When it comes to saddling the Arab with a Western saddle, while there Arabian bars, they don’t always work. (It’s pretty wild the number of Quarter horses, Icelandics and Paints I saddle with Arabian bars.) The one saddle that almost always works with Arabians is the Freedom Saddle, made by Crates for Meleta Brown. The bars of this saddle are flared at the shoulders, very important for the width of the Arab barrel those shoulders move over. They also have enough rise over the flank so that they do not cut into the loin between the ribs and hips. Equally important are the width of the bars, a full 1.5″ wider than most stock bars. Why? Because the greater the bearing surface in contact with the back, the smaller the pressure any one square inch of the back.

Kari Augustine of www.smartstartstable.com riding GF Raushana+/, Canada Champion 3 X Top Trail Horse in The Freedom Saddle by Meleta Brown.

Article re-posted with permission from Cordia Pearson. Original article can be seen at “Saddling the Arab“.