holes, as shown by the picture of the horse below. 

The problem here is two-fold; first is that most saddles don’t come with that narrow a tree or can’t be adjusted to make them fit this type of wither; instead, the saddle sits down on top of the wither, as evidenced by the old scaring on his skeletal processes.  In addition to making the saddle highly uncomfortable to the horse, with the deep shoulder holes, or in this example, was not able to move his shoulders back, creating a pacey gait and inability to develop the correct musculature of the latissimus dorsa - the muscle group responsible for getting the horse to come off his fore, and unable to ’come-up-in-his-wither.’ 

Our solution is to make a saddle for the narrow-withered horse. 

The red arrows in the above center picture show how most of the saddle industry attaches their horizontal panels to the saddle’s pommel, creating a banana tree.  However, the sketch to the left of that picture shows where that panel is making contact on the horse’s sensitive wither muscle, shown in red, and on his thoracic trapezes, shown in blue.

We attach those horizontal panels where the green arrows are pointing in the center picture, which prevents any of the saddles from sitting on the horse’s sensitive wither muscle, thoracic trapezes, as shown on the sketch to the right of that picture.   In addition, that green area on the right sketch is where we install small air panels inside the horizontal panels that can easily be adjusted to keep the saddle from sitting on the horse’s sensitive wither, plus remove all resistance from the natural mechanical movement of the horse’s shoulders. 

The pressure of the saddle preventing the shoulders from moving back, shown on the right side of the sketch, called ‘the bite of the saddle,’ forces the horse to pace or move their fore-limb off their elbow, shown on the right side of that sketch, rather than a more unrestricted gait by pushing off their shoulder, as shown on the left side of that sketch.  For mammals, like the cat in the left picture, the mother cat bites that same muscle group to carry her kitten in the manageable fetal position.  

Crescent Moon  (1984 - 2006)

The before and after pictures, upper left, were taken six months apart of an off-the-track Thoroughbred we rescued in 1989.  Once he could move his shoulders, he could move in his natural bio-mechanical frame on the right side of the left picture due to a saddle we designed and fit for him.  The photo on the right was taken the following Spring, and he was well on his way to becoming a talented upper-level Dressage horse.   “He was an extraordinary horse.” 

Our solution to make a saddle for the wide-withered horse.

This is the bottom half of  a Walsall Dressage Tree                                                                             

A variation of this tree (the foundation of the saddle) is found in almost all Dressage and  Jumping saddles.  The green arrow is the Spring Steel, which gives the tree flexion.  The blue arrow is the stirrup bar, and the red arrow is the gullet plate, which provides the saddle with its integrity.

When it comes to the wide-withered horse, the gullet plate becomes the most essential component of the saddle.  Unlike the Thoroughbred types and Warmblood breeds, which either have narrow or normal withers, the wide-withered horses like the Arabian, Friesian, Iberian, Morgan, and Quarter horses almost always have a much wider wither - and it is those breeds that make finding a stock saddle that will fit those horses. 

The left picture shows where you would measure the wither of the horse to ensure you could find a saddle that would fit correctly.  For the wide withered horse, the distance between the double green arrows on the left picture shows that a saddle would have to be extremely wide at the ‘yoke’ of the saddle.

In the upper right picture, that same double green arrow shows that a saddle like that would have to fit that particular wide-withered horse on the left.

However, attempting to fit a horse with a narrow-withered saddle, as shown in the lower right picture, can have detrimental effects. The ‘yoke’ of this saddle is so narrow that it can cause the horse to feel trapped, leading to bucking, bolting, or even refusal to move. This is due to the weight of the saddle and rider pressing on their sensitive wither muscle. 

The problem with most saddles, whether Dressage, Jumping, or even Western, is that the gullet plate of the saddle will not allow the saddle to sit in a level, balanced position.  Even those saddles supposedly advertised as Frisian saddles, or those claiming to have a ‘hoop’ tree, never can fit those horses' inherent broad withers.  The saddle that sits pommel high will force the rider to sit against the saddle’s cantle, thereby hollowing their horse’s back, putting the rider in a position called ‘behind-the-motion’. 

Riders react to a saddle behind the motion in two ways, which can be detrimental to the horse’s and rider’s health. 

The ‘sloucher,’ as shown in the left picture, is placing all her weight against the cantle of her saddle, which is not only hollowing her horse’s back, but because of her weight being placed there, her horse is struggling to even get his feet off the ground.  The results of this position will eventually cause her horse to get a kissing spine and the constant need to inject hocks, stifles, and even the sacrum due to her horse being forced to move in a compensating frame.

It's important for riders to be aware of their posture at all times. The rider in the right image is also sitting ‘behind the motion,’ a position known as the water skier.  This posture forces the rider to rely on the horse’s mouth for balance,  leading to similar issues with the horse’s hindquarters, as seen in the left picture. Additionally, this posture causes the horse’s neck’s under-muscle, brachiocephalic, to overdevelop, harming the horse's overall muscle balance.

As a rider, particularly when riding breeds like Friesians and Iberians, you play a crucial role in your horse's well-being. When a horse relies on its neck’s under-muscle for balance, it often results in a weak and unattractive upper neck muscle, known as the cervical trapezes. This can significantly impact the horse's physical appearance and overall muscle strength. If the saddle is designed to give a rider a balanced posture during riding, it will help your horse stay healthy and strong. 

A big misconception about buying a saddle for a horse with broad withers is that the horse will need a wide or extra wide saddle.  Yes, that might be necessary, but what is more important is the width of the ‘yoke’ of the gullet plate.

Most saddles, except those made in Germany and Schleese Dressage saddles, incorporate the Walsall Plate. As shown in the bottom left side sketch, this plate can vary in ‘width,’ as indicated by the blue, orange, and yellow double arrows. However, the yoke of the saddle, represented by the double red arrows, always remains the same, regardless of the plate's width. 

Now, if you were to consider a saddle supposedly made for a Friesian or with a ‘hoop tree,’ represented by the set of double red arrows, you might find that the yoke width is slightly wider. However, it's important to note that this adjustment may not fully accommodate the width of the horse’s wither in most cases, highlighting the limitations of this type of saddle.

The gullet plate on the top of the right picture is what we install in all of our saddles.  The width of the saddle, double yellow arrows, and the yoke, double green arrows, have an infinite number of distances that we can adjust both tree width and yoke to ensure a perfect fit on the horse’s wither. 

Because our saddles have a longer and stronger gullet plate than any other Saddlery and are capable of being adjusted to any shape, we had to design and manufacture our own ‘Tree Machine’ that would be capable of modifying those plates as horses make positive muscular/skeletal changes. This can be accomplished at a client’s stable or at a horse show we are attending.

Our saddle fitters are equipped with a tree machine and tools for flocking saddles, ensuring a convenient and efficient fitting process that addresses the horse’s asymmetries. 

Whether you are ordering a saddle from one of our saddle fitters covering your area or ordering a saddle for which you either have taken the measurements or we have traveled to your location to make those measurements, once we have received the completed fitting form, we can relay that information to our saddlery in Germany, where they can make your saddle that will address the measurements that you have provided.

Once completed in 6-8 weeks, the saddle will be delivered to you and adjusted on-site to fit you for your relaxed position and your horse’s asymmetries.

To find a saddle fitter in your area or have a fitting form sent to you.

Please call us at (224) 447-5414 or Email us at conradreupert@gmail.com.

We are looking for a few good people to become our Reps. Experience is unnecessary as long as the individual is comfortable around horses, willing to learn the theory behind the science, and able to use the tools of the trade.