USED CIRCLE Y PARK AND TRAIL SADDLE HOW TO

While most of us were taught to cinch up a Western saddle with a “full position” rigging, that might not be the most comfortable rigging for your horse. You’ll know if your saddle can offer multiple riggings if you look under the saddle’s stirrup fender and see multiple dee attachments instead of one metal loop. Once you have the perfect saddle, you may still need help to “rig it up” so that your horse is most comfortable. If there are any dry spots under the bars of the saddle’s tree-anywhere there are dry spots, there has been excessive pressure and the sweat glands have been shut down. One of the easiest ways to check saddle fit is to look at the sweat marks from your saddle and pad right after a long hard ride, when your horse is fully sweated up (not just damp). You’ll need to make sure the saddle doesn’t interfere with the horse’s motion or block his shoulder movement. It’s a good idea to work with a reputable saddle shop and to ask someone to evaluate the saddle’s fit on your horse. Your saddle should fit your horse so that the seat is level on his back and the bars of the tree do not pinch, but sit level on his back. For instance, my horse is mildly difficult to fit because of his far set-back withers (a good trait, it just makes saddle fit trickier). The proof of the pudding is how the horse responds. A beginner rider that is very off-balance can be hard on the horse’s back. The more skilled a rider is, the better balanced, the less important the tree becomes. For very arduous sports like cutting and roping, the horse needs a rigid tree for his own protection.

A treeless saddle would provide no weight distribution for the horse.Īlso you must consider the type of riding that will be done and the rider’s skill level.

First, the size of the rider: a horse that carries a heavy rider will need more weight distribution–a larger seat size will help with this. In addition to the fit issues of the horses, there are several other considerations in determining what is the right type of saddle for you and your horse. The flexible tree gives good weight distribution and because of the slight flex, it will fit a greater variety of horses. The rigid tree would give the greatest distribution of weight but may be more difficult to fit. In general, you have three choices when it comes to a saddle: a rigid tree (usually wood), a flexible tree (synthetic) or treeless. This is often because the tree of the western saddle covers a larger area and distributes weight more evenly. In my experience starting young horses under saddle, horses will buck more with an English saddle than with a western one. A simple way to understand this distribution of pressure is to poke someone in the arm with the point of one finger versus pushing on their arm with the flat of your hand. The purpose of the saddle tree is to distribute the weight of the rider over a larger area of the horse’s back.

USED CIRCLE Y PARK AND TRAIL SADDLE HOW TO

Here, I’ll help you understand the types of saddle trees (the tree is the inner structure of the saddle and what balances the rider’s weight over the horse’s back), understand how a saddle should fit, then help you know how to cinch up your saddle to make sure your horse is comfortable as you ride.

Once you purchase a saddle, you’ll need to know which rigging (many new saddles have more than one way to “cinch up” your saddle) to use to keep the saddle safely in place and comfortable for your horse’s conformation. It’s a big job to find out what will fit your horse well. The variety of trees and saddles on the market can be overwhelming. I’m often asked about saddle fit and tack- what’s the best type of saddle tree for my horse? How do I know if my saddle fits? And how should I rig the saddle so that my horse is comfortable? Julie Goodnight on Saddle Trees Fit And Riggings While the entire saddle industry has tried to imitate the original Flex-Lite® tree design, Circle Y has taken it to another level with the Flex2®, featuring the Precision Flex2® tree design. The flexible bars provided a level of conformity and support that maximized comfort and performance for both horse and rider. When Circle Y introduced the Original Flex-Lite® saddle in 1998, its design and performance revolutionized the saddle world. For almost 50 years, Circle Y has led the industry with the latest in design and innovation in quality saddles and tack. Whether for roping, showing, barrels, cutting, reining, ranch work or trail riding, Circle Y has a saddle for you. Circle Y Saddles, America’s Leading Saddle Brand, crafts saddles for all western disciplines.

Used circle y park and trail saddle