How to Measure the Tree on a Saddle

The saddle tree is the skeleton of your saddle and is usually made of wood or synthetic materials, depending on the manufacturer and even the model of saddle. Saddle tree size is an important part of overall saddle fit on your horse's back, but because manufacturers' ways of sizing saddles are so different, you need a baseline with which to work.

Things You'll Need

  • 11" x 14" piece of paper (or larger)
  • 24" flexible curve
  • black waterproof marker
  • chalk
  • ruler
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Instructions

  1. Make a Wither Tracing

    • 1

      Stand your horse squarely in a level area, such as your barn aisle, using a helper. Square means your horse's forelegs are parallel to one another and your horse's hind legs are parallel to one another.

    • 2

      Feel for the edge of your horse's shoulder blade closest to your horse's back. Have your helper pull your horse's left foreleg forward, so when the shoulder moves, you feel the back of the bone.

    • 3

      Trace the edge of the shoulder blade with chalk. Make sure you can easily see the chalk line.

    • 4

      Place a flexible curve three fingers behind the shoulder blade so the middle of the curve is over your horse's spine. This spot is where the points of the saddle tree will rest on your horse's back. Press the flexible curve down so it molds to the shape of your horse's body.

    • 5

      Pick up the flexible curve carefully and lay it on the piece of paper. Mark the left side of the curve, then the right side. Trace the inside of the curve with the black waterproof marker.

    • 6

      Cut out the wither tracing following the black line and take it with you to compare to saddles. Saddle fitter Mike Scott recommends holding the tracing up to the front of the saddle with the left side of the template on the left side of the saddle. Look for a semicircular pocket under the top flap of the saddle, which should be on both sides in the same spot. This is the saddle point. When you hold the tracing up to the saddle, you should still be able to see the points from the front. If the tracing overlaps the points, the saddle is too narrow. If there is a gap between the edge of the tracing and the points of the saddle, the saddle is too wide.

    Measuring the Tree

    • 7

      Find the saddle points again and mark where the bottom of the points lie on the front of the saddle.

    • 8

      Using a ruler, measure from one bottom of the saddle point to the other saddle point across the front of the saddle. This measurement gives you the width of the saddle tree.

    • 9

      Compare this measurement to the wither tracing to see if the saddle will fit your horse.