There Are Many Different Types of Saddles - Understand Before You Buy

As the world has become more specialized, so has the saddle industry. You can now find specific saddles for specific activities with a horse. You'll find dressage saddles, English saddles, barrel saddles, reigning saddles, cutting saddles, Western pleasure, trail saddles, endurance saddles, side saddles, as well as bareback pads, pony saddle, draft horses saddles, Arabian saddles and just about any other type of specific event saddle you can consider.

It can be difficult if you're just starting out in the horse world to decide on the type saddle that you need. Don't worry so much about it, you can learn to ride in just about any saddle, worry more about the fit of your saddle on your horse.

As you have just started out writing in, you probably have dreamed of doing one thing or another with your horse. This can help you decide what type of saddle to purchase, go ahead and try to make your dreams come true and purchase the type saddle for the event or the job at hand. Just make sure that whatever saddle you choose is going to fit your horse appropriately.

Your horses build has a lot to do with the type saddle that you are going to purchase. It's best to look for a saddle that will suit you in many different ways, but fits your horse perfectly. Remember, a quarter horse is built one way, and an Arabian horse is built another. Therefore, you may want to look for a saddle that is specific to the type of horse your riding. Also, ponies cannot pack a full-size saddle, and draft horses can be injured by a regular saddle is it does not fit appropriately.

Your saddle should allow free movement of the shoulders, and give ample room for the wither bone. Also, it should not extend to far back over your horses kidneys, which are just in front of his hipbones. If you notice that when you ride your horse that your horses has dry spots along with the sweaty back, has significant swelling after an hours rest, or is actually developing white hairs or actual saddle sores , your saddle is not fitting appropriately.

You may also notice that at the beginning of riding your horse that he is anxiety ridden, dancing around, hard to control, and has trouble focusing on what you're asking him to do. This is often a bad fitting saddle. Especially if you find that after a half hour or 45 minutes of warm-up, your horse becomes docile and is listening well. What is actually happening with the bad fitting saddle is the fact that the area where the saddle is hurting your horse has actually gone numb. So if you constantly have to work your horse for a half an hour or 45 minutes before they're ready to settle down, check the fit of your saddle.

Saddles come in a wide variety including dressage saddles, basic English saddles, jumping saddles, pipe saddles and of course, all of the Western events as well. It's important that not only that you have a saddle that fits the specific type of work your horse is going to do, but also, that the saddle fits appropriately. Find out more tips about the different type of saddles at: saddles.relatedtips.com