what size??

Question
my 16 hh QH gelding is BUILT, so he needs a pretty wide tree. Only problem is, his withers are pretty high, and my semi QH bar saddle fits him perfectly, but is riding on his withers and I know it is putting WAY too much pressure on his withers and also is pinching them.what can I do? do I need a new saddle, or is there a type of saddle pad I can use? Oh, by the way, I tried a cutback pad, but that made it worse, and his withers actually started bleeding after a 2 hour trail ride..he is such a trooper...he tries not to complain about the pinching, but I know it's bothering him. thanks!

Answer
Haley,

Your semi-QH does not fit him perfectly if it is sitting that far down on his withers.  It's too wide in the withers for him.  The saddle you are using must be costing him a great deal of pain.  You definately need ANOTHER SADDLE!  Also, stand up on a stool or bucket directly behind him, about 6 ft and look at his shoulders with him squared up.  See if they are even or if one is higher than the other.  That's another problem you have to address in saddle fitting.  

Take some pliable wire and mold a 24" piece over his back, behind his withers.  You don't set the saddle on the withers but the front of the tree should rest in the pocket behind the shoulder blade.  Otherwise you are restricting the movement of his shoulder blade.  Slide your hand under the saddle tree in the front and have someone  pick up the horse's leg and stretch is forward.  You'll feel how far back the shoulder blade moves.  The saddle wants to be behind that area.  I see this all the time, people put their saddles on top of the horse's shoulders then wonder why the horse can't extend in front.  Mold another piece of wire  at a spot about 6 in. farther back and a final one across his back where the cantle is.  Take measurements so you know the distances between the pieces of wire.  Fit these, at the exact same spots, gently under the saddle you are considering.  If the saddle doesn't fit them then it won't fit your horse.  

If his withers are uneven, that you can fix with a shim pad or, if it's an English-style saddle, with adding extra stuffing to the panel in that area.

A final check of the saddle is to set it on the horse's back, without any pad.  The saddle should sit level front-to-back and side-to-side.  Press on the saddle, hard, with one hand and run your other hand along under the edge of the tree and see if the pressure is the same the length of the tree.  

Saddles are like shoes.  They have to fit.  If you've ever had a pair of shoes that you either had out-grown or whatever, they just didn't fit, and you wore them your feet hurt.  Same thing with saddles.  They have to fit the horse like the pair of shoes that you would wear to stand and work in all day.  Comfortable!  A pair of too small shoes won't be more comfortable with thicker socks!  And there's nothing you can do for a pair that just don't fit at all.

I hope this helps but for his sake, don't ride him in this saddle anymore!!

Lyn