doverpack12
WKR
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2013
- Messages
- 3,096
Looking to hear how anyone else evaluates saddle fit.
I’m not having issues but would like to get my pack saddles assigned to a horse and know they fit well.
Riding saddles I took the horses to a lady who fits them on the spot by first using a bent electrical wire to pick out saddles that might work, then you sit in them and pick out 5-6 you like then they go on the horse, no pad and she slides her hand between the back and bar feeling for how they fit. Instantly ruled out the bad fit. I’ve tried it and can sort of feel a bad fit but it’s pretty tough.
I’ve also bent my own wires ( one 4” back from the shoulder blade and one 4” off the spine along the back strap) for each horse and compared to my saddles and friends saddles.
I also compared those to my pack saddles and have an idea what material needs to be filed off.
I’ve read Smoke Elsers book and Bob Hooverstines book that each talk about fitting pack saddles by sprinkling flour on the back and filing the bars where the flour touches them until you get full contact.
Knowing a horses back is a roundish triangle if the bars fit perfect with no pad then adding a pad, especially a thick pack pad would make them too tight or pinch in my mind.
Curious what others do and how. I’ve set each pack saddle on their backs with all rigging removed and taken a good look at the bar fit.
I’m not having issues but would like to get my pack saddles assigned to a horse and know they fit well.
Riding saddles I took the horses to a lady who fits them on the spot by first using a bent electrical wire to pick out saddles that might work, then you sit in them and pick out 5-6 you like then they go on the horse, no pad and she slides her hand between the back and bar feeling for how they fit. Instantly ruled out the bad fit. I’ve tried it and can sort of feel a bad fit but it’s pretty tough.
I’ve also bent my own wires ( one 4” back from the shoulder blade and one 4” off the spine along the back strap) for each horse and compared to my saddles and friends saddles.
I also compared those to my pack saddles and have an idea what material needs to be filed off.
I’ve read Smoke Elsers book and Bob Hooverstines book that each talk about fitting pack saddles by sprinkling flour on the back and filing the bars where the flour touches them until you get full contact.
Knowing a horses back is a roundish triangle if the bars fit perfect with no pad then adding a pad, especially a thick pack pad would make them too tight or pinch in my mind.
Curious what others do and how. I’ve set each pack saddle on their backs with all rigging removed and taken a good look at the bar fit.