Thoroughbreds and Western Saddles

[jroz]

Yesterday I read online that in regards to fitting a western saddle:

Semi QH bars: Fits an narrow to average size horse. (higher wither)
QH bars: Fits an average size to a wider horse.
Full QH bars: Fits a wide horse to a small draft. (flat wither)

I know that each horse is different, and pads/blankets have an effect too, but do you think there's a general consensus that TB's would take a western with semi-QH bars?

Does everyone have a favorite western saddle (brand)?
Sometime's I wonder how popular those Wintec's actually are!

[atillathefun]

I think it all depends on the horse. We have always had Leather Western Saddles but last year invested in a Wintec Western because of the weight difference in them.
We had to get a piece of wire bend it to the shape of the horses withers then put it on a piece of paper and draw round it then send it to the saddler who then told us which one we needed.
The Wintec, although quite plain looking compared to a lot of western saddles is very comforatable and is very light so great for everyday use. Not to mention the fact that you just have to sponge them off no oiling etc.
I think Robinsons sell a Synthetic one which is tooled so looks a lot nicer than the Wintec

[galadriel]

I do not like the Wintec Western, nor any Western saddle with a synthetic tree. Among other things, it does not have adequate flare at the front. The wither tracing may look right, but the front of the saddle will interfere with the horse's shoulder with every stride. A TB also is likely to have pretty prominent shoulderblades, which makes such interference even worse (not that it's okay for any body type).

The breadth of the shoulders will make a real difference when looking at Western saddles. Not only that, so will the overall design of the tree. The tree "size" only refers to the very front of the saddle; that's only 10%. The other 90% has to fit, too. So you can't say "my horse needs sem-QH bars" and be done with it; you must look at each individual saddle to compare it to your horse.