You can change the pommel on a Barefoot treeless saddle to adjust the saddle to the different withers of different horses, and to get the saddle sitting straight. There are four different pommel sizes:
- “Narrow” (beige)
- “Medium” (grey)
- “Wide” (red)
- “XXL” (blue)
Our English saddles usually come with a “medium” (grey) pommel, while our Western saddles usually come with a “wide” (red) pommel. If you need additional pommels, you can buy them in our Shop.
Changing the pommel is easy. Please lift the saddle on the back rest of a bench or a chair. Please don’t place it on a flat surface like a floor. On a new saddle, the pommel pocket can be a little tight and you need to use quite a lot of force to remove and replace the pommel but this gets easier the more you use the saddle.
STEP ONE. Remove the saddle’s seat and push it forward over the pommel.
STEP TWO. Open the zipper and pull the pommel pocket open, carefully.
STEP THREE. Pull the pommel out of the pocket. Pull from one side at first and then the other side. Then the first side again, etc. It can be a little tight on new saddles but you’ll get it out eventually.
STEP FOUR. Put a new pommel in the pocket. It’s better to put one side in first and then the other. Please pay attention to the letters L and R on the pommel. They will tell you which is the left side and which is the right side, from the perspective of the rider sitting in the saddle, so you know which way to put the pommel in the pocket.
STEP FIVE. Push the other end of the pommel into the pocket and push the whole pommel right to the bottom of the pocket.
STEP SIX. Check to see if the pommel is indeed at the bottom of the pocket. You need to pull both sides of the zipper together and see if they reach each other. If the don’t, you need to push the pommel further down. This can be a little tough with a new saddle but you can do it!
STEP SEVEN. Close the zipper. If it doesn’t want to close and you need to use a lot of force to close it, please stop. Check again if the pommel is indeed at the bottom of the pocket and if there might be something obstructing the zipper. When everything is right, it should close pretty easily.
All done! 🙂 Back to Know-How central