[sweet mustanq]

I have a TB with high withers and he needs a dressage/ all purpose saddle with a higher. BUT I don't understand what it means when your looking at a saddle and it says is has a medium tree. does that mean in width or height?..my Tb had gotten very sore in his back esp by his withers because I didn't have enough padding under my saddle and I think my saddle might have been pushing on his withers..because their so high. Anyways what should I do about finding a saddle thats going to fit him correctly so what he wont have back pain? And also what about saddle pads?..what is a good saddle pad that will provide a good amount of padding for a TB with high withers?

any help would be great,thanks.

[magic_rider]

Finding the right saddle is trial and error, you just have to keep trying until you find something the right size. My horse is a typical tb with a high wither and bates and wintec just didn't fit him, I have just got a new kieffer that had it's tree adjusted to medium to fit him so that would probebly be perfect for you. Ask your saddler and get them to measure your horse and help you find something that will fit.

[JBandRio]

When a saddle is a medium or wide (or narrow, gack, have yet to see a horse who needs a narrow!) it's referring to the width at the withers.

It has NOTHING to do with the shape of the panels, how wide the gullet it, or how tall or cutback the pommel is. All of those things affect saddle fit, not just the tree width.

My treeless saddle fits my TB with insane withers. My Balance Felix saddle fit her with the use of a Saddleright pad. Trust me, I doubt you are in a worse situation than these withers and no topline

my Tb had gotten very sore in his back esp by his withers because I didn't have enough padding under my saddle and I think my saddle might have been pushing on his withers..because their so high.

What does "by his withers" mean? On top of? If so, then yes, the pommel was pressing down. But if it's to the side of them, then your saddle is too narrow - the most common mistake. You cannot make the mistake of choosing a tree soley for the purpose of clearing the withers. This inevitably leads to a tree that's too narrow. You HAVE to fit the sides of the withers, allowing room for growth, and then modify the model if necessary if you need a cutback pommel so it doesn't interfere with the witners.