California Riding Magazine • August, 2009

Specialized Saddles
Adjustable fit system gives
riders maximum flexibility.

by Kathleen Burke Jensen

Specialized Saddles, located in Canutillo, TX, is a company committed to making perfect saddle fit available to everyone and every horse. Their patented three dimensional adjustable fit system lets riders independently adjust the width, arch and angle to easily fit the saddle to rider and each individual horse.

Specialized Saddles is a company comprised of horsemen and women who use the saddles every day. The corporate offices and shipping department are actually attached to a stable and training center where staff members ride in both english and western saddles.
Using their custom fit system, Specialized Saddles manufactures a wide variety of custom saddles coupled with trees of their own design that make fitting easy. “Because our trees fit better to start with, and we make trees for specific body types like draft and mule trees, you can finally achieve perfect saddle fit on so-called ‘hard to fit’ horses,” explains David Kaden, owner and inventor of Specialized Saddles.

In addition to fitting horses, Specialized Saddles works hard to make sure their saddles fit the rider as well. Because the saddles were originally conceived to meet the needs of long distance riding, comfort is of primary importance in the design of every aspect. Features like adjustable knee blocks and three stirrup settings for forward, balanced or centered positions let riders match their leg position to their riding needs.

Specialized Saddles owner David Kaden
rides a Wade type lightweight western saddle on his half Arab paint, Scout.

“It is our corporate mission to relieve saddle fit discomfort for all horses,” says Kaden. “In order to achieve this we must help horse owners understand how well their saddle does or does not fit.”
The best way to get a complete picture of exactly how the saddle is distributing the rider’s weight is with a computer pressure pad system. This system shows exactly how the saddle is contacting the horse and exactly how much pressure is being applied where. Different gradients of pounds per square inch are shown in different colors as well as in three dimensions.

Kaden travels and gives talks about saddle fit basics, including the effect of saddle pads on saddle fit, and offering computer scans by appointment. “This has been a very enlightening experience for me as well, and I continue to get new insights into solving the complex issue of saddle fit,” he says.

Specialized Saddles’ english saddles are made with twice the
surface area of traditional designs to better support the rider’s weight.

Just like with people, each equine body is unique and the idea that an “Arab” tree will fit most Arabs or that Quarter Horse trees fit 95 percent of all Quarter Horses is not reflected in the findings of the Specialized Saddles fitting analysis. In order to truly fit a saddle it is crucial to learn how to look at and understand the dimensions of saddle fit and their interrelationship and how to match a saddle to a particular horse’s back. “But the effort to get perfect fit is worth it and affects all aspects of your time in the saddle,” says Kaden.

For more information on Specialized Saddles contact the company at 575-882-3342 or on the web at www.specializedsaddles.com.