tack queastion

[MomE]

Hi well I got a horse for mothers day and she is great, but she will be back from the trainers here in the next week or so. (she hadn't been riden for over five years so we sent her there for a refresher course). I need to get tack and I have never bought tack. I had a horse back when I was 17 but that was a long time ago and she came with her tack and it was english. daisy is trained western. Okay my queastion is what do I need to do to make sure that the saddle I get fits right and what about the briddle. I have also seen tons of diffrant saddle pads. What is a good one? what brand of saddle is good? and finaley leather or synthetic? thanks for all your help.

[Runky]

So you want to ride western, correct?

All I know about fitting of the saddle is that it should be off their withers. But I'd say get someone who knows about fitting of saddles to look at it for you in person. P:

Anyways. I personally like synthetic western saddles best. Leather ones are really heavy. Synthetic is light and easy to care for. And if you aren't showing you wouldn't really need a leather saddle. Some people say leather is more comfortable but I disagree. Just depends on what you want. I'd say. Go try out the saddles at your tack shop and see which ones you like best. P:

Good luck. (:

Oh. and for western. I like nice, thick, saddle pads.

[lneill84]

The best bet is to contact a local tack store and have someone come out and measure her, and then fit a saddle. You can't make a saddle fit a horse, and can cause some pretty horrific injuries riding a horse in an ill fitting saddle. I have only ever used leather, and will not touch the synethic stuff. Synethic saddles don't last long enough, and they don't conform to a horse's back like a well broken in leather saddle will. Its also a matter of safety for me at least. I've never seen a well made, well balanced synethic saddle. A big issue I've noticed is with the trees and the attachment of the stirrup bars. Maybe things have changed in the past few years, but ill stick with my leather saddles.

For the bridle, you will need to determine measurements. Again, if you can't do it yourself, have your local tack store come out and measure her. You will need to know the length of the cheekpieces, browband, and noseband. Depending on how much money you want to spend, you can get a completely custom bridle, or one off the rack. Just make sure it's a good quality leather, with good stitching and reinforcements where it's needed. Nothing is worse than snapping a rein