Australian Saddle Fitment for Rider and Horse

Mike Bergin of Down Under Saddle Supply explains how to tell if an Australian saddle fits you and your horse. Find out more at http://www.downunderweb.com.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Australian saddle fitment
• horse saddle
• Aussie saddle

[SharonTrobaugh]

Question,

If I sit in the saddle, the chamber pushes down and almost touches the withers, is this normal? My horse didn't show any signs of soreness, and the sweat pattern was even. When I am not in the saddle, the chamber looks correct and the saddle looks level on the horses back.

[DownUnderSaddles]

@SharonTrobaugh Many Aussie saddles have some "spring" to them that will cause them to compress when you sit on them. As long as the saddle is not putting pressure on the top of the withers and causing a sore spot, you are probably OK. If your horse is happy and you have no sore spots or white hair spots, you are probably OK. Also, endurance style Aussie saddles are designed to have less clearance at the withers than traditional stock style saddles.

[thenrie]

I find that many people tighten the cinch too tight and make the horse uncomfortable regardless of a correct-fitting saddle. If you can get into the saddle without it sliding off to the side, it is tight enough. In my experience, women tend to be the worst offenders, because they think they are not strong enough to get the saddle tight, so many tend to over-tighten the cinch. You should be able to easily slide 4 fingers (hand flat against the horse's side) under the girth when it is tight.

[DownUnderSaddles]

@thenrie I agree with you that you don't want the girth any tighter than necessary. The girth usually needs to be pretty tight when you first tighten it up, because it will loosen once the horse relaxes and lets some air out of his/her lungs. It should always be rechecked after a few minutes of riding. Thanks for the input!

[DownUnderSaddles]

To get the girth tight I alternate tightening the two straps. Get the left one as tight as you can, then move to the right one and tighten it. That should make the left side a little looser, so go back to the left side. Keep doing that until both sides are as tight as you can get. If that still doesn't do the trick, Down Under Saddle Supply carries a girth tightener that will give you more than enough leverage.

[DownUnderSaddles]

Thanks for your question! No, there is no interference with the horses leg. As the horse moves, the leg comes straight back, whereas your feet come further out to the side of the horse.

[bieberfever4110]

And UGH, I just realized I'm on my nieces' account. Sorry for the BieberFever name. LOL

[bieberfever4110]

Hey, there, great video, thanks!! I bought an aussie saddle and put it on my horse for the first time the other day. It seemed like the girth was really loose, and I couldn't seem to tighten it enough. It's confusing, but it was as tight as I could GET it, but it still looked like it was loose. I don't know what I was doing wrong!

[illustratz]

Don't your feet run into the horse's elbow's from that foot / leg position?