We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

So often I show you the fancy and the different, so I thought I would just take a couple pictures of what is currently on the go around the shop.  Since it takes a good two weeks for the rawhide to dry, we always have two to three sets of trees (Rod will usually build four before rawhiding them as a group) around the shop in varying stages.

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

 Also called the rhomboids, this muscle is the next in the line of muscles I am talking about that attach the front leg of the horse to its body.  Unlike the previous muscles we have talked about, this one doesn't lie over the shoulder blade, or even under the saddle.  But it is still important.

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

We started with this...

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

Despite the fact that we have been at this over 16 years and have built over 2100 trees (one at a time!), there are still lots of types of trees or parts of trees we haven't yet built and measurements we haven't yet figured out how to incorporate into our trees.  So part of today was spent in R + D mode.

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

Moving on in our discussion about muscles of the horse that attach the front leg to the horse, a major one is the latissimus dorsi.  This muscle is a very important mover of the front leg relative to the horse's body and is also under the saddle and rigging.  So it is a good one to know about.

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

Here is the link to a new page on Proper Position of a Western Saddle which we just put up in the Tree and Saddle Fitting section of our main website.  We would love it if riders would understand that it is the shape of the tree matching the shape of the horse that determines where the saddle should sit on the horse, and that saddles will move to that position if they are allowed to do so - if the shapes match at all - and if they aren't put so far out of position that they can't move back.  It is because of wrong ideas about where a saddle "should sit" - ideas based on rigging position, cinch angle, incorrect information about anatomy and biomechanics, or even just where the person likes to sit when they ride - that people saddle their horse in the wrong place.  They then hold it there with a breast collar to keep it in what they think is the right place - and end up harming their horses by doing so.  A lot of "saddle fit problems" would disappear if people would place their saddle in the correct position on the horse, or even if they would just let it move to where it fits best.

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We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

This afternoon Rod helped me pack up trees to ship to customers.  This is generally my job, but since I was running behind time and there were a bunch to pack up, he was kind enough to help.  The most time consuming thing is crumpling up the old newspapers to act as packing material.  You know, sometimes year old stories can still be pretty interesting to read...  

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

We've learned a lot from using the Dennis Lane Equine Back Profiling System over the last few years, but lately its usefulness was brought home to us again.  We have two horses on the place at the moment.  Dancer is our 12 year old, 16 hand QH mare.  Misty is a loaner to us to keep Dancer company - and inside the fences.  (Yes, there is a story there...)  She is also 12 years old and is supposed to be a Tennessee Walking Horse, though since she has a varied history and no papers, we don't know how pure that might be.

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

We'll start with the muscles that connect the front leg (remembering, of course, that there is no bony connection from the front leg to the body).  The first one we'll talk about is the trapezius.  This is the most superficial muscle over the shoulder blade after the very thin one that wiggles the skin, and it is important because the front of the bar of the tree sits on part of it.  It is a flatter, wider muscle, but in some horses (and mules) it can be quite thick.