Expert Guide
Tree width, seat size, rigging, leather — everything you need to evaluate before spending your money on a reining saddle.
Your saddle is the single piece of equipment that most directly affects both your performance and your horse's comfort. A saddle that doesn't fit your horse correctly will cause back soreness, resistance, and eventually soundness problems. A saddle that doesn't fit you will compromise your position and limit your effectiveness as a rider.
The good news: a quality reining saddle, properly fitted, will serve you and your horse for years or decades. This guide walks you through every consideration so you can buy with confidence.
Nothing matters more than getting the tree right. A saddle with the wrong tree width will never fit properly no matter how much padding you add. Here's how to evaluate:
Wither Tracing Method: Take a heavy-gauge wire and drape it over your horse's withers at the point where the front saddle bar would rest (approximately the 3rd–4th thoracic vertebrae, about 2 finger widths behind the shoulder blade). Shape the wire to follow the contour precisely, then lay it flat on paper and trace. A reputable saddle maker or fitter can match this tracing to available bar angles.
Bar Width Terminology:
Most reining Quarter Horses and Quarter Horse crosses fit a Full QH or Semi-QH bar. Heavily muscled performance horses — particularly those bred with strong NRHA or cutting bloodlines — often need a full QH or custom wider bar.
When evaluating used saddles or off-the-shelf saddles without custom bars, always check gullet clearance first. You should be able to fit 2–3 fingers between the gullet channel and the horse's spine at the withers with the saddle properly placed and cinched. Less than two fingers means the saddle is too narrow — a common and serious fitting error.
⚠️ Never pad a saddle up to fit. Excessive padding under a saddle with the wrong tree angle will change the pressure distribution and usually makes fitting problems worse. The fix is a correctly fitted tree — not a thicker pad.
Seat size is measured from the back of the swell (horn base) to the front of the cantle, on the flat of the seat. It's the rider measurement — not the horse measurement.
A seat that's too large will let you slide around and lose balance. Too small will restrict your ability to sit back and absorb movement. Here's a general guideline by inseam length:
In reining specifically, most competitors ride in a slightly smaller seat than they might in a trail saddle — the closer fit keeps you more connected to the horse. If you're between sizes, go with the smaller seat for competition.
With your seatbones in the deepest part of the seat, you should have approximately two finger widths between the back of your seat pocket and the base of the cantle. More than that and the seat is too large; cantle pressing your back means it's too small.
Rigging position determines where the cinch sits under the horse, and how the saddle is balanced front-to-back. For reining, 7/8 rigging is the industry standard — it places the cinch ring approximately 7/8 of the way from the cantle toward the horn, keeping the front cinch comfortably behind the horse's elbow.
Some horses do better with 3/4 rigging (cinch positioned slightly further back), particularly mutton-withered horses or horses with high-withered conformation. Full rigging (cinch directly below the horn) is rare in reining and more common in roping.
In-skirt rigging — where the dee rings are mounted within the skirt rather than on a separate rigging plate — is highly popular in competition reining for its slim, close-contact profile. It reduces bulk against the horse's side and lets the rider's leg hang without interference from hardware. Andy Mashke uses in-skirt rigging as standard on Superior Saddles competition models.
Not all leather is created equal. The quality of leather in a saddle directly affects its longevity, feel, and the ease with which it breaks in. Here's what to look for:
When evaluating used saddles, examine leather at the rigging areas (high stress), under the jockeys, and at fender tops where sweat accumulates. Good quality leather, well cared for, shows wear gradually and gracefully. Cheap leather cracks, peels, or dry-rots.
This is often the most practical decision for buyers. Here's an honest comparison:
Buy New When:
Buy Certified Used When:
David Solum's certified used program fills the gap between budget saddles and full custom. Every saddle has been personally inspected and comes with a full condition report — the safest way to buy pre-owned. Contact David directly to discuss your requirements and he'll match you to available inventory.