How to fit a DP Saddle
Pre & Post Purchase
We are here to assist you with fitting your saddle via email and photos if you do not have an independent saddle fitter in your area. Our ability to assist you accurately is highly dependent on the photos you provide to us. Please ensure that no strong shadows are being cast on your horse but make sure you are in good light, an overcast day is ideal. Please see example photos below. Click on the photos for more instructions. Please note these are not always examples of good or bad saddle fit, they are purely meant to be used as a "photo taking" guide, so you can send us good usable photos for saddle fit assessment.
Please click on photos to ENLARGE and for further explanations:
When sending us photos of your horse, please ensure that your horse is standing square, on level ground, with head and neck in a neutral position (not grazing and not too high). Side-on photos are most helpful, ensuring whole horse nose to tail is in frame. Other angles shown below are also worth sending. Taking photos on an over-cast day is often best as no sharp shadows are being cast around the saddle. Girth up your saddle with no saddle pad underneath. Please see sample photos below:
Horse is on even ground, head is in a neutral position and the horse is standing square. Photographer has taken the photo from the correct height also: directly side-on. Full marks!
Please note horse does not need to be wet ;)
Photo taken under a tree on a sunny day = not good for saddle fit assessment.
The active part of the seat (where you sit) should be level with the ground, so you feel balanced when riding i.e.: not tipped forwards and not tipped backwards.
Level seat indicates the gullet width is correct.
This is actually a good angle to take a photo for tree angle assessment but the pad and the shadows make it impossible to see this.
Excellent for assessing tree angle at the front of the saddle.
Great for assessing angles at the rear of the saddle.
Also a good angle and photo for assessing tree angle but make sure your horses mane is out of the way.
In this photo it is very easy to see that the tree angle (though in this case the saddle is treeless), matches the horses shoulder well. Would be even better without the pad.
This is the perfect example of what we need to be able to assess if you have adjusted the gullet correctly with the Allen Wrench. Best not to use a saddle pad for photos.
Also sharp shadow is being cast so cannot actually see how the saddle is angled against the shoulder.
This photo does tell us something but would have been better without the mane in the way.
Hire one of our fitting grids which you mould to your horses back. Send back to us and we'll try it inside our saddles. Perfect pre-purchase peace of mind!
Here you can clearly see how the spines make contact with the centre point of both panels - perfect fit!
A Closer view. Nice contact with every spine in the middle of the panel. This saddle will be an ideal fit for this horse.
