How do I measure myself and my horse for an english saddle, stirrup leathers, stirrup irons, and girth?
It’s mostly trial and error. You should not match the tree to your preferences, the tree is the most important part to match to your horse. An ill fitting tree could put pressure on your horses withers or shoulders and become very painful. If you have anyway to try saddles on your horse to get an idea of what size tree you need, that would be a good idea. Put a saddle on your horse with no saddle blanket. Place your hand between your horse’s shoulders and the underside of the knee-roll to see if the saddle presses unevenly. If the saddle falls over the shoulders too much and pinches the tree is too big. If the saddle sits too high and pinches on the top of the shoulders it hints that the saddle tree is too small. The size of the saddle tree depends on the horse’s size and breed. For example, a 16hh quarter horse would need a wide tree, whereas a 14hh arabian would need a narrow tree. Once you check the shoulders, move around to look underneath the leg flap, if there is space, the saddl
