What is the easiest way to measure a horse for a western saddle?

Question

I am mostly asking for an easy way to measure my thoroughbred for a western saddle that fits, but also, a site i found, saddleonline.com, has nice looking saddles, but it is unbelievably low priced. I'm not sure what to think about it.
als, what are some tips for teaching horses to jump? My horse loves western but is also a natural jumper. He has days when he jumps anything, but he gets bored with jumping very quickly. what should i do to keep him interested?
I appreciate any help with these questions and just to clarify, i am NOT new with horses. only new to western and I'm not exactly sure how to train jumping.

Answer 1

You need to have the saddle sit on the horse to see if it fits. It's a tough call buying a saddle online- it could be a hassle.

Go to a tack store and they'll most likely let you put a deposit (just to make sure they have something if you ruin the saddle) and you can take it and try it out.

As for jumping, start with ground poles to learn spacing, work up to cavaletti (very low jumps) from one to multiple in a row. This will teach timing and get your horse in a better shape for more progressive jump training.

This book will give you an understanding of how a horse learns to jump and is wonderful for foundation work. If you and your horse learn foundation, it will be a much more fun and safe trip over bigger fences.

Get the book Cavaletti. It's great for starters and foundation work.
PS- don't jump in a western saddle, it doesn't work well.

Answer 2

Western saddles are either full or semi quarter horse bars.
Go with semi.
Most can be padded up some with out any problems.
I have a Circle Y saddle and I ride a TB also. It fits nicely with a pad that has a build up on the front of it. I use a cut back build up pad and the saddle fits wonderfully.
The Tucker saddles are very nice and tend to fit well on high whitherd horses very well. They are expensive but very very nice.

Answer 3

Measuring for a saddle is not the easiest thing. All manufacturers build their trees and bars differently, so you'd have to just try it out. For a TB I would try a saddle with semi-quarter horse bars and go from there. Start jumping him on the ground and use different materials for the actual jump (posts, barrels, hay bales, etc.) to keep him interested.
Here are just are few sites that I have had great business with:
(you can request a free catalog from all of them)
www.horse.com (Country Supply)
www.nrsworld.com
www.teskeys.com
www.jeffersequine.com

Answer 4

the feed and tack stores around my area will let you try out the saddle first. I had an Appendix bred mare( very high withered) that was hell to find a western saddle for. I must have tried a dozen, with none of them fitting properly. I gave up and stayed with English.
As for getting into jumping, you have to make sure your horse collects well. Cavalettis are great for spacing.
Start walking him over while they ( 2 or 3) are laying spaced out on the on the ground.
Then start trotting... It will improve his balance and coordination.
Finally lope over the cavalettis while still on the ground. It will teach him timing.
Make sure he picks his legs up nice and high before you increase height 6 inches.
Walk, trot and lope over those.
Raise in 3 inch intervalls
Finally just use one 12 inch high cavaletti. Walk trot and lope over it.
Increase in 6 inch intervalls.
Lean forward on a loose rein, you can grabe the mane for balance if you need to.
To keep my mare interested I did a lot of cross country riding and used natural objects as well as manmade.
She loved it.
Have fun and always be safe

Answer 5

use a measuring tape!