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Married to a Louie Lover
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| fulltiltfilly - 2017-05-22 12:01 PM
OhMax - 2017-05-22 12:56 PM FLITASTIC - 2017-05-22 11:18 AM My mare has a back and is built just like your horse. Charmayne James Reinsman fits her beautifully and she is SOOOOOOOOOO happy!!!! Are you happy with the reinsman? I got a brand new Marlene McRae Reinsman last summer and sent it back the next day, awful plastic like leather and the construction felt really really wimpy, could see a couple nails, a ton of leather shrinkage on the sides of the pommel - I realize you can see where the leather is joined here on most, but I could get a quarter into the gap. Was not a $2000 saddle IMO. But then I see a lot of folks who are happy with theirs. Was I just sent a lemon? Ugh.
I tried an older circle y Marlene and it didn't work on him. He has filled out and changed shape a LOT since we tried the reinsman on him last summer, I don't think that tree is going to work anymore. | |
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| OhMax - 2017-05-22 9:56 AM
FLITASTIC - 2017-05-22 11:18 AM
My mare has a back and is built just like your horse. Charmayne James Reinsman fits her beautifully and she is SOOOOOOOOOO happy!!!!
Are you happy with the reinsman? I got a brand new Marlene McRae Reinsman last summer and sent it back the next day, awful plastic like leather and the construction felt really really wimpy, could see a couple nails, a ton of leather shrinkage on the sides of the pommel - I realize you can see where the leather is joined here on most, but I could get a quarter into the gap. Was not a $2000 saddle IMO.
But then I see a lot of folks who are happy with theirs. Was I just sent a lemon? Ugh.
I have had 4 reinsmans in the last year. 2 Team Camarillos and 2 CJ's. THey are all perfect quality, and fit and feel AWESOME. I don't see the problems you guys are describing. THe leather is nice and thick. Yea, they were new and needed to break in a little but nothing like you describe. | |
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Married to a Louie Lover
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| Thanks, I'll see if I can get my hands on one to try. | |
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Location: The best kept secret in TX | OhMax - 2017-05-22 11:54 AM IRunOnFaith - 2017-05-22 11:40 AM OhMax - 2017-05-22 10:53 AM IRunOnFaith - 2017-05-22 10:21 AM Here's the problem when it comes to trees. Each production saddle maker agrees on gullet width and how to measure (CANNOT be measured correctly once tree is wrapped, google lies!) the gullet. However, each production saddle company varies in BAR SPREAD. Forget gullet. Completely.
Try a production made saddle with a 6 3/4" standard gullet with a Full quarter horse bar on this horse. If you find this is too narrow, try a different brand on him with the same measurements. If it is too wide, try a semi quarter horse bar.
It's not rocket science. It's simply finding a brand of saddle that fits your horse through the bars. You can buy a 10 inch gullet and if the bars are still semi it still won't fit your horse....
Think of it like the top of a triangle. If I keep the triangle together at the top (Gullet) and I spread the base out or in I Can control fit on wide or narrow horses (bar spread). If I keepo the sides the same and spread out the top I still have a fit that is either too narrow or too wide for a horse through the bars.
My suggestion for production saddles with wider bar spread would be Courts, Coats, Caldwell, OLDER circle Y's, and handmade saddles. These saddles will have a wider bar spread and will fit a wide backed horse better than anything.
If you don't want to take any of my advice and still think that gullet matters, try an older Crown C with a standard tree.
There's a reason Martin saddlery told you that you needed a different gullet for every horse. It's called marketing. Don't fall victim.
There's a reason why all your rope saddles, Sans Martin, and all your dayworker saddles have two options: 6 3/4 Full QH Bars or 6 3/4 with Semi QH bars. These saddles fit a variety of horses and are used for many years by the people who buy them.  Here is a great read for saddle fitting. Note this is for a cutting saddle but the basics are there. http://www.caldwellsaddle.com/physics.html Easy now. I fully understand all of what you said, did not fall off the saddle fitting tomato truck yesterday and probably pay more attention to how my tack fits than the average Joe. I'm looking for suggestions on what people think I should try as I'm also stumped on this one and do not have time to haul him all over heck and yonder right now to tack shops to try dozens of saddles on him. He's the only horse in our barn that has this much wither, I haven't had to fit a saddle to a horse shaped like him in a while. No where in my original post did I say he has to be a semi QH bar or he takes x" gullet - no where, in fact I listed a variety of these that I had been able to try on him that did not fit. I'm taking suggestions and trying to locate people who have them and will be at the same jackpots or rodeos as I will be. But short of stopping every person who walks by my trailer, I'm looking for suggestions on where to start based on these pictures - if someone tells me to try a full this or wide that because they have a horse built the same that it fits - then heck I'll try and find one! I appreciate your advice and I will see what I can find tonight when I return the circle y I just tried on him. Our Martin trophy rope saddle is what fits him best and if I can break away at lunch I plan to call them and discuss what would be a similar fit in a barrel saddle. I've done the martin Axis tree thing and don't like how the crown c's or the fx3's ride so I won't be going that direction. I will add your suggestions to the list, thank you.
Also was not implying that you had "fallen off the tomato truck" lol
I was simply stating all of that for the ones who may be coming on to your thread and looking for the same advice. Maybe someone who had fallen victim to the gullet widths etc.
Sorry for coming across not so nice. I just see saddle fit post after saddle fit post after saddle fit post and all the suggestions are the same. Just my opinion.
Hugs.  It's okay! I feel the same when I see all the ISO posts on Facebook looking for at least an 8" gullet. I actually got banned from one of the groups for a while because I dared try and explain saddle trees to someone... One day I will lose it on someone and probably get chucked out of all the sale pages for life..
I feel your pain. I just scroll on past. People on BHW are open to learning new things and debating in a mature way. Well, most are lol. But people of Facebook are a whole new breed of "I'm right, you're wrong and I don't have to listen to you even tho I just asked for opinions and advice..."  | |
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Married to a Louie Lover
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tried a friend's older Martha Josey. Fits him AWESOME. had a good run and actually pulled a check. Way too small for me to ever want to ride in again though. Ugh.
It is the 6 3/4" gullet with FQHB. The saddle does not say "made by circle y" just "Martha Josey collection made in USA".
Does anyone know how the tree in that one would compare to the tree in the older joseys that do say Made by Circle y? | |
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