Measurements and photographs: what to send us for the fitting
A treed saddle is tried on: if it does not fit, you see it straight away. A Freeform is built first and tried afterwards — the length of the base, the seat size and the panel size are all decided on your numbers, not on a van full of demo saddles. That is why the measurements matter more here than they do anywhere else.
Four numbers and three photographs. It takes ten minutes, and it goes better with two of you: one holds the horse, the other measures. And the horse has to stand still and square — that is the one part that cannot be put right later.
- 1
Stand him square, on level ground
Four feet flat, the weight even, the head in a natural position — not up for a carrot, not down grazing. The ground has to be level: even a slight slope shifts the weight and changes the line of the back. If he rests a hind leg the croup drops on that side and the back twists: the photograph then describes a back that does not exist.
- Wait for him to settle himself rather than pushing him into place
- No rug, no pad, no saddle: bare coat
- If he has just worked, wait for the muscles to come back down
This is the step almost everyone gets wrong. From a photograph with a hind leg resting we cut the base wrong, and you find the mistake once the saddle is already made.
A horse standing square on all four feet compared with one resting a hind leg - 2
The two side photographs
One from each side, the whole horse in the frame. Stand square to his flank, at wither height, and step back until it all fits in — tail included. Shooting from above, or on a diagonal, shortens the back and makes us get the length of the base wrong.
- Square to the flank, not on a diagonal
- Phone at wither height, not above your head
- The whole horse: if the tail or the legs are cut off, take it again
Where the photographer should stand in relation to the horse for the side photograph - 3
The photograph from above, the one nobody takes
Stand behind the horse, well centred over the spine, and shoot forward along the back to the shoulders and the withers. Stand on a step if you need the height. It is the only view that shows whether the two shoulders differ — and two shoulders that differ are the commonest reason a saddle always slips to the same side.
- Centred on the spine, not off to one side
- High enough to see both shoulders together
- Carry it right through to the withers: that is where we look
If the right shoulder and the left do not match, that is not a problem: it is exactly the information we need to decide on shims and panel placement.
The horse's back seen from above, from the croup towards the withers - 4
The length of the back
From the rear edge of the shoulder blade to the last rib. Hold the tape straight back and taut, without following the contour of the back: follow the curve and the number grows by a few centimetres, and the base comes out too long. You find the shoulder blade by drawing the foreleg back: the edge that travels under your hand is the one.
- Tape straight and taut, never round the contour
- Start at the rear edge of the shoulder blade, not at the mane
- Measure twice, and if the numbers differ, measure a third time
The tape held straight from the edge of the shoulder blade to the last rib - 5
The withers: height, width and shape
Height is taken from the ground to the highest point of the withers, with the horse standing still and the head natural. Width is taken by laying the tape about three fingers behind the shoulder blade, from one side to the other. Shape you judge from above: prominent and sharp, rounded, or flat and muscled.
- Height: from the ground to the top of the withers
- Width: three fingers behind the shoulder blade, side to side
- Shape: narrow, medium or wide — judged looking down from above
High, sharp withers are the hardest conformation to fit, treeless or not. Tell us in advance and we can start from the extended 13 cm cutback instead of the standard one.
- 6
The girth, elbow to elbow
Pass a length of string under the belly and take it from one elbow to the other, without pulling. Then lay the string against a rigid rule and read it off. Do it twice: it is the measurement that most often comes back different, and a string pulled a little tighter reads three centimetres short.
- String laid on, not pulled taut
- Elbow to elbow, passing under the belly
- Two readings: if they differ, a third settles it
- 7
What the photographs do not tell us
Along with the numbers and the photographs, tell us the rest: breed and type, back problems present or past, saddles that never suited him and why. And then your side of it — your weight, your height, the riding you do and where you want to get to. A saddle for a two-hour trail ride and a saddle for endurance are not configured the same way, even on the same horse.
- Breed, age, and how long he has been in the work he does now
- Back problems, resolved ones included, and any osteopathy or chiropractic work
- The saddles that came before: which one slipped, which one made him react to being tacked up
- Your weight and your height, the discipline and the goals
Do
- A horse standing square on level ground, bare coat
- The whole horse in the frame, camera at wither height
- Every measurement taken twice
- The three photographs together with the four numbers: apart they are worth less
Don't
- Shooting on a diagonal, or from above head height
- Measuring the length round the contour of the back
- Taking the measurements straight after work, on muscle that is still up
- Sending photographs with a pad, a rug or a saddle on
Questions about this guide
Yes. The flexible base adapts to different backs, but the length of the base and the panel size are chosen for one particular horse: on a much shorter or much wider animal the configuration changes. If it is the same horse whose muscling changes with age or with work, the saddle follows him — that is the reason we chose it.
Get help: one person stands in front of him with the rope loose while you shoot. If he really will not cooperate, send us several imperfect shots rather than one forced one — out of five we will find one we can read. A horse being held tight and tense has a back that is not his own anyway.
No. A centimetre either way does not change the configuration: the sizes come in steps, not on a continuum. What matters is not being out by five or ten, and that is why we ask for two readings and for the tape held straight.
If you already have a template taken with a flexible wither gauge, do send it — it is one more piece of information. It does not replace the photographs: a template gives you the section at one point, the photographs give the whole line of the back and the asymmetry of the shoulders.
Still unsure?
Send us a photo: we'll look at your case and tell you how to proceed.
Carry on with
Riding
How to position a Freeform on your horse
With no rigid tree, placement makes all the difference: where to set it down, how to free the spine and how to check the fit before you mount.
Riding
Panels and shims: adjusting how the saddle bears on the back
How to read the sweat pattern and use felt shims to fit the saddle to a back that changes with the season and with the work.