Different Parts of a Saddle

Types

• A Western saddle is commonly used for roping, cutting and herding cattle, barrel racing, and the sport of reining. It is a large, heavy saddle usually made of tooled leather with a high seat in back and a horn in front. Long pieces of heavy leather called fenders hang down between the sides of the horse and the rider's legs connecting to the stirrups. The English saddle is lighter and smaller with no horn in front. The saddle flap, like the fender, comes between the rider's leg and the horse's side, but it usually ends at the rider's knee and stirrup leathers are free-swinging. English saddles are used for jumping and dressage, with a much smaller, lighter version ridden by horse racing jockeys. Australian stock saddles and endurance saddles appear to be a marriage between the English saddle and the standard Western saddle. The endurance saddle commonly has a modified horn with shorter saddle flaps and free-swinging stirrups. Because endurance riding usually encompasses long distance races of up to one hundred miles over rough terrain, this kind of saddle has a softer, more padded seat for the rider's comfort. Mainly used for trail riding in this country, the Australian saddle has a modified horn, a forward seat with a high back and free-swinging stirrups.

Features

• The main part of any saddle is called the seat. In front of the seat is the pommel; in Western saddles, the horn is on top of the pommel. The raised back of the saddle is called the cantle. The gullet is the long hollow underneath the saddle that runs down the length of the horse's back over the spine. The padded underparts of the saddle that sit on the horse's back muscles on either side of the spine are called panels. The flap on the sides of the saddles that protects the rider's leg from rubbing against stirrup buckles is called either the jockey or buckle guard. Billets are long, belt-like leather pieces on the sides of the saddles that attach to the girth; the girth runs under the belly of the horse and buckles or ties to both sides of the saddle. Stirrups hang down on both sides of the saddle with platforms for the rider's feet.

Function

• Saddles are designed to allow communication between horse and rider while keeping the rider on the horse's back. The pommel and cantle are raised to center the rider's torso in the saddle and are sometimes grasped by the rider to help in mounting. They also work to prohibit the rider from slipping off the front or the back of the saddle. A rider not only uses the stirrups to mount, but is able to maintain balance by relaxing his torso and dropping his weight down to his feet in the stirrups. The padded panels and open gullets underneath the saddle are designed to protect the horse's back from injury, and a tightly buckled girth will keep the saddle from moving on the horse's back.

Size

• The size of the saddle depends more on the size and weight of the rider than it does the size of the horse. English saddles are sized according to the length of the rider's upper leg--from the back of the buttock to the tip of the knee. For example, a child with a 16-½ inch upper leg might need a 15-inch seat, but an adult with a 23-inch upper leg might need an 18-inch seat. Seat size is commonly measured from the top of the pommel or horn to the top middle of the cantle. In the Western, Australian and endurance saddle, seat size refers to the fit of the rider's buttocks in the saddle and can change depending on the slope and depth of the seat.

Considerations

• In order for any saddle to function safely, it should be kept cleaned and oiled on a regular basis. When the leather parts are allowed to become dirty and dry, they will crack and break and become hazardous to the rider.