Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

	That link was great, Jonni.  I agree that "twist" is for the rider.  In 
fact, the top part of the saddle is for the rider (the horse doesn't 
care whether there are knee rolls or whether the pommel is a bearclaw or 
slick fork) and the bottom is for the horse.  The two do have to go 
together somehow though.  One way to get a narrow twist on a saddle for 
a wide horse is to raise the seat higher off the horse's back.  Some 
would say that you would loose the "close contact" and that has been one 
of the criticisms of flexible tree saddles such as OF and ReactorPanel 
but in fact, a horse can feel a lot and riders in those types of saddles 
don't report any loss of ability to communicate with their horses.
	Robert, the width of the twist is hard to measure.  The bigger issue is 
that there is no standardization in saddle construction.  This is good 
and this is bad.  Good in that there is probably a saddle out there for 
every rider and horse; bad in that finding it can be like hunting for a 
needle in a haystack because nothing about saddle construction is 
predictable.
	Robert, if you can, go to a large saddle store and sit in lots of 
different saddles.  Hopefully some salesperson will be knowledgeable and 
can help you figure out which type of twist feels good to you.  If you 
can, also attend the AERC national convention or some other large 
endurance convention/gathering where vendors have saddles on display for 
sitting in.
	Good luck in your saddle search!
Laney

Jonni wrote:
> I had always thought "saddle twist" was rider fit, not how the saddle fits
> the horse. But, I could be wrong. I did find another website, that had the
> following:
>
>
> **Twist width vs. Tree Width
> Twist widths are listed here for most saddles only as a guide to help you
> with preliminary saddle selection. Twist width is the width of the tree at
> its narrowest. The right twist for you is determined by your pelvic width,
> equestrian ability... as noted above. Twist width is just one of the many
> factors that determine what makes a saddle feel good to you.
> Tree width, on the other hand is the width and angle of the points of the
> tree protruding down from the pommel. These should parallel your horse's
> back. Select twist width for your comfort. Select tree width to fit your
> horse.**
>
> Now, that being said, the two saddles that have fit my husband the best,
> with narrow twists were very different. The first was an english saddle,
> that was also for a narrow horse. The current saddle, that fits him well is
> an Ortho-Flex patriot. Of course, the OF panels on this particular saddle
> did not work on any of our horses. Often for that narrow twist, the saddle
> "peaks" more. Kind of like an A frame house, vs. a wide twist, which would
> be more like a flat Spanish adobe house <grin>.
>
> Robert, it is a tricky thing to find a saddle to work well for the horse AND
> the rider at times. Some riders can deal with any type of saddle, while
> others end up with pain if the saddle is not just right for their body.
>
> Oh, I also seem to see the saddles twist mentioned more with english saddles
> than others.
>
> Jonni
>
>
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