Measuring A English Bridle, Western Bridle & Halter

To Measure for an English Bridle~

To measure for an English Bridle, we ask for these measurements:
1. The Bit to Bit measurement around the poll- (pink line)
2. The Browband measurement- (orange line)
3. The Throatlatch measurement- (light blue line)
4. The nose measurement front & nose measurement back- (yellow line)
5. The Caveson Crown measurement- (See picture on left)The caveson/noseband style (whether you like the caveson cheeks showing or not) will depend upon the measurements you send us. Some customers like the caveson cheek pieces further forward, some like them back.

To Measure for a Western Bridle~

To measure for a Western Browband Bridle, we ask for these measurements:

1. The Bit to Bit measurement around the poll- (pink line)

2. The Browband measurement- (orange line)

3. The Throatlatch measurement- (light blue line)

For English, please use the above three PLUS the Noseband (yellow line).

To Measure for a Halter~

To measure for a halter, we ask that you give us the measurement of the leather or nylon of a well fitted halter that you are currently using. When measuring without the benefit of a well fitting halter, meausre the nose circumference about two fingers under the prominent cheek bone (ALL THE WAY AROUND!). Then using that mark, measure from one side of the cheek, all the way around the poll to the other side. Please also include the length from the throatlatch to where the noseband would sit under the horses head. This is very important.

Tags: English Saddle, Bridle, Caveson, Noseband, Halter

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Western Saddle

Tags: Western Saddle

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English Saddle

Tags: English, Stirrup, Knee Roll, Leather

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Saddle

An "English" style saddle used for riding horses.
A saddle is a seat for a rider fastened to an animal's back. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse, but specialized saddles have been created for camels and other creatures.

1 Types of modern equestrian saddle
1.1 English saddle
1.2 Stock saddles
1.3 Asian saddle
1.4 Other
2 Parts of an equestrian saddle
3 History and development
3.1 Early Civilization
3.2 The Middle Ages
3.3 The development of the modern saddle
4 Cleaning the saddle
5 References
6 External links

Types of modern equestrian saddle

In the Western world there are two basic types of saddles used today for horseback riding, usually called the English saddle and the "Stock" Saddle. The best known stock saddle is the American western saddle. In Asia and throughout the world, there are numerous saddles of unique designs used by various nationalities and ethnic groups.

English saddle

English saddles are used for English riding throughout the world, not just in England or English-speaking countries. They are the saddles used in all of the Olympic equestrian disciplines. To non-horsemen, the major distinguishing feature of an English saddle is its lack of a horn and its panels: a pair of pads attached to the underside of the seat and filled with wool, foam, or air.
The term English saddle encompasses several different styles of saddle, including those used for eventing, show jumping and hunt seat, dressage, saddle seat, horse racing and polo.

Stock saddles

Western saddle
Australian Stock Saddle

A western saddle
Western saddles are saddles originally designed to be used on horses on working cattle ranches in the United States. Used today in a wide variety of western riding activities, they are the "cowboy saddles" familiar to movie viewers, rodeo fans, and those who have gone on tourist trail rides. The Western saddle has no padding of its own, and must be used with a saddle blanket or pad in order to provide a comfortable fit for the horse. It also has sturdier stirrups and uses a cinch rather than a girth. Its most distinctive feature is the horn on the front of the saddle, originally used to dally a lariat when roping cattle.
Other nations such as Australia and Argentina have stock saddles that lack a horn but have other features commonly seen in a western saddle, including a deep seat, high cantle, and heavier leather.

Asian saddle

A saddle from the Yi ethnic minority province in Yunnan province, China. Saddle has a leather base with lacquer overlay
Saddles in Asia date back several thousand years to the time of the Scythians. Modern Asian saddles can be divided into two groups: Saddles from Central Asia, which have a prominent horn and leather covering, and saddles from East Asia, which have a high pommel and cantle. Central Asian saddles are noted for their wide seats and high horns. The saddle has a base of wood with a thin leather covering that frequently has a lacquer finish. Central Asian saddles have no pad and must be ridden with a saddle blanket. The horn comes in particular good use during the rough horseback sport of ‘‘buskashi (see Pashtun culture), played throughout Central Asia, which involves two teams of riders wrestling over a decapitated goat’s carcass.

A Central Asian saddle from Kashgar, China.
Saddles from East Asia differ from Central Asian saddles by their high pommel and cantle and lack of a horn. East Asian saddles can be divided into several types that are associated with certain nationalities and ethnic groups. Saddles used by the Han Chinese are noted by their use of inlay work for ornamentation. Japanese saddles frequently are covered in a thick lacquer finish. Tibetan saddles typically employ iron covers inlaid with precious metals on the pommel and cantle and universally come with padding. Mongolian saddles are similar to the Tibetan style except that they are typically smaller and the seat has a high ridge. Saddles from ethnic minority groups in China’s southwest, such as in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, have colorful lacquer work over a leather covering.

Other

A McClellan cavalry saddle, used by the United States Army in the late 1800s

An Endurance saddle, based on a western saddle design
Sidesaddle, designed originally as a woman's saddle that allowed a rider in a skirt to stay on and control a horse. Sidesaddle riding is still seen today in horse shows, parades and other exhibitions.
Endurance riding saddle, a saddle designed to be comfortable to the horse with broad panels but lightweight design, as well as comfortable for the rider over long hours of riding over challenging terrain.
Treeless saddle or Flexible tree saddle, available in both Western and English designs, but not built upon a solid saddle tree, intended to be flexible and comfortable on a variety of horses, but also not always able to provide the weight support that a solid tree can.
Military or Police saddle, similar to an English saddle in general design, but with a tree that provides greater security to the rider and distributes a rider's weight over a greater area so that the horse is comfortable with a rider on its back for long hours.
McClellan saddle, a specific American cavalry model used in the post-Civil War era by the United States Army, particularly in the American west. It was designed with an English-type tree, but with a higher pommel and cantle. Also, the area upon which the rider sits was divided into two sections with a gap between the two panels.
Pack saddle, similar to a cavalry saddle in the simplicity of its construction, but intended solely for the support of heavy bags or other objects being carried by the horse.
Bareback pad, usually a simple pad in the shape of a saddle pad, made of cordura nylon or leather, padded with fleece, wool or synthetic foam, equipped with a girth. It is used as an alternative to bareback riding to provide padding for both horse and rider and to help keep the rider's clothing a bit cleaner. Depending on materials, bareback pads offer a bit more grip to the rider's seat and legs. However, though some bareback pads come with handles and even stirrups, without being attached to a saddle tree, these appendages are actually unsafe and pads with them should be avoided.

Parts of an equestrian saddle

Tree: the base on which the rest of the saddle is built. Usually based on wood or a similar synthetic material, It is eventually covered in leather or a leatherlike synthetic. The tree size determines its fit on the horse's back as well as the size of the seat for the rider.
Seat: the part of the saddle where the rider sits, it is usually lower than the pommel and cantle to provide security
'Pommel or Pomnel (English)/ Swell (Western): the front, slightly raised area of the saddle.
Cantle: the back of the saddle
Stirrup: part of the saddle in which the rider's feet go, provides support and leverage to the rider.
Leathers and Flaps (English) or Fenders (Western): The leather straps connecting the stirrups to the saddle tree and protecting the rider's legs from sweat.
D-ring: a "D"-shaped ring on the front of a saddle, to which certain pieces of equipment (such as breastplates) can be attached.
'Girth or Cinch: A strap that goes around the horse's barrel that holds the saddle on.

Tags: Pommel, Fenders, Girth, Endurance, Sidesaddle, Treeless, Flexible Tree

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Saddle

An "English" style saddle used for riding horses.
A saddle is a seat for a rider fastened to an animal's back. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse, but specialized saddles have been created for camels and other creatures.

1 Types of modern equestrian saddl
1.1 English saddle
1.2 Stock saddles
1.3 Asian saddle
1.4 Other
2 Parts of an equestrian saddle
3 History and development
3.1 Early Civilization
3.2 The Middle Ages
3.3 The development of the modern saddle
4 Cleaning the saddle
5 References
6 External links

Types of modern equestrian saddle

In the Western world there are two basic types of saddles used today for horseback riding, usually called the English saddle and the "Stock" Saddle. The best known stock saddle is the American western saddle. In Asia and throughout the world, there are numerous saddles of unique designs used by various nationalities and ethnic groups.

English saddle

English saddles are used for English riding throughout the world, not just in England or English-speaking countries. They are the saddles used in all of the Olympic equestrian disciplines. To non-horsemen, the major distinguishing feature of an English saddle is its lack of a horn and its panels: a pair of pads attached to the underside of the seat and filled with wool, foam, or air.
The term English saddle encompasses several different styles of saddle, including those used for eventing, show jumping and hunt seat, dressage, saddle seat, horse racing and polo.

Stock saddles

Main article: Western saddle
Main article: Australian Stock Saddle

A western saddle
Western saddles are saddles originally designed to be used on horses on working cattle ranches in the United States. Used today in a wide variety of western riding activities, they are the "cowboy saddles" familiar to movie viewers, rodeo fans, and those who have gone on tourist trail rides. The Western saddle has no padding of its own, and must be used with a saddle blanket or pad in order to provide a comfortable fit for the horse. It also has sturdier stirrups and uses a cinch rather than a girth. Its most distinctive feature is the horn on the front of the saddle, originally used to dally a lariat when roping cattle.
Other nations such as Australia and Argentina have stock saddles that lack a horn but have other features commonly seen in a western saddle, including a deep seat, high cantle, and heavier leather.

Asian saddle

A saddle from the Yi ethnic minority province in Yunnan province, China. Saddle has a leather base with lacquer overlay
Saddles in Asia date back several thousand years to the time of the Scythians. Modern Asian saddles can be divided into two groups: Saddles from Central Asia, which have a prominent horn and leather covering, and saddles from East Asia, which have a high pommel and cantle. Central Asian saddles are noted for their wide seats and high horns. The saddle has a base of wood with a thin leather covering that frequently has a lacquer finish. Central Asian saddles have no pad and must be ridden with a saddle blanket. The horn comes in particular good use during the rough horseback sport of ‘‘buskashi (see Pashtun culture), played throughout Central Asia, which involves two teams of riders wrestling over a decapitated goat’s carcass.

A Central Asian saddle from Kashgar, China.
Saddles from East Asia differ from Central Asian saddles by their high pommel and cantle and lack of a horn. East Asian saddles can be divided into several types that are associated with certain nationalities and ethnic groups. Saddles used by the Han Chinese are noted by their use of inlay work for ornamentation. Japanese saddles frequently are covered in a thick lacquer finish. Tibetan saddles typically employ iron covers inlaid with precious metals on the pommel and cantle and universally come with padding. Mongolian saddles are similar to the Tibetan style except that they are typically smaller and the seat has a high ridge. Saddles from ethnic minority groups in China’s southwest, such as in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, have colorful lacquer work over a leather covering.

Other

A McClellan cavalry saddle, used by the United States Army in the late 1800s

An Endurance saddle, based on a western saddle design
Sidesaddle, designed originally as a woman's saddle that allowed a rider in a skirt to stay on and control a horse. Sidesaddle riding is still seen today in horse shows, parades and other exhibitions.
Endurance riding saddle, a saddle designed to be comfortable to the horse with broad panels but lightweight design, as well as comfortable for the rider over long hours of riding over challenging terrain.
Treeless saddle or Flexible tree saddle, available in both Western and English designs, but not built upon a solid saddle tree, intended to be flexible and comfortable on a variety of horses, but also not always able to provide the weight support that a solid tree can.
Military or Police saddle, similar to an English saddle in general design, but with a tree that provides greater security to the rider and distributes a rider's weight over a greater area so that the horse is comfortable with a rider on its back for long hours.
McClellan saddle, a specific American cavalry model used in the post-Civil War era by the United States Army, particularly in the American west. It was designed with an English-type tree, but with a higher pommel and cantle. Also, the area upon which the rider sits was divided into two sections with a gap between the two panels.
Pack saddle, similar to a cavalry saddle in the simplicity of its construction, but intended solely for the support of heavy bags or other objects being carried by the horse.
Bareback pad, usually a simple pad in the shape of a saddle pad, made of cordura nylon or leather, padded with fleece, wool or synthetic foam, equipped with a girth. It is used as an alternative to bareback riding to provide padding for both horse and rider and to help keep the rider's clothing a bit cleaner. Depending on materials, bareback pads offer a bit more grip to the rider's seat and legs. However, though some bareback pads come with handles and even stirrups, without being attached to a saddle tree, these appendages are actually unsafe and pads with them should be avoided.

Parts of an equestrian saddle

Tree: the base on which the rest of the saddle is built. Usually based on wood or a similar synthetic material, It is eventually covered in leather or a leatherlike synthetic. The tree size determines its fit on the horse's back as well as the size of the seat for the rider.
Seat: the part of the saddle where the rider sits, it is usually lower than the pommel and cantle to provide security
'Pommel or Pomnel (English)/ Swell (Western): the front, slightly raised area of the saddle.
Cantle: the back of the saddle
Stirrup: part of the saddle in which the rider's feet go, provides support and leverage to the rider.
Leathers and Flaps (English) or Fenders (Western): The leather straps connecting the stirrups to the saddle tree and protecting the rider's legs from sweat.
D-ring: a "D"-shaped ring on the front of a saddle, to which certain pieces of equipment (such as breastplates) can be attached.
'Girth or Cinch: A strap that goes around the horse's barrel that holds the saddle on. Sphere: Related Content

Equestrian Activities

Overview of equestrian activities
Horses are trained and ridden for practical working purposes such as in police work or for controlling herd animals on a ranch. They are also used in competitive sports including, but not limited to dressage, endurance racing, eventing, reining, show jumping, tent pegging, vaulting, polo, horse racing, combined driving, and rodeo. (See additional equestrian sports listed later in this article for more examples.) Some popular forms of competition are grouped together at horse shows, where horse perform in a wide variety of disciplines. Horses (and other equids such as mules and donkeys) are used for non-competitive recreational riding such as fox hunting, trail riding or hacking. There is public access to horse trails in almost every part of the world; many parks, ranches, and barns offer both guided and independent trail riding. Horses are also ridden for therapeutic purposes, both in specialized paraequestrian competition as well as non-competitive riding to improve human health and emotional development.
Horses are also driven in harness in racing, exhibition, and competitive show events. In some parts of the world, they are still used for practical purposes such as farming. For more information on the uses of horses in harness and driving, see harness racing and carriage driving.
Horses continue to be used in public service: in traditional ceremonies (parades, funerals), police and volunteer mounted patrols, and for mounted search and rescue.

Though there is controversy over the exact date horses were first ridden, the best estimate is that horses first carried riders approximately 5000 years ago. The earliest archaeological evidence of horses being ridden was in the military: chariot warfare in ancient times was followed by the use of war horses as light and heavy cavalry. However, horses were also ridden for everyday transport, and to carry messages in both war and peacetime. The horse and horseback riding played important roles throughout history and all over the world.

Tags: Horse, Horseback, Riding, Harness, Traditional, Racing, Mounted

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Equestrian

An equestrian (Latin eques, plural equites - also known as a vir egregius, lit. excellent man, from the 2nd century AD onwards) was a member of one of the two upper social classes in the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. This social class is often translated as Knight or Chevalier. However, this translation is not literal, since medieval knights relied on their martial skills, the physical power of their horse and armour to support their position, while the connection of Roman equestrians to horses had become more symbolic even in the early days of the Republic. The social position of knights and equestrians, however, was extremely similar, equestrians being the nearest Roman equivalent to Medieval nobility, the Roman tax farming system shared many similarities with medieval feudalism without actually being identical due to inherent differences in the social structure and the level of central government.
The equites were the Roman middle class between the upper class of patricians and the lower class of plebs. The distinguishing mark of the equestrian class was a gold ring (that of the patricians was a purple band on the toga).

Tags: Farming, Toga

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Origin

Before the Middle Ages, most armies were largely composed of infantry. Horsemen were used as advance scouts, small fast raiding parties, troop escorts, and to outflank infantry lines. The majority of the fighting was done by infantry. Still, ancient armies needed cavalry, and the horsemen usually belonged to the highest classes, because no one else could afford a horse. Consequently, it was prestigious to own and ride a horse: you could show that you were rich and did not have to perform manual labor (or hand to hand combat).
Ancient Rome was no exception to this rule, although the horsemen received financial compensation to buy a horse (the equus publicus, horse bought by the commonwealth). Thus, originally, the Equestrians were a military as well as a political group. It is said that king Servius Tullius divided the Roman nation into centuries, which were not only units of soldiers on the battlefield but also voting units in the so-called Centuriate Assembly. The Roman historian Livy offers a description of a complex system with 18 centuries of cavalry, 170 centuries of infantry, and 2 centuries of engineers. When the centuries came together to vote, the equites centuries cast their 18 votes first, followed by the 172 remaining centuries, and one additional vote for those who were too poor to serve in the army but still had a political vote. (Although the fact that the people were divided belongs to the age of kings, it is likely that these specific numbers date back to the fourth century BC.)

Tags: Infantry, Horsemen, Cavalry, Equestrians

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