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Do you know if your saddle really fits your horse? Would you like to know without a doubt if it does? And would you like to know what can be done about it if it doesn't - without having to go look for another saddle? Unless it's a very poor fit to begin with, the Port Lewis Saddle Fitting System can help you with that.

The way it works is this:
Saddle up your horse using the impression pad - without your regular pad - (unless you use wedge pads - those should be used with the impression pad - since they change the way a saddle fits), and go for a ride in the walk, trot and canter in both directions for about 30 minutes. Whatever it is that you normally do when you ride, that's what you need to do - whether it be jumping, reining, cutting, etc. At the end of the ride, an impression of the saddle is left in the pad. This will tell just exactly where any pressure points are. The impression is then used as a guide to build a custom correction pad using foam inserts of various sizes. Use these inserts to copy the impression on the pad - place the thicker inserts where the impression is thicker and the thinner ones where the impression is thinner.. This way, when you use the completed correction with your saddle, the gaps in the fit will be filled in and there will not be excessive pressure on the points where the saddle did touch the horses back. There are 72 sections in all, so it can be a pretty precise fit. What you want to look for is getting even pressure under the entire saddle.

Once the correction is made and the impression pad is rolled out flat again, attach the correction to the impression pad, saddle up, and go for another ride. This is to test the correction. If all is right, then the impression will be even throughout. Then all you need to do is slide your correction into the correction saddle pad and away you go!

Some signs of an ill-fitting saddle:

• Flinching or pinning ears while grooming
• Reluctance to pick up hind feet
• Refusal to stand for saddling or mounting
• Inability to bend or travel straight
• Wringing or carrying tail off to one side
• Short, choppy gaits
• Higher than normal head carriage
• Changes in attitude - refusals, bucking, unruliness, even dangerous to ride
• Unwilling to go downhill, over jumps or make transitions properly
• Sores, blisters, white hairs - by this time, there may also be significant muscle damage

A few things to check for:

• Generous clearance between withers and pommel (3 fingers' worth)
• Should not touch the spine anywhere - should see daylight through the gullet
• Setting only the saddle on the horse, you should be able to slide your hand along the length of it easily - with no feeling of pinching your hand
• Check the cinch - adjust so that a couple fingers slide easily between horse and cinch and that both buckles are above the elbows or it could rub sores on them

Saddle fit cannot be determined on a stationary horse. This system will tell you the truth about your saddle and allows customization of an appropriate pad for your horse and saddle.

My Port Lewis System is for sale. Included in the system is 2 Impression pads (each have 2 halves that connect over the horse's spine with velcro tabs), a Correction Panel Master Kit (which includes 2 polyurethane coated leather base panels with Velcro attachments, 2 sets (left and right) of closed cell foam rubber spacers with Velcro attachments in 1/8 inch, 1/4 inch, 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch. Each thickness is cut into 9 sections, there are 72 sections in a Master kit.) Also included is another set of padded leather base panels (these are thicker and used to attach your correction to with velcro), and a western correction pad with pockets that hold the correction you put together. Both impression pads have been used - one more than the other. One side of one pad popped and I had to get a new panel for it, so those panels arent colored exactly alike, but that doesnt hurt its functionality at all. The other pad has hardly been used at all - just a few times. The correction pad with the pockets has never been used. Each impression pad comes in its own box, and each weighs 17 lbs, is 28" long x 16 1/2" wide x 3" high. The foam spacers (left and right) are each in their own box and each weigh 5 lbs, is 28" long x 9 1/4" wide x 3" high. There is a 5th box for the correction pad and the leather based panels that weighs 8 lbs. If you were to buy this system brand new from rocler.qc.ca/portlewis, it would cost $199 for each Impression pad, $299 for the Correction Panel Master Kit, $119 for the Correction pad, and $69 for each of the Correction panels, for a total of close to $1000 not including shipping yet.

You can use this system over and over again to check the fit of your saddle as the shape and fitness of your horse changes with the seasons and workload. Use this with any type of saddle - western, english, enduance, etc. If you are interested in having and using this system for yourself, please contact me. Feel free to ask any questions. I am asking $600 plus $16.50 shipping for the whole set.

Front and back of one Impression Pad


Front and back of the other Impression Pad


Right and left sides of the closed cell foam inserts



Both sets of leather based velcro panels for attaching the correction


Western type Correction Saddle Pad