Choosing a Kent Saddle

Thoroughbred Tree - for high withered, narrow shouldered, or young horses.
Stock Horse Tree - will fit a big range of stock horses.
Semi Quarter Horse Tree - for stock horse / quarter horse cross.

Quarter Horse Tree - for heavy set, low withered horses.

Full Quarter Horse Tree - for extreme quarter horse styles of horses.

To choose a saddle tree for a particular horse or particular breed of horse, a template of the horse's wither is a great help. Take a piece of soft fencing wire and run it up the shoulder and over the wither. Trace the shape out on some paper.

Photos of your horse side on and from the rear looking down along the back from a raised position will assist us in choosing the best tree option. A photo taken while the wither tracing is being done is also useful.

For more information about saddle trees view Saddle Materials.

"We recommend that you choose a tree to fit your widest

horse because you can always pad up but not down."

SADDLE SIZE

We believe that choosing the correct size for a personal saddle is paramount so we want as much information as possible. It's also very important to consider weight fluctuations. Ben, Daniel and Lyle have had a vast experience in choosing the saddle size best suited to the rider.

To choose the correct size saddle for you, we need your:

Height
Weight
Age
Jeans size
Hip Measurement (around your butt)
Thigh measurement (around one thigh near the top)
Inside leg measurement (from your crutch to the floor with your boots on)
A photo of the rider standing is a big help.

We measure the saddle size by measuring the bare tree from the back of the pommel to the inside top of the cantle. Saddle sizes are in increments of 1/2 inches.

SADDLE FIT:

HOW TO ADAPT ONE SADDLE TO SUIT A WIDE RANGE OF HORSES:

Placing heavy pads under the saddle changes the shape of the horse so we need to consider if they are necessary for each individual horse.

We recommend using a light saddle cloth to gauge the fit of the saddle. If the saddle fits well, leave it at that.

Comfort and fit for the horse is about saddle shape, not about softness.

Use a pad if necessary to fill the horse out. If there is not enough clearance for the wither use a pad with a cutaway chamber. (See the Koda felt saddle pad with leather chambers, Code SB05, on our Saddle Blankets page.)

Neoprene pads (See Neoprene saddle range, on our Saddle Blankets page.) are also great for this purpose as they have less padding along the gullet and chambers.