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 Own It and Move On
 
Location: The edge of no where | AllAroundRider - 2014-02-08 10:33 PM Saying it's a fad is like saying any saddle is a fad because every single one has their own particular tree that they believe in and use; just like Martin only Martin chooses to have more options than most.
Are Caldwell's a fad as well? They have a vartiety of trees and *gasp* even in wider gullets.
There are many, many pros out there using the saddles and winning lots and lots of money on lots and lots of horses and have been for several years. Pray tell how long does it take a fad to go out? I think this is a trend we will continue to see in the future.
As far as wider gullets in other Martin's, yes they have them. Several NFR steer wrestlers and ropers have the Martin's in different gullets it just seems to have taken off with the barrel racers faster because most are very fanatical on saddle fit and taking care of their horse.
Along these lines.....what other NFR barrel racers other than Sherry and Jean have riden in a Martin? |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
 
| Don't know about NFR but Dena Kirkpatrick also rides in a crown c, or she did last summer
Edited by cheryl makofka 2014-02-09 9:21 AM
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1092
Location: OK | I went to the barn and took my quilts that go on my horse's legs, put both of them on in front just to see what the saddle sat like, and I really did like it. Now obviously quilts would collapse if I got on the saddle, but it was just for measurement. The saddle I have is a little wide for him and it has bars that flare a tiny bit in the back to stay off the hip of a short backed horse. That shimming took all the rock out and made it sit better, so I think I'm gonna shim what I have and go with that awhile.
I HATE to see a saddle with the skirt so stiff it hits a horse in the loins where his hip rises if he has a short back. That's why I could never get into those pads that are leather around the rim. Too stiff and they almost point down in the back instead of up like the horse's back does. That's also the only thing I don't like about Caldwells, there's a lot of skirt in the back which is fine for most, but I've had it rub a horse's hip bone when he turned, and I ride a 14.5 inch seat!
Anyway, I'm still interested in the Martins but lets say I get a 7" gullet. He grows and I buy an 8, he grows and I buy a 9. $10,000 later, I have a saddle I can stick with? I understand if you can keep all those saddles, you would have one to fit any horse that came around, but what if you're poor and have to sell one saddle to buy the next? I wanna try one and buy it used probably.
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | Serious question. Why were they making 6.5 and then 7 as their standard size if that's not going to fit the majority of horses?
My 7 has fit the little cowbreds and my young horses really well. I bought it for my 14.3 racy built DNB gelding. The gelding I'm running now is quite a bit bigger and the saddle falls down in the front and digs in behind his shoulder. But if I use a shimmed Corrector pad, I can fill in behind his shoulders and lift the saddle so that it follows his contours and leaves no pressure points. Standing still. A bigger size would still fall in the front except worse. I've had a horse that stayed sore in the ribs because he needed a saddle with more twist--the wide saddle I was using fit front and back but not middle. How does that not happen when you move to the huge wide gullets? Because my saddle has very little twist and flare. This horse is another one that really needs that. |
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 Star Padded Honey
Posts: 8890
Location: NW MT | jojammer, you can also have the retreed - I can't remember for sure on the cost but it is very reasonable.
And on the NFR girls .... ok, what NFR women run in ANY particular saddle??? Everyone has their own preferences, what works best for them & their horse - in ANY type of tack, be it saddles, pads, bits, etc. Just because a certain one works for one does not mean it's crap cuz it doesn't work for "me". I am just glad that we HAVE these options & varieties to choose from!
Having said that - I am very pleased with the Crown C. I like the way it sits me .... I am not a "sit on my pockets" rider, and this keeps me very balanced. I do not feel like I am thrown forward at all - I feel I can get in any position I need/want to. I am also very happy to have finally found a saddle with a wider, flatter bar that fits my big mare. It has been a major trial through the years with her ... about the time I'd think we were "set", she'd develop more & it would be too tight - or one would be too tight; not fit the shape of her back; etc on her right off the bat. There are alot of other very popular saddles out there that either I hated for myself OR didn't fit her, but that's life - doesn't make them inferior or wrong. I don't think they are a fad - no different than any other brand of quality saddle/tack. And the reason there are many for sale is that they ended up being too small or the horse developed out of that size. Martin's standard Crown C gullet size is the 7".
edited to add to comment on post above: their standard is the 7, not anything smaller and 7 IS bigger than most other standard saddles. If they made them all 8 or 9 or whatever, then what would a person use for a smaller horse?
Edited by Rockyroad 2014-02-09 10:41 AM
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Jojammer, I went with the biggest gullet that would fit my biggest horse. If you speak to Tracy she doesn't believe the majority of horses would be smaller then a 9.
I have a 10 and 11, and I may need to go bigger at the 11 is for 2 of my 5 year olds, I hope they don't fill out.
The reason they still make the smaller gullets is for the people who don't "buy" into their philosophy and are looking for a well made good quality saddle built in the USA, these saddle are it and aren't the most expensive saddle out there.
For customer satisfaction, I do say they are top notch, I bought my 10 without trying it, something was wonky with the tree, I paid to have it shipped back, and they are fixing the saddle. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Three 4 Luck - 2014-02-09 10:33 AM
Serious question. Why were they making 6.5 and then 7 as their standard size if that's not going to fit the majority of horses?
My 7 has fit the little cowbreds and my young horses really well. I bought it for my 14.3 racy built DNB gelding. The gelding I'm running now is quite a bit bigger and the saddle falls down in the front and digs in behind his shoulder. But if I use a shimmed Corrector pad, I can fill in behind his shoulders and lift the saddle so that it follows his contours and leaves no pressure points. Standing still. A bigger size would still fall in the front except worse. I've had a horse that stayed sore in the ribs because he needed a saddle with more twist--the wide saddle I was using fit front and back but not middle. How does that not happen when you move to the huge wide gullets? Because my saddle has very little twist and flare. This horse is another one that really needs that.
I have flat backed horses so I had to go with a flat bar, I have used csi pads, and saddle right pads, with the 2 shims on my 11 inch gullet, I am not having my saddle dip down.
If you need the wider gullet to fit the back but not the wither, one thing you can do is duct tape foam, additional sheepskin on the area that is too wide. A friend of mine has done this with her pozzi and it works great for her |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | I have the Crown C and the Pozzi's and love these saddles. I have been threw different brands that I did not like how they fit me are my horses and these are very well know brands I dont hate them cause they didnt fit just was not my cup of tea so no bashing something that did not work for me. But I really like how the Crown C fits my one gelding and its fits me really nice so thats an added bonus for me but didnt fit my other guy so needed more rock in the tree, so tryed the Pozzi's on him and it fit pretty darn good. So all saddles are not built the same, like I cant wear certain pants cause they fit silly on me, I dont hate them just cant wear them, but they always look nice on someone else, just like some of the saddles that didnt fit right, I still like them but just not for me.  |
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 Expert
Posts: 1367
Location: mi | /Streakin/ - 2014-02-08 10:41 PM I think it's a fad. I spent 3200 on mine and HATED it. Hated. HAAAATED. Lol. Threw me forward on 3 different horses. Sold that thing quicker than Obummer lies.
Wow that's fast! |
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Veteran
Posts: 171
| I tried an older sherry Cervi saddle, and I loved the way it fit me, but it did not fit my horse. It was 6 1/2 gullet.
I have had my horse fitted, was told he needs and 8.5" gullet. My concerns with a wider gullet is will it hurt my hips? What is your experinence with wider gullets? |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| canchaserdelux - 2014-02-16 1:25 PM
I tried an older sherry Cervi saddle, and I loved the way it fit me, but it did not fit my horse. It was 6 1/2 gullet.
I have had my horse fitted, was told he needs and 8.5" gullet. My concerns with a wider gullet is will it hurt my hips? What is your experinence with wider gullets?
Depends on if you have hip problems |
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Expert
Posts: 3147
| cheryl makofka - 2014-02-16 1:38 PM
canchaserdelux - 2014-02-16 1:25 PM
I tried an older sherry Cervi saddle, and I loved the way it fit me, but it did not fit my horse. It was 6 1/2 gullet.
I have had my horse fitted, was told he needs and 8.5" gullet. My concerns with a wider gullet is will it hurt my hips? What is your experinence with wider gullets?
Depends on if you have hip problems
I ride an 8.5 inch Crown C and have minor hip pain if I do a lot of walking/carrying. The wider fit felt different when i first started riding the saddle, but caused no hip pain. I had been having a lot of back pain while riding other saddles (even bought a back brace) but the Crown C solved my back problems. |
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 Regular
Posts: 78
| Good to hear! I get my 91/2 Crown C flat bars next month! I have trouble with my back and hip riding so hopefully this will help me too!  |
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boon
Posts: 3
| Actually, you're right; I think I needed flatter bars the entire time. Possibly. And I used soft shims. I think I would have needed big thick dense felt shims instead of sheepskin or foam or whatever I was using. I wish it was easier with saddle makers to discover how flat or rocked the bars are for us customers who need to know..... |
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boon
Posts: 3
| I thought that a lot of rock would be good for big shoulders, too, but be very careful, because then I wound up with a saddle that made most contact right in the middle and rocked up and down, destroying his mid-back and creating white hairs in front from the up and down motion. Terrible. |
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Regular
Posts: 78
| Well I received my 91/2 flat bars Crown C and I love it! So does my horse! The old saddle I was using was starting to cause problems with my horse acting up and bad attitude but now she is mellowing out! She seems to be lengthening out her stride and is more relaxed. I was also worried about that wide of a saddle hurting my hips because I have quite short legs but the seat feels wonderful. It doesn't feel like I have to break it in at all. Well that's my two cents! |
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Member
Posts: 7
| As you can see, the Crown C's vary by owner and horse type. I myself custom ordered a 7" gullet and it fits both of my horses great. I may get a 7.5" gullet, as I need a 2nd one, because my cow horse bred mare could probably go up a little, but it's HARD to find a 7" and a 7.5" because everyone keeps them. I bought an 8" and it was WAY too big on both of them. I know shimming is "the thing" and I love Sherri but my personal opinion is that the right fit saddle will fit RIGHT, you shouldn't need to shim it. When I ordered my saddle I talked to many people at Martin and they said that approximately 90% of the saddles they make are the standard 7" gullet (it was 6.5" until 2012 when they changed it to 7"). As far as being thrown forward, I was told that if you have a seat that is too small, even 1/2", it will pitch you forward. I found that to be true when I rode in the 14.5" but have owned two 15" now and I don't have a problem at all.
It sounds like these saddles aren't for everyone, but they fit both of my horses like a "custom" saddle, so if you can find the right size gullet for your horse AND the right size seat for you, I think you will enjoy these saddles more than any others you have had :). |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 742
| I have several friends that have Crown C's and they look very nice but I do not like how they ride behind the shoulders and having to shim a saddle does not make sense to me. It either fits when you order or it doesn't especially if you custom order it. I have two horses that I tried the CC on and one is more TB type and the other is all cow type and the 8.5 and the 9 were sitting way too low in the gullet area. I rode both with these different sizes and did not like the ride. I really like how my Caldwell rocket tree rides and Sharon Caldwell had a wealth of info about different trees and saddle fit in general. I know that the rider should sit in the same spot in the saddle that you would bareback. I have owned and ridden a lot of saddles in the past that put you no where near that spot and did not sit balanced at all. To each her own.  |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 742
| montanacowgirl - 2015-02-17 1:58 PM As you can see, the Crown C's vary by owner and horse type. I myself custom ordered a 7" gullet and it fits both of my horses great. I may get a 7.5" gullet, as I need a 2nd one, because my cow horse bred mare could probably go up a little, but it's HARD to find a 7" and a 7.5" because everyone keeps them. I bought an 8" and it was WAY too big on both of them. I know shimming is "the thing" and I love Sherri but my personal opinion is that the right fit saddle will fit RIGHT, you shouldn't need to shim it. When I ordered my saddle I talked to many people at Martin and they said that approximately 90% of the saddles they make are the standard 7" gullet (it was 6.5" until 2012 when they changed it to 7"). As far as being thrown forward, I was told that if you have a seat that is too small, even 1/2", it will pitch you forward. I found that to be true when I rode in the 14.5" but have owned two 15" now and I don't have a problem at all. It sounds like these saddles aren't for everyone, but they fit both of my horses like a "custom" saddle, so if you can find the right size gullet for your horse AND the right size seat for you, I think you will enjoy these saddles more than any others you have had :).
This is my thought too. |
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