04/14/2026
This is an article written by saddle maker Paul Van D**e and I think it is the best article on the subject. I think it is timely and am sharing it because of the amount of videos being shared on various platforms, that are frankly more about get views. I hope that some of the folks that watch those videos will read this article and learn from both.
Saddle Fit Assumptions
4/12/26
The year was 2002 and the regional Dressage Championships were under way as I strolled through the vendors waiting for my sister to show. As I did, I stumbled onto a vendor putting a skeletal apparatus on a horse as he called out numbers to his dutiful assistant. Interested by this apparent horse fitting, I watched. What I remember is two distinct things. First was how moved the owner clearly was by this process. She was hanging on every number that was called out. As the dynamic unfolded the fitter became the doctor as it were ... .giving the diagnosis and the cure based on the form that was on the horse’s back. Cost was never even mentioned in the conversation. His word was gold and the order was secured.
The second memory was the conversation that happened between me and the saddler after the customer left. Intrigued by what I had seen, we had a discussion where we talked about saddle fit and what I thought of the horse’s back that he had just “measured”. He agreed with my assessment of the horse and in a moment of honest pragmatic candor said that the measuring was more about selling the customer and sealing the deal than anything else.
For years I have thought of this story and pondered its importance to the horse, as well as to the relationship between the horse, owner and saddle. In that pondering and as I look at the push to have new and different forms of technology mapping the horse’s back, there are some assumptions that are being made and some pitfalls that are not being brought into the discussion.
The first assumption in this equation is primarily on the consumer end. Naturally there is a push to sell these mapping tools and the large pool of people that they are being marketed to are not saddlers. As a whole, saddlers are a very small part of the overall equine business and it doesn’t make much fiscal sense to sell these mapping tools to this small niche market. When the general horse public purchases and uses these tools the assumption is that this will forever solve the question of what saddle my horse needs.
The next assumption is that proper mapping is the only thing that will make a saddle fit or work. The thought is along the lines of, “I have a map of my horse’s back,,,,,therefore it will work.” These two assumptions are based on an absolute trust in the technology that is producing the images and reports. In all the years since the day I had my first encounter with a saddle fitter, I have rarely had any serious customer ask about saddle fitting tools. While the horse takes up a significant portion of the discussion, all the various tools and techniques available today are hardly ever mentioned. In large part, the reason is that my customer base has appreciated and trusted me in the ordering process and by the end, their questions have been answered. What I hear happening in the larger saddle world though, is a promotion of these tools in an effort to sell more saddles. While I appreciate the attempt to produce more and sell more, these assumptions need to be called out and the pitfalls honestly discussed.
The foremost pitfall in using these mapping tools to “fit” and subsequently order a saddle, is that the horse’s back undergoes serious changes primarily as he ages but also throughout the course of a year. It is true that there is a stable period from approximately age 6-12 but even in that period there are smaller changes due to feed, weather and excercise. The assumption is that if I map my horse’s back then I’m good to go. But that simply is not true. A horse’s teeth are not the only part of his body that change as he ages. A back makes massive changes from the time he enters the “work force” to the time he ages out. Most serious horse people can acknowledge that but many fail to see the smaller changes throughout the seasons with a horse even if he is in the “stable” period. Think for a moment how your body will change after going through the holiday season or how muscle tone is impacted by a long vacation or a period of having to be in a cast. We must be careful to think that a horse would be any different. A horse’s ability to lose weight and form muscle is remarkable. I have had any number of horses I have owned or had in training that, with serious riding, have required a change in saddles in as fast as thirty days. The saddle that was working on day one, did not fit the same a mere thirty days later.
The next pitfall would be to think that this mapping of the top of the horse’s back is THE thing to ensure that the saddle will work. The reality is that you can perfectly fit the top side and disregard the other elements that go into making a saddle work for the horse resulting in the saddle not working. The rib spring and rigging placement as well as how the skirts are made are other considerations that will impact if the saddle is working correctly. The rib of a horse will push a saddle forward or backward if the rigging is in a spot on that rib cage that is not advantageous for his body type. Skirt shape and lines are not solely for aesthetics. If they are two long and built without enough relief they easily sore a horse and can even produce lasting damage. Combine that with a poor rider and there can be significant negative results. In short, you could easliy have the top side correct and still have a saddle that won’t work. This can happen even if the tools say the saddle will work. There is more to a saddle working correctly for a horse and rider than if the underside of the saddle fits the topside of the horse.
All things taken together, equine back mapping tools are a viable way to get an assessment of your horse at a given moment in time, and certainly a proven way to help sell saddles. It is important however, to remember that there is more to the discussion than this snapshot. If we are to pursue horsemanship and saddlery, honest evaluation and discussion is always paramount.
Thanks for reading and continue to pursue refinement.
This is an article written by saddle maker Paul Van D**e
Saddle Fit Assumptions
4/12/26
The year was 2002 and the regional Dressage Championships were under way as I strolled through the vendors waiting for my sister to show. As I did, I stumbled onto a vendor putting a skeletal apparatus on a horse as he called out numbers to his dutiful assistant. Interested by this apparent horse fitting, I watched. What I remember is two distinct things. First was how moved the owner clearly was by this process. She was hanging on every number that was called out. As the dynamic unfolded the fitter became the doctor as it were ... .giving the diagnosis and the cure based on the form that was on the horse’s back. Cost was never even mentioned in the conversation. His word was gold and the order was secured.
The second memory was the conversation that happened between me and the saddler after the customer left. Intrigued by what I had seen, we had a discussion where we talked about saddle fit and what I thought of the horse’s back that he had just “measured”. He agreed with my assessment of the horse and in a moment of honest pragmatic candor said that the measuring was more about selling the customer and sealing the deal than anything else.
For years I have thought of this story and pondered its importance to the horse, as well as to the relationship between the horse, owner and saddle. In that pondering and as I look at the push to have new and different forms of technology mapping the horse’s back, there are some assumptions that are being made and some pitfalls that are not being brought into the discussion.
The first assumption in this equation is primarily on the consumer end. Naturally there is a push to sell these mapping tools and the large pool of people that they are being marketed to are not saddlers. As a whole, saddlers are a very small part of the overall equine business and it doesn’t make much fiscal sense to sell these mapping tools to this small niche market. When the general horse public purchases and uses these tools the assumption is that this will forever solve the question of what saddle my horse needs.
The next assumption is that proper mapping is the only thing that will make a saddle fit or work. The thought is along the lines of, “I have a map of my horse’s back,,,,,therefore it will work.” These two assumptions are based on an absolute trust in the technology that is producing the images and reports. In all the years since the day I had my first encounter with a saddle fitter, I have rarely had any serious customer ask about saddle fitting tools. While the horse takes up a significant portion of the discussion, all the various tools and techniques available today are hardly ever mentioned. In large part, the reason is that my customer base has appreciated and trusted me in the ordering process and by the end, their questions have been answered. What I hear happening in the larger saddle world though, is a promotion of these tools in an effort to sell more saddles. While I appreciate the attempt to produce more and sell more, these assumptions need to be called out and the pitfalls honestly discussed.
The foremost pitfall in using these mapping tools to “fit” and subsequently order a saddle, is that the horse’s back undergoes serious changes primarily as he ages but also throughout the course of a year. It is true that there is a stable period from approximately age 6-12 but even in that period there are smaller changes due to feed, weather and excercise. The assumption is that if I map my horse’s back then I’m good to go. But that simply is not true. A horse’s teeth are not the only part of his body that change as he ages. A back makes massive changes from the time he enters the “work force” to the time he ages out. Most serious horse people can acknowledge that but many fail to see the smaller changes throughout the seasons with a horse even if he is in the “stable” period. Think for a moment how your body will change after going through the holiday season or how muscle tone is impacted by a long vacation or a period of having to be in a cast. We must be careful to think that a horse would be any different. A horse’s ability to lose weight and form muscle is remarkable. I have had any number of horses I have owned or had in training that, with serious riding, have required a change in saddles in as fast as thirty days. The saddle that was working on day one, did not fit the same a mere thirty days later.
The next pitfall would be to think that this mapping of the top of the horse’s back is THE thing to ensure that the saddle will work. The reality is that you can perfectly fit the top side and disregard the other elements that go into making a saddle work for the horse resulting in the saddle not working. The rib spring and rigging placement as well as how the skirts are made are other considerations that will impact if the saddle is working correctly. The rib of a horse will push a saddle forward or backward if the rigging is in a spot on that rib cage that is not advantageous for his body type. Skirt shape and lines are not solely for aesthetics. If they are two long and built without enough relief they easily sore a horse and can even produce lasting damage. Combine that with a poor rider and there can be significant negative results. In short, you could easliy have the top side correct and still have a saddle that won’t work. This can happen even if the tools say the saddle will work. There is more to a saddle working correctly for a horse and rider than if the underside of the saddle fits the topside of the horse.
All things taken together, equine back mapping tools are a viable way to get an assessment of your horse at a given moment in time, and certainly a proven way to help sell saddles. It is important however, to remember that there is more to the discussion than this snapshot. If we are to pursue horsemanship and saddlery, honest evaluation and discussion is always paramount.
Thanks for reading and continue to pursue refinement.
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