Western saddles - one size fits all?

[valiant]

Please advise, I'm very new to Western riding and tack, but find it a lot more suited to my needs and comfort than English.

My RI importerd from USA a Textan Reiner handmade saddle which was sold on to someone else. The saddle is now maybe again available for resale and I am thinking of buying it. My RI says that the saddle is an excellent one and should fit both my horses as the good Western saddles fit most horses ("if it doesn't fit the horse, you don't want to ride that horse"!). Problem is my horses hasn't arrived yet, first one will come in 2 weeks so I cant fit the saddle. Both of the horses are the same breed and type of build (SA Boerperde).

Am I safe in buying this saddle?

[Montana]

Honestly, no:o

It's a complete myth that Western saddles fit any horse. I've been through 3 at great expense to find the one I have now. Unless your RI is a saddle fitter, and knows the shapes of your horses intimately, I would say there's a very good chance of it not fitting.

There are many things you need to look at with fit - size of bars, amount of rock, length of skirt, flare of shoulder.....

I'm sure others here will be able to expand, just wanted to add my personal warning:) You may get lucky - but from my experiences, it's extremely unlikely.

[Miriam]

No they dont



Mine fit Peter better than Rhi. Peter is 15.2 and Rhi 14.1

[valiant]

Thanks for the replies. The seller changed her mind about selling, so the decision and/or fitting is anyway out of my hands!

[Jessey]

Just to add, even though this saddle is now off the market to you, they don't just fit any horse.
That saying comes from a long while ago when all the horses used for ranch work were of very similar stature and ranch hands were pretty much able to use their 1 saddle on many horses. Now days with so many different shapes and sizes of horse, saddles are made in different shapes and sizes to accomodate this, for good reason ;) :D

J x

[Peace]

My RI says that the saddle is an excellent one and should fit both my horses as the good Western saddles fit most horses ("if it doesn't fit the horse, you don't want to ride that horse"!).

She was kidding, right?:eek:

The most puzzling thing to me is why 95% of western saddles (IME) don't even come close to fitting traditionally-built QH's, which is the horse for whom one might assume they were designed.:confused: I never found a western saddle short enough that it didn't rub on my horse's loins. Maybe TB's were the actual horse that "won" the west, and no one told me?:D

[LMS]

Unfortunatly today's QH is not the same it was a few decades ago.

It's a shame that people still think that western saddles are a generic one size/type fits all.

But then again again I've also seen the same where all purpose saddles are concerned especially from people who do not want to invest in a half decent one. (Unfortunatly I see this very often)

Honestly, wait until your horse arrives before purchasing a saddle unless you know exactly what type already fits your horse.

[BeachRiding]

Gosh NO! I went through 15 western saddles to find one that fit my TB, and three to findf one that fit my QH!

[ImaLittleBoston]

NO! I wish it was one size fits all, When we had kind we had this gorg western, Cant remember the brand, then we bought decker, (King found out how to unlock his stall, and get to the feed room, and got colic, so not being able to afford that kind of bill, we gave him to a lady who worked at a vet college speciallizing in horses) whom that saddle came noweres close to fitting, bought a silver supreme, then we got willow, whom the saddle did not fit, result in our super cool billy cook barrel racing saddle :P