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My focus from the beginning is in pairing the right saddle with your horse. To increase your odds of ordering the perfect saddle the first time, I keep a file of client wither tracings. You may send me a wither tracing and ask me to compare it to particular saddle on the site, or you may give me a specific list of your needs and wants along with the wither tracing. I can alert you when a highly probable saddle becomes available. This consulting service is free of charge.
I have pre-assembled wither tracings kits available for your convenience. Wither tracings kits are $24. The kits include everything you need, plus a prepaid USPS Priority shipping envelope to send the tracing back to me or to another seller.
I am now a retailer of a special Impression Pad for checking saddle fit. This pad will allow you to visualize what is going on under your saddle in a way previously impossible without pressure sensing computer equipment costing thousands of dollars. Any high pressure areas are seen as a displacement of the material in the pad after a normal ride. This is a revolutionary tool, yet simple and affordable. More
You will need to gather the supplies below, also available in my wither tracing kit:
1.) A flexible curve. The 24 inch length is best, but 18 inches or more will suffice. These are available at most arts and crafts or office supply stores. You can also use baling wire or a coat hanger, but these materials are a bit harder to work with and may skew the results.
2.) A pencil with eraser and a Sharpie type marker.
3.) Thin masking tape in a color that will be visible on your horse in photos. My wither tracing kits come with ¼” green masking tape.
4.) A large piece of graph paper. 11” x 17” works well.
5.) If possible, a camera to take photos of your horse's back from several angles. You will likely need something to stand on to see your horse's back from above.
You will be taking four tracings including the withers, lowest point of the back, the point under where the back of the saddle should rest, and the topline.
1.) Position your horse as squarely as possible on firm, level ground.
2.) Apply roughly foot-long strips of thin masking tape over your horse's back so it is visible on both sides to mark the following spots:
- 2 or 3 fingers' width behind the back edge of the scapula (shoulder blade), which you should be able to feel if not see. This is where the tree points of the saddle should sit behind the shoulder blade so that the saddle does not impede its rotation.
- The deepest part of the back.
- The point about where the back of the panels would sit in your saddle's seat size. You may want to set your old saddle on his back to see where this would be.
- The topline, from point A to Point C.
4.) Mold the flexible curve flush with your horse over the masking tape at point A. You will need to push firmly, and it helps if you have a second person to help hold the curve in place on the side opposite to where you are working. It is very important to mold snugly to get an accurate template.
5.) Carefully lift the flexible curve off the horse. Lay the curve on the paper, keeping the left side of the curve on the left and the right side on the right, careful not to reshape the curve at all. Trace the inside edge of the profile carefully. It helps to trace the template first in pencil to confirm its accuracy and then trace over that in marker. Mark an "A" next to the line you have just drawn. Then repeat steps 4 and 5 for points B and C.
6.) For template D you will measure the vertical drop and the shape of the horse's back along where the underside of the saddle will sit. Starting from the place on the wither marked for template A, mold the flexible curve to your horse’s topline all along the spine to the tape marker for point C. While doing this, either mark the flexible curve with tape or marker, or note the ruler measurements where the points A, B, and C are located along the topline. When you trace the topline onto the paper it is highly helpful if these points are noted.
7.) Place the topline template carefully down on the paper as closely as possible to the actual angle of your horse, using one of the lines on the graph paper as a sort of horizon line or datum point. Trace the underside of the flexible curve with the highest point of the wither in the template starting at the horizontal line you chose as your datum line. As always, make sure the flexible curve does not move as you trace the underside onto the paper.
Make sure your horse is standing on flat, firm, level ground and is squared up as much as possible. Please make sure to frame the whole horse in the picture including hooves and head, and do not shoot from far away. You want the horse to fill the frame as much as possible without cropping any of him out.
As a minimum, take the following pictures...
1.) The horse's back viewed diagonally from above and behind. This is where a stool, mounting block, or other sturdy object will come in handy!
2.) A straight-on side profile view including head and feet from each side of the horse.
Tracings and photos are not a 100% accurate way of fitting a saddle to your horse, but they certainly help me to make an excellent educated guess! I will do my best to help you find the perfect saddle for your horse the first time around.
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