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 Mouhahaha
Posts: 1786
   
Location: British Columbia | So to my understanding as I had it explained to me, with Martin's you buy a larger gullet and shim it until your horse develops its top line and becomes wider. The shims prevent muscle atrophy and lift the front of the saddle to make it sit level and the back of the saddle should then fit perfectly?
I bought a 9.5" gullet. Which seemed HUGE to me, but when the saddle fitter explained it he said my mare was wide for her age and would only get wider and this would be an ideal size for her as a 5 year old. Apparently they only make a 6.5-7.5" gullet for non believers of their system??
Edited by TMEquine 2014-04-03 7:52 AM
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Hungarian Midget Woman
 
Location: Midwest | I think they make those for people afraid to shim or very narrow horses
they make 6.5-11 I believe. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 639
Location: God's country...aka TEXAS | Yes, I had my horse fitted for the Crown C and he needed the 10" gullet w/ extra flat bars b/c his back is wide and flat. I shim w/ 2 shims for now and then hopefully down to one as his muscle fills back in. I love the saddle and I think he does too! |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 503
| You are correct in your understanding :) What I did was called Martin and demo-ed an 8" gullet which worked for my guy. Looking for one now so I can get going and I'm sure he'll be in a larger gullet by the end of the year. |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| I have a 7" gullet that my chiropractor says fits great without shims. I plan to have someone from Martin check it next week at Bonus Race to be sure, but I like the way it fits and the way my horse works in it. |
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Impressive!!
Posts: 1954
Location: Idaho | Your understanding is correct. Here is how I personally think about shim and saddle fitting. My 7" Crown C fits my mare with a 7/8" 5 star pad. I do not need to shim. Now, I put it on my gelding with some muscle atrophy behind his shoulder, he needs shimming, as the saddle is too big and drops forward. I DO NOT believe horses are meant to grow and grow and keep growing. If your horse is well conditioned and over 6 years old, I do not think they can or will grow wider. Of course you want a good fitting saddle to keep your horse comfortable and performing well and you do not want to atrophy their muscles. BUT I believe that you should get the best fitting saddle you can find for your horse, always. I have wider saddles and some of my younger colts are not developed enough for them, so I do shim and thicker pad until they do fill out... |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 602
| Does it matter what you shim with? Ive seen ones you can buy and Ive seen people come up with their own material. |
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Impressive!!
Posts: 1954
Location: Idaho | spitzh - 2014-04-03 2:12 PM Does it matter what you shim with? Ive seen ones you can buy and Ive seen people come up with their own material.
I'd buy them. I bought the CE ones... they are made to tapper in the back, so you aren't raising up anything other then the front of the saddle. They are like $20+ shipping and you get two sizes |
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Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | flyhperformancehorse - 2014-04-03 2:22 PM Your understanding is correct. Here is how I personally think about shim and saddle fitting. My 7" Crown C fits my mare with a 7/8" 5 star pad. I do not need to shim. Now, I put it on my gelding with some muscle atrophy behind his shoulder, he needs shimming, as the saddle is too big and drops forward. I DO NOT believe horses are meant to grow and grow and keep growing. If your horse is well conditioned and over 6 years old, I do not think they can or will grow wider. Of course you want a good fitting saddle to keep your horse comfortable and performing well and you do not want to atrophy their muscles. BUT I believe that you should get the best fitting saddle you can find for your horse, always. I have wider saddles and some of my younger colts are not developed enough for them, so I do shim and thicker pad until they do fill out...
agree, I shim my horse due to atrophy behind his withers. Ideally, I would not need to shim, but right now he is wider through the back than the spot behind his withers.
I should clarify- Not neccessarily "afraid" to shim, but some horses that are narrow built need a narrower gullet and do not need the shims. Poor choice of words on my end.
I have an 8.5" on my horse. It fits well though the back, but needs the shims over the "dips" behind his shoulders. He is a fairly big boy with a wide twist. They actually have filled in a tiny bit since I got the saddle, so hopefully at some point I can ditch the shims. We shall see.... |
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Impressive!!
Posts: 1954
Location: Idaho | barrelracr131 - 2014-04-03 4:36 PM flyhperformancehorse - 2014-04-03 2:22 PM Your understanding is correct. Here is how I personally think about shim and saddle fitting. My 7" Crown C fits my mare with a 7/8" 5 star pad. I do not need to shim. Now, I put it on my gelding with some muscle atrophy behind his shoulder, he needs shimming, as the saddle is too big and drops forward. I DO NOT believe horses are meant to grow and grow and keep growing. If your horse is well conditioned and over 6 years old, I do not think they can or will grow wider. Of course you want a good fitting saddle to keep your horse comfortable and performing well and you do not want to atrophy their muscles. BUT I believe that you should get the best fitting saddle you can find for your horse, always. I have wider saddles and some of my younger colts are not developed enough for them, so I do shim and thicker pad until they do fill out... agree, I shim my horse due to atrophy behind his withers. Ideally, I would not need to shim, but right now he is wider through the back than the spot behind his withers.
I should clarify- Not neccessarily "afraid" to shim, but some horses that are narrow built need a narrower gullet and do not need the shims. Poor choice of words on my end.
I have an 8.5" on my horse. It fits well though the back, but needs the shims over the "dips" behind his shoulders. He is a fairly big boy with a wide twist. They actually have filled in a tiny bit since I got the saddle, so hopefully at some point I can ditch the shims. We shall see....
Right, I agree for sure. I think most horses are wider over their back/ribcage then their shoulder (except my Frenchmans Guys, they are wide the entire way haha) I do think angles of bars has a lot to do with it. Shimming makes a LOT of sense to me. The whole idea of it, not so much. I think people need to realize (not you in particular) that shimming the front of the saddle will help make sure the entire saddle is "level and balanced" and distributing weight evenly. However, if your horse does have dips behind the shoulder or are more narrow, then making sure it fits their backs and then shim the front I think is spot on for the idea. I also do not believe Crown C should be shimmed every time, if it fits your horse from the front to the back, then shimming is not needed. You and I are on the same page  |
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Mouhahaha
Posts: 1786
Location: British Columbia | Thanks everyone for helping me solve my confusion! Glad to know I was on the right track!  |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 764
Location: Stephenville, TX | I had my horse checked by a Martin vendor at the Diamonds and Dirt Classic. She was really knowledgeable regarding shims, pads and saddle fit. My horse is built slightly downhill, has good withers, but hollow behind the shoulder. He is very stout through the loin. My previous Martin was wider since I thought I had to fit the back end, but it was dropping in the front making him sore so I sold it. She had me use a built up pad and went one size smaller gullet and got a good level fit. She told me that the shims wouldn't have helped with my old saddle since the tree didn't fit him in the first place. |
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