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 Experienced Mouse Trapper
Posts: 3106
  
Location: North Dakota | ok-so, I would highly recommend the next bigger barrel race you have in your area, take your horse and walk around with a sign that says please help me fit this horse....if you find one that fits take a tape measure and measure as many area's as possible, that way you know what to look for even if you can't afford the saddle that fits the best! For example, for your horse I would look at an older sharon camarillo #38 tree-they are mid ninety's at the newest(unless they were special ordered)-look cool vintage but they serve a purpose, I have one-it's great and was CHEAP! |
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 Own It and Move On
Location: The edge of no where | ~BINGO~ - 2015-09-10 2:18 PM Barrelracingroper12 - 2015-09-10 9:37 AM rule of thumb i was taught in school was if the dry spots were bigger than your fist, it was fine. also, most people use to thick of a pad, i dont like more more the 7/8" if that. I use a CSI on both my horses, I know how frustrating it is, look into a full QH Bar with maybe a 6 &1/2 or 6 & 3/4 gullet. My saddle of prefrence is the Jeremy Bethune Pro rider i personally havent had good luck with a billy cook being a very versitlie fit This saddle is a 7" gullet. And I know the "art" of sizing is different for each saddle, but wouldn't a smaller gullet pinch more-so? What do you guys think of triple creek saddles?
DO NOT get stuck on gullet size..... What is critical is the angle of the bars. No one needs a big ole' gullet.
Can you go to some of the larger races in your area and try saddles on him?
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 Serious Snap Trapper
Posts: 4275
Location: In The Snow, AZ | Unfortunately, we don't have any races. There's one final gymkhana this weekend. And aside from that, flagstaff barrel season is done. We don't ever have jackpots or series going on. So if we want to hit them, we have to go to
Phoenix. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I believe your problem is the horse has some muscle atrophy in the wither area, this is why you are having difficulty finding a saddle.
You really can't determine if a saddle fits well unless you feel underneath it. If there is even pressure underneath then it fits.
Don't go by full quarter horse or semi quarter horse bars, as this is bull crap, all saddle makers build their saddles differently, ones semi will be another full.
If you like the billy cooks, sulphur Oklahoma are my favorite. I would try to find a 2030-2031 style these have the Lynn Mackenzie tree in them, my guess is the gullet may be a tad too wide, but the horse will fill into it with time.
I ride my colts in this saddle, and I use a csi pad. CSI distributes the pressure evenly throughout the flex plate so there shouldn't be any pressure points.
The csi pad also has enough support that a saddle that is slightly too wide will not dip down and pinch the wither.
The other option you will have is to shim the front.
If you have any other questions feel free to message me |
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Serious Snap Trapper
Posts: 4275
Location: In The Snow, AZ | Thank you very much. That is helpful. Especially when it comes to trees. They vary so much and that's why I'm so skeptical about ordering any more. I've never realized how atrophied her muscles were. And it would make sense because I've always used narrower saddles on her. But I can see how a wider flare would benefit her. I'm not stuck on Billy Cook by any means. So any recommendations are welcome. I got lucky that they offered free returns for September. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| ~BINGO~ - 2015-09-11 10:35 AM
Thank you very much. That is helpful. Especially when it comes to trees. They vary so much and that's why I'm so skeptical about ordering any more. I've never realized how atrophied her muscles were. And it would make sense because I've always used narrower saddles on her. But I can see how a wider flare would benefit her. I'm not stuck on Billy Cook by any means. So any recommendations are welcome. I got lucky that they offered free returns for September.
It would be more helpful if you could take a side view picture and a picture of her back from behind her, this can give people an idea of her shape and give you suggestions.
If you can also put your price range just so people aren't wasting your time by suggesting something that is above it. |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | My horse is built similar to yours and I ride him in a Tod Slone and while it doesn't fit perfect, I think it fits about as good as any saddle is going to fit, I had tried a wider Double J, Marlene McRae Special Effx, Ammerman, Cactus, and in the end, the TS barrel/roper combo fits the best. You might send some pics to Tod and he can recommend the best tree for your horse--I don't even know what mine is. =/
Those tall withers and slight atrophy are tricky to fit because you almost need something narrower in the gullet--but the correct angle as to not restrict the shoulder blade as it rolls back. That's my experiemce as least.
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | ~BINGO~ - 2015-09-10 5:41 PM Unfortunately, we don't have any races. There's one final gymkhana this weekend. And aside from that, flagstaff barrel season is done. We don't ever have jackpots or series going on. So if we want to hit them, we have to go to Phoenix.
Talk to Meleta. She knows her stuff and is really awesome. Her saddles are very well designed and one of them might be just what you're looking for. |
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 Cinnamon Honey One
Posts: 6549
Location: between here and there | I'm only going to reply on your photos you posted at the beginning on what I see. From a distance and the first ones in particular with no pad, the saddle looks low over the withers. You should be able to get a minimum of 2 fingers (stacked one on top of the other).
The other place of concern would be the way the back sides "tent" over the spine. Meaning, I see no contact on the backside with the tree underneath. That would mean more pressure in the frontend of the saddle.
Adding pad of any kind will change the fit so altho the padded saddle overall doesn't look that bad from the pictures, you must check without a pad when checking fit. Lay it on the back without a pad, not cinched and with the flat of your hand start up high at about the top front concho and slide your hand the length of the bars - all the way to the backend of the saddle. You should feel fairly even contact. There should not be any overly tight areas or any places where there is very little to no contact. When there is no contact in the center of the bars (right under where your thigh lays) that is what bridging is. NO contact what-so-ever. That would mean your saddle is in contact only on the 4 corners of your saddle, which obviously would make your horse very uncomfortable.
If it is too tight over the withers, you can actually chip away cartilage on the top of the wither. When you turn your horse, right or left, it will raise the wither another 1" at least. That said, one that doesn't have the 2 finger clearance is really asking for trouble.
On the shoulders, if the saddle is too tight for the shoulder to slide under the frontend at a minimum of 3" back and on some horses upto 6" back, his shoulder will run into the tree and he will be sore quickly. It also contributes to a very stiff trot and less extension of the front legs which will slow you down.
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