page_title: Back (horse)
section_title: Fitting saddles to the back
hierarchical_section_title: Back (horse) / Fitting saddles to the back
caption_attribution_description: English: Rear view of a rider sitting on a horse in an English saddle
context_page_description: The back describes the area of horse anatomy where the saddle goes, and in popular usage extends to include the loin or lumbar region behind the thoracic vertebrae that also is crucial to a horse's weight-carrying ability. These two sections of the vertebral column beginning at the withers, the start of the thoracic vertebrae, and extend to the last lumbar vertebra. Because horses are ridden by humans, the strength and structure of the horse's back is critical to the animal's usefulness.
  The thoracic vertebrae are the true "back" vertebral structures of the skeleton, providing the underlying support of the saddle, and the lumbar vertebrae of the loin provide the coupling that joins the back to the hindquarters. Integral to the back structure is the rib cage, which also provides support to the horse and rider. A complex design of bone, muscle, tendons and ligaments all work together to allow a horse to support the weight of a rider.
context_section_description: Each horse is different regarding saddle fit, though minor problems can be compensated for with saddle blankets or pads. As a horse's muscles change with age or conditioning, one saddle may not fit during its entire life, and no saddle fits all horses.  A properly fitted saddle should have enough height in the gullet to clear the withers of the horse and not be so wide as to press on the spine, but not be so narrow as to pinch the back and shoulders of the horse.  It must not be so long in the tree that it interferes with the horse's hips, though a too-short tree may also create abnormal pressure points, particularly when it is too small for the rider as well.  Professional saddlers and saddle-fitters may be able to make small adjustments in better-quality saddles to help them better fit an individual horse, but the underlying structure of the saddle tree cannot be changed and must have an adequate fit from the outset.
caption: The length, width and shape of a horse's back all play a role in proper saddle fit.
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