Saddles: the types, the rules and who fits them.

The main saddle families

The University of Missouri Extension's guide "Selecting a Saddle" (G2887, by Melvin Bradley and Wayne Loch, first published in 2002 and revised in September 2017) sorts saddles into four groups: Western (or stock), English, gaited and specialty.

Western

The guide describes Western saddles in general as large, heavy and secure. A roping saddle is full-rigged, with the horn, rigging and cinch lined up over the withers to take the strain of a rope. A cutting saddle lets the rider shift weight forward and back.

English

The types it names are the hunt-jump saddle (light, with a close seat), the forward-seat or jumping saddle (the rider's weight forward, with short stirrups), the balance seat saddle, the polo saddle and the dressage saddle, which it describes as built for close communication through collection and extension.

Gaited

The guide names the Lane Fox saddle, used for gaited and park horses, which places the rider well behind the withers.

Specialty

Side saddles, trick saddles and parade or display saddles, each a highly specific design.

Under the leather is the tree. The same guide names rawhide-covered wooden trees, canvas-covered trees, extruded plastic trees, and rigid straight-head and spring slope-head trees.

What the rulebooks require

The FEI Dressage text is the 2019 version published by Equestrian New Zealand, and the FEI Eventing text is as reproduced in Equestrian Australia's 2026 rulebook; the FEI's own rules site refused our requests. We found no FEI rule aimed specifically at girths beyond these general saddlery provisions.

Saddle pads

The 2019 FEI Dressage text makes saddle pads optional and says they should be white or a plain, conservative colour, with no stripes or multicolour, and it bans saddle covers in competition. US Equestrian's 2026 dressage booklet also makes saddle pads optional, in white or a conservative colour, and allows logos of up to 200 square centimetres under conditions it lists. In FEI eventing, saddle covers are among the items permitted in training areas.

Saddler and saddle fitter: the UK qualification route

In the UK, the Society of Master Saddlers (SMS) runs a training and registration route for saddlers and saddle fitters. It was formed in 1966 by a group of retailing Master Saddlers, has since become international, belongs to the National Equine Welfare Council, and states that the welfare of the horse, however it is used, is paramount.

The SMS separates two trades: a saddler is qualified to make saddlery, and a fitter is qualified to fit it. A Master Saddler is a qualified saddler with more than seven years' experience and consistently outstanding skill; a Master Saddle Fitter is a qualified fitter with more than seven years' experience. The SMS introduced its saddle fitting qualification, which assesses only the skill of fitting saddles to horses, in 1995. It offers City & Guilds qualifications in saddle making, bridle and harness making, saddle and bridle fitting, and saddle flocking, and members are classed as Trainee or Intermediate until they pass.

The SMS describes the fitter's route as:

1. An introduction to saddle fitting course.
2. Registration as a trainee, with liability insurance.
3. The Qualified Saddle Fitters Training Course.
4. A compulsory flocking qualification.
5. An assessment of five units leading to the City & Guilds Assured Certificate in Saddle Fitting and the title Registered Qualified Saddle Fitter.

The SMS says the route takes at least two years, and annual evidenced continuing professional development is compulsory to stay on the register. A BHS careers guide, seen only in a search summary, describes the same route with three years of work experience; we could not open the BHS page to confirm the difference.

The horse's back is a veterinary matter

A saddle fitter's qualification is in fitting saddles. Any concern about a horse's back, soreness or soundness is a matter for a vet, and a vet must be consulted. Saddles have also been recalled for structural faults; see the recalls page. Whether a saddle is permitted in a particular class is decided by that body's current rules and its officials.