Saddle Fit and the Truth about Withers Clearance

 One of the biggest misconceptions in saddle fitting is that three fingers withers clearance means that the saddle fits. When I check saddle fit there are actually 36 points in consideration; withers clearance is only one of them. The withers are a very sensitive area of the horse with different interacting muscles and bones. You do not want the pommel of the saddle pushing down on the withers of the horse, which would cause sores. This is the area that veterinarians refer to as the ‘vise grip’ of the saddle, and is where the stallion bites the mare to immobilize her during mating. This is the exact effect a pinching saddle will have on your horse – whether it’s a stallion, gelding, or mare, since the musculature is the same. The result – instinctively the horse will want to stand still (in preparation for mating); the rider on top however wants the horse to go forward. Who wins? Obviously the rider – but he thinks the horse is simply being ‘stubborn’.

If the saddle pinches on the sides of the withers just down from the bone at the top it can cause a lot of pain and even lameness in the horse. The Trapezius, Rhomboideus, and Spinalis Dorsi all meet together at the top of the withers, and all of these muscle require clearance to allow the horse to move properly. We call this area (which the saddle should not touch at all) the “triangle of doom”. (see illustration)

Regardless of withers shape, the three finger rule doesn’t work. You need as much clearance on the side of the withers as well as well as at the top, to leave room for these three muscles and also for the shoulder to move under the front of the saddle. This can be 2-3 fingers for a high-withered horse; as much as 4-5 for a mutton-withered horse. This is even more necessary for when the horse starts to move, since these muscles will contract during movement and need room to be allowed to do what they are supposed to do. If there is no clearance on the side of the withers, the horse’s movement will be restricted. It will be impossible for him to have free range of movement through his shoulders.

To see just how much your own horse’s shoulder blade rotates backwards when he moves, stand on the side of your horse and mark the shoulder blade with a piece of chalk. Then have a friend stretch your horse’s front leg forward and mark the new position of the shoulder blade. You will see how much farther back the shoulder blade is now positioned.

As stated, a horse whose saddle pinches his withers may be reluctant to go forward. Other more extreme signs of insufficient wither clearance are patches of white hairs (not scattered individual white hairs) or sores on the top or on one or both sides of the withers.

Tree points can be forward-facing, straight (more or less perpendicular to the ground) or rear-facing. Forward facing tree points have been proven to be extremely detrimental to horse health in that MRIs and fibre optic cameras have shown the chipping of cartilage that can occur on the scapular bone. Every single extension of the foreleg (during trot, gallop – both at a time when jumping!) will cause contact with these tree points – and can cause eventual damage at the skeletal level. In some countries the manufacture of saddles using these old traditional trees with the forward facing tree points has been banned.

Straight or perpendicular tree points are somewhat better, but will still cause contact at the scapula, especially during extended movement of the leg or during jumping – not so much at only the walk. Best of course is the tree with the rear-facing tree points, which mimics the scapular angle and allows maximum freedom of movement at the shoulder – which will be upwards and backwards.

Again, you can demonstrate this yourself by lifting the foreleg and doing a ‘pedalling’ motion to see just how far the shoulder blade will rotate. This motion can cause 4-8” of rotation – which is difficult for the horse to do comfortably if every time it moves it hits an immobile, hard edged object. An analogy might be that every time you walk and lift your knees you bang them against a wooden board (like when you accidentally bump yourself when getting up from the table) – doesn’t really bother you too much at first, but the results will be cumulative and eventually probably completely wreck your knees.

Check your points! See what angle they are in the saddle you ride in and make the necessary accommodation to ensure your horse’s shoulders have room to move without hitting the tree points with every step – sometimes this means you might have to position the saddle a bit further back (which admittedly can cause a whole whack of other problems as addressed in the article on saddle length and saddle support area previously…) but just be aware of the possible implications of this.

By Jochen Schleese, CMS, CSFT, CSE

Schleese Saddles is a Silver Sponsor of the Friesian Horse Association of North America.

 “The areas in white are the saddle support area; the red triangles show the area at the withers which need to be kept free from pressure”

The distance between the underside of the pommel and the top of the withers should be 2-3 fingers
This same distance (2-3 fingers) should also be evident along the sides of the withers above where the panel starts.

It is clearly recognizable using the chalk outlines that although the tree points shown stay off the cartilaginous plate at the tip of the shoulder blade, they will still dig into the trapezius muscle.

The short, forward-facing tree points of this gullet plate will not only dig into the trapezius insertion but will also hit the shoulder cartilage, possibly damaging both areas

This gullet has rear facing tree points that are long enough to support the tree’s position in the saddle support area while staying off the trapezius and allowing maximum freedom of movement at the shoulder.