Maryland Saddlery's Guide to Choosing and Fitting Saddles Issue 1 | Page 18

How to Determine Usable Back
Measure 4 fingers behind the shoulder muscle and place a small piece of tape at spine above this point. Then find the last rib. If
your horse is lean, you may be able to feel it. If not, notice the direction of hair growth - downwards over the ribs, forward and
down over the hips - forming a triangle and swirl of hair. The point of the triangle is at back edge of the ribs. Follow upwards and
place another piece of tape on the spine. Using a yard stick, measure the distance between these two pieces of tape in a straight
line.. This is your horse’s usable back. Weight bearing portion of the saddle should not extend beyond these points. Saddle
fitting cannot correct for inadequate back length. You simply cannot put a 19” saddle on a horse with a 16” back. Correct saddle
fit begins with selecting a horse with enough back length to carry a saddle that fits the rider.

shoulder

4 fingers behind shoulder

usable back
last rib attaches to spine here

direction of hair growth

Hints for Hard-to-Fit Horses
If your horse really rounds up while working, try this to get a more accurate topline while he is standing in crossties:
Don’t try to draw this -- you will only have a few seconds. Have a friend photograph your horse while you “lift” the
horse with your fingertips by firmly poking your fingers or tickling your horse’s belly just behind his sternum. Most
horses will lift their backs in response to this touch.
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If your horse is short backed, downhill and has no room for a carpenter’s level, place one end of the level on the rump
and hold the other end near the withers. Balance the bubble. and determine “finger distance" between horse's back at
both 1 and 3. Then draw your diagram by placing your shaped cable the same number of fingers from the "level" line
at 1 and 3.
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Most horses have the lowest portion of their back at, or near, the middle piece of tape. If your horse is different,
an additional tracing drawn at the low point will give us more information for greater accuracy. Be sure to indicate
distance from the middle measurement.
This saddle fitting guide is intended to give you the basics of evaluating the fit of your saddle and drawing back diagrams. It
is adequate for most horses. However, it is a 2-dimensional drawing of a 3-dimensional animal. It is also static measurements
done while your horse is standing still. It does not replace the services of a trained saddle fitter who can eva X]H