How to fit any type of english saddle on a draft?
November 29, 2008 by English
Filed under Horse Tack
doccmf asked:
Wondering if anyone can help Miller and I. He is a short/small Percheron/paint standing only at 15.5hds. But his body is built like a percheron. He has no wither defination and is wide as a lazy-B. I'm trying to find any type of english saddle that has a tree to fit him. Thank you for any help
Dani on Mon, 1st Dec 2008 11:26 pm
i used to have a quarter horse same height with the same prob i ride english too get a miller or gold metal saddle with a wide wither ask the retailer you go to saddles come in narrow regular and wide for the wither size of an english saddle miller are nice and have a good price range
Kristen H on Wed, 3rd Dec 2008 1:36 am
I would look into investing in either a custom saddle, if you’re in it for the long run, or a saddle with a changeable gullet system. A custom saddle’s definitely going to be more expensive, ranging in prices from which saddler you purchase from. However, if a lower price is your fancy, I would attempt a saddle with an easy change gullet system. Wintec makes them, if you want synthetic, and they even have leather ones now. Many of them come with an extra wide plate that just might fit your horse.
That’s what I beleive to be your two options, either these or you may be doomed to an eternity of trying saddles from your local tack shop and not having them fit. I hope I gave you a bit of help. Good luck!
brilliantcoo on Sat, 6th Dec 2008 2:18 am
You should get a wintec 500 all purpose with a changeabul gullet. I have used it on my skinny qh and my fat draft. All you need is the gullet changing kit and a screwdriver and i love that saddle.
super_goofychick on Sun, 7th Dec 2008 4:27 am
english saddles come in a “draft” tree. almost all name brands have a line of draft tree saddles. ask your local tack shop what they carry or try online classifieds. tack shops are going to cost more but they’ll offer a trial period.. which will save you in the long run! try making a mold of your horse’s back with a long piece of wire and cardboard..then take this with you to look for a saddle. hold the mold against the underside of the saddle to get an idea of the saddle fit. here’s an article that explains how to do this
moodymare on Tue, 9th Dec 2008 1:20 am
You could try a wintec saddle if you don’t mind synthetic as they have an interchangable gullet to allow for precise fitting. I think they have an extra wide range that you can check out.
If you’re based in UK and money’s not an issue I reccommend Sue Carson saddles as they make the saddle to fit the horse and have a flair pannel system for any slight changes. They spend around 5 hours with you and your horse fitting the saddle to both horse and rider.
If you’re not in the UK I would reccommend anyone with a similar flair system that you can have fitted to your horse.
Good luck
Arin D on Tue, 9th Dec 2008 8:01 am
Anything with a wide tree should fit your draft horse. I don’t personally like the wintec gullet systems – they may change the width on the wither but hardly ever do they fit the back of the horse -
Lusitano on Thu, 11th Dec 2008 6:15 pm
Try the treeless saddle I use!! There’s lot’s of drafter pics on this site, including the owners two drafts.
Here is a website that sells a lot of tack for draft horses:
You’ll liley want a breast collar no matter what you buy. GL
dressage.rider on Sat, 13th Dec 2008 10:54 pm
I have bought several saddles from the link I posted below for my Percherons. They are very nice and have super prices.
Kathleen on Tue, 29th Nov 2011 5:45 pm
A friend of mine has a 16.3 hh draft (Perch/Belgian) and he has a short back. She has tried over fifteen thousand dollars worth of saddles and still has problems with a treeless with an extra wide gullet. We see a lot of western cow horses with super heavy saddles and their sweat patterns are perfect. Does anyone know … are their sweat patterns only perfect because the saddles are so heavy that there isn’t a place for a dry spot to happen? Or are these QH just so easy to fit that any old saddle will fit them perfectly? I appreciate any help for my friend.
Kathleen on Tue, 29th Nov 2011 5:47 pm
She even had Martin Saddle Co come out and measure the horse and had a saddle made specifically for him. The saddle DID NOT Work.