Duett Saddles - Fitting and Sizing your horse

Evaluating Fit and Comfort
Here are some suggestions to help you recognise a good fit.  A good way to start is to stand to the side of the horse and take a good look at how well the saddle is balanced on the horse's back.

A correctly fitting saddle should include your comfort too. 
You cannot ride properly if you are perched, or you feel as if you are being pushed forward because the saddle tips, or the bearing area of the seat is too small.

Saddle construction
Let us provide you some brief but important information about the saddle's construction.

A saddle is built on a tree, either made from wood or plastic.  Duett saddles are built on a conventional “spring tree” of metal-reinforced laminated wood, with a webbed seat for rider comfort.  The measurement of the width of a saddle is taken by the manufacturer on the raw tree, before any leather or other materials are added.  The tree itself consists of a wood frame which provides the seat for the rider.  From the pommel arch two metal arms extend, which form the bars of the tree.

There is no absolute standardization with regard to saddle size and width, variations between different designs and models will always occur since saddles are handmade. Every saddle is truly individual in this respect, and which is why a particular model may fit more accurately than another.

Saddle fit

1. In considering the balance of the saddle on the horse, make sure it is level and does not tip either backward or forward.  The cantle should be as high as the pommel or higher, but not lower than the pommel.
   
   
2. Check for bridging - lift the flaps and make sure the panels make contact all along their length with the back of the horse.  Do keep in mind that the way the saddle sits on the horse will change when your weight is in the saddle, some slight bridging may well disappear.
   
   
3. Saddles are made with a default flocking to fit a hypothetical horse, which means checking whether it needs adjusting especially if your horse changes shape, and after the first six months when the stuffing will have had time to settle.

Note about Duett Rondo and Trail models - these are designed with a wider than usual pommel arch in the wider trees, not just wider bars.  In this way, the panels are spread further apart and will better fit your broad-backed horse.  This will make the saddle more comfortable for your horse as well as more stable on his back.

Wither Tracings

What you need to be able to take a wither tracing
2 pieces A4 paper
A flexible curve, also known as an artist’s wire.  Available from major office suppliers, Staples etc.
Level ground to stand your horse on.
An assistant to hold the horse still and square, making sure the head and neck are in a normal position.

Where do you take it
Just back from the wither, where the points of the saddle normally rest, or 2.5”/3” behind the back edge of the horse’s shoulder blade.

What you need to do
Press the curve to conform to the shape of the horses’ back.
Place the curve on to the sheets of paper, tracing the inside edge of the curve. Mark the papers near side and off side.

Please either email, fax (0870 706 4020) or post the completed tracing to Duett Saddles

See also the Master Saddler’s tracing page http://www.mastersaddlers.com/tracings.htm

Picture below shows flexicurve in position, following the horses’s shape. Next picture shows flexicurve in the correct position in relation to the horse’s wither. (Note: this  horse has a defined wither, but the principle is the same.

Picture shows flexicurve on the paper ready for tracing.