Buying my First English Saddle — English people…help!!?
March 12010
Okay, I am going to get a Wintec All Purpose saddle. Unfortunately, there are no local tack shops that sell them (so there is no easy way to return them if I don’t like it). I have never bought an English saddle before…I know that with Western you have full QH bars and half QH bars, is there anything like that with an English saddle? My horse is not especially big boned or wide or anything. Also..on sizing…are sizes for Western and English the same? Like a size 15 saddle in Western is equal to 15 in English? Or is there a difference!!
Finally, do I need to worry about the saddle not fitting my horse? I am sure I could find some websites with return policies, but you guys know what a pain it is to have something shipped to you and then have to ship it back 
UGH. So..I’m hoping these saddles are pretty easy to fit. Please English people…help me out lol thanks!
I would suggest buying a saddle with the Easy-Change Gullet System. It is available in Wintec saddles and what it does is adjust the width of your saddle so you can get the best fit for your horse. I think the sizing is different, maybe a 15 western is a 16.5 English. I am pretty average size (I’m 14) and I use a 16.5. To buy your saddle, go to www.doversaddlery.com and find one with Easy-Change Gullet System. Then I would call Dove and just tell them your size for Western and how big you are and everything and ask them to estimate what size you should get. To find your size, I might go to your local tack shop and sit in some saddles just to get an idea of what size you will be for English. Also, if any of your friends ride English, try riding in a few English saddles to get an idea of what style you like. — Good Luck and I hope this helps!
March 2nd, 2010 at 1:29 am
I would suggest buying a saddle with the Easy-Change Gullet System. It is available in Wintec saddles and what it does is adjust the width of your saddle so you can get the best fit for your horse. I think the sizing is different, maybe a 15 western is a 16.5 English. I am pretty average size (I’m 14) and I use a 16.5. To buy your saddle, go to http://www.doversaddlery.com and find one with Easy-Change Gullet System. Then I would call Dove and just tell them your size for Western and how big you are and everything and ask them to estimate what size you should get. To find your size, I might go to your local tack shop and sit in some saddles just to get an idea of what size you will be for English. Also, if any of your friends ride English, try riding in a few English saddles to get an idea of what style you like. — Good Luck and I hope this helps!
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March 2nd, 2010 at 2:18 am
Get a saddle fitter out!
They will often have second hand and brand new wintec saddles as well as alot of other makes.
They can measure your horse and suggest an appropriate size for you as well (the inch of the seat depends on the rider as well as the horse)
Wintec usually have an interchanging gullet system but it is still better to get a saddle fitter to do this anyway. Usually they will measure the horse, offer you some saddles in your price range then get you to ride/lunge the horse in the saddle to make sure everything is ok.
I’m not sure about the similarities between western and english saddles but the "inch" of a saddle (eg. 16" 17" 18") is the size of the seat when measured from the pommel in a straight line to the cantel.
The other way a saddle is measured is "narrow" "medium narrow" "wide" etc..
This is usually referring to the distance between the d-rings at the front of the saddle so if your horse is particularly wide you would need a wide.
A wintec gullet gauge is available to measure this size. Take a look on the link below.
Just to add: just because an 18" saddle might be comfortable for you be careful it’s comfortable for the horse too. It shouldn’t sit back on his loins and as a rule it should never be further back than the last rib (feel for it with your fingers). For example I ride my 15hh mare in a 16.5" saddle but I ride my 16.2hh warmblood in a 17.5" saddle.
Hope this helps!
References :
http://www.wintec.net.au/easyChangeGulletSystem/index.html
March 2nd, 2010 at 2:36 am
just fyi wintec is having an annivesary special you buy any of their saddles you get a free easy change system
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March 2nd, 2010 at 3:21 am
English saddles are very different than western saddles when fitting your horse. I have had 2 TBs and a tenessee walking horse that were extremely hard to fit with a western saddle because of their high withers. The worn out, old, no-name english saddle I have fit all of them just fine. The english saddle is going to fit them a little further back (behind the peak of the withers) than a western saddle and the gullet (the part that goes over the withers) seems to run a bit higher on the english saddle, so the withers are not as much of an issue. The english saddles as a general rule, also seem to be built for more of a TB-type horse, meaning high withered. Your choice of a Wintec All Purpose saddle is a good one, as it allows more flexibility in fitting the saddle. In short, a western saddle is much harder to fit anything but a standard, round Quarter horse even though you have the choices between various bar widths. I think you will find that an english saddle will be a lot easier to fit on multiple horses, and you have little to worry about.
English saddles are also measured differently than western saddles. I ride a 16" western barrel saddle (which is probably a bit big) but a 17" english saddle. They measure from different points at the front of the saddle, On the western saddle they start from a point half-way between the base of the horn and the top of the cantle to the pommel. On the english saddle, it’s measured from the saddle nail (toward the front of the saddle flap) to the pommel. So, expect to go larger on the english saddle. To get a good fit, I would visit a shop in your area and just try them out… no need to buy until you’re ready. From what I have seen though, if you have no shops in the area, you can add about 2" to your western sized saddle for an english saddle.
Concerning saddle vendors, I use Jefferspet.com for a lot of my horse needs and they have always been wonderful to deal with on returns, rush shipments, etc. They even footed the bill and overnighted me an item I asked them to send ASAP without requesting overnighting (and the related charges). I can assure you that you will not have any troubles in dealing with them if there is a saddle fit issue.
I hope this helps, and that you and your horse have a great time working under the close-contact and light weight of an english saddle.
BTW, if you plan on showing in an english saddle, the bridles are different, too. You’ll need a new one if you’re moving over from western rigging. (It all adds up so quick!)
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March 2nd, 2010 at 3:27 am
English saddles usually come in narrow, regular and wide (or the easy change gullet system).
Your english seat size will be bigger than your western seat size. I’m not sure of the conversion, but since 15" is an average western seat size, I’d guess you’d go with a 17" (average) english saddle. It’s easy to figure this out if you have an english saddle to sit in. You should have one hand’s width between your butt and the cantle.
Yes you do have to worry about it fitting your horse. I have no personal experience with the easy change gullet system, but I would imagine it would widen the range of horses your saddle will fit greatly. Make sure you read the fine print on the return policy!
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March 2nd, 2010 at 3:59 am
I agree get the easy change gullet system with your saddle.
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