What Is A Saddle Fork?

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You might also like: What Is A Swell Fork Saddle? and What Is A Slick Fork Saddle?

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All saddles, Western and English, have a part of the saddle called the "fork." In English saddles, though, this area is more commonly called the "pommel."

• The fork of the saddle is at the very front of the saddle.
• The fork arches upwards to make room for the horse's withers beneath it.
• On each side of the fork, at its bottom, it attaches to the saddle tree bars. Note: This can be seen on a bare saddle tree but not on a finished saddle.
• On a Western saddle, the saddle horn is at the top of the fork.

A Western saddle fork sometimes goes by several names. While calling it a "fork" is common, it's also called the "swells" or the "pommel." For an English saddle, the word most commonly used on "pommel."

Forks, Swells, and Confusion

We mentioned above that on a Western saddle the fork is also sometimes called the swells. While this is true, it can be confusing. That's because while many saddle forks have a swell (defined on this page: What Is A Swell Fork Saddle?) some of them don't.

There are saddles called "slick" fork saddles that don't have any swell to the fork. And, yet, in casual conversation some folks might call the fork the swells, even though on a particular saddle there isn't actually any swell to the fork. Or, if you like, there isn't actually any swell to the swells.

So, A "Swell" Fork Saddle Is...

A swell fork saddle has a fork that is wider somewhere across the fork other than at the bottom where it attaches to the saddle bars.

Below: The blue arrow is pointing to the bottom of the fork where it attaches to the bar on that side. The green arrow is pointing to the widest point of the fork. Since the widest point of the fork on this saddle is somewhere across the fork, and not at the bottom where it attaches to the tree, it is a “swell fork” saddle.

Not All Saddle Swells Are The Same

Even though a large number of Western saddle can correctly be called a swell fork saddle, they're not all the same. Swells come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes.

Below is another swell fork saddle. As you can see, its swells are larger and differently shaped than in the saddle shown above.

Below: The blue arrow is pointing to the bottom of the saddle fork and the green arrow is pointing to the widest point of the fork. This is another swell fork saddle.