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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 331
 
Location: Loma Linda, CA | Well, I had my horse fitted yesterday to see if my saddle fits my mare and nope. Her high withers and my saddle don't mix and she is an exceptionally round mare.
What saddle makers out there will custom fit or make a saddle for your horse?
I'm gonna have to do a lot of saving up because it seems that custom saddles start at 3k or more >.<
I have no idea what I'm going to do till I can get her a good saddle. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 575
| He's about 4 hours away from you, BUT if you're ever up near Paso Robles I would look up Tom Block of TBE Cowboy Supply. I have one of his cutting saddles, and the only reason I don't have a barrel racer from him yet is because the money tree out back isn't blooming. He makes great quality saddles, and is always very helpful with any questions about customizing the tree, fit, etc. |
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 Big Gun
Posts: 2216
Location: Texas | Double j and Martin |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 690
Location: Georgia | Id love top have a double J rep tell me what tree fits my horses best but Ive never seen one at a southeast event. They need to come to GA more! |
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 Tried and True
Posts: 21185
 
Location: Where I am happiest | Caldwell and Burns saddlery. Both do a complete custom fit. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 331
Location: Loma Linda, CA | Thanks everyone for all the replies :D |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| To truly customize the saddle to fit, I honestly believe Martin is the only one.
Double j only has a limited amount of trees, the regular, wide, #10' 11.
Caldwell only has approx 4-6
Martin has every gullet, as well as a regular rock and a flat bar therefore their stock is doubled.
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 602
| Triple Creek will send you 3 or 4 different trees to try. I think its $40 for the kit. Their basic models start at $950, mid grade is about $1,200, and their high end saddles are $2K. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 883
Location: Southern Indiana | cheryl makofka - 2016-03-09 2:48 PM
To truly customize the saddle to fit, I honestly believe Martin is the only one.
Double j only has a limited amount of trees, the regular, wide, #10' 11.
Caldwell only has approx 4-6
Martin has every gullet, as well as a regular rock and a flat bar therefore their stock is doubled.
Actually double j has way more than that.
There's the duke, pro elite, #10 w/ 35* bars, extra wide, flex, Lynn Mckenzie has at least 3 or 4 trees with them (special, nueva, and wide), pozzi, and the pro |
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 Own It and Move On
Location: The edge of no where | Phxbarrel - 2016-03-09 10:29 AM Well, I had my horse fitted yesterday to see if my saddle fits my mare and nope. Her high withers and my saddle don't mix and she is an exceptionally round mare. What saddle makers out there will custom fit or make a saddle for your horse? I'm gonna have to do a lot of saving up because it seems that custom saddles start at 3k or more >.< I have no idea what I'm going to do till I can get her a good saddle.
What type of saddle did the fitter recommend for your horse? What are you currently riding your mare in? There's most likely something out there that will work on your mare.
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 331
Location: Loma Linda, CA | MS2011 - 2016-03-09 3:57 PM
Phxbarrel - 2016-03-09 10:29 AM Well, I had my horse fitted yesterday to see if my saddle fits my mare and nope. Her high withers and my saddle don't mix and she is an exceptionally round mare. What saddle makers out there will custom fit or make a saddle for your horse? I'm gonna have to do a lot of saving up because it seems that custom saddles start at 3k or more >.< I have no idea what I'm going to do till I can get her a good saddle.
What type of saddle did the fitter recommend for your horse? What are you currently riding your mare in? There's most likely something out there that will work on your mare.
I need a higher gullet.
I am currently riding a Bar-H Equine. I got it for my last horse. I'll admit I wasn't quite sure how to fit a saddle before. I've never had issues before.
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| Phxbarrel - 2016-03-09 8:29 AM
Well, I had my horse fitted yesterday to see if my saddle fits my mare and nope. Her high withers and my saddle don't mix and she is an exceptionally round mare.
What saddle makers out there will custom fit or make a saddle for your horse?
I'm gonna have to do a lot of saving up because it seems that custom saddles start at 3k or more >.<
I have no idea what I'm going to do till I can get her a good saddle.
Personally I've had Larry coats fit a horse for me just by sending in pics of his back. He's excellent at it. Fit the horse perfect. I also like saddleright pads I think they work really well.
Edited by luckygirl04 2016-03-09 10:02 PM
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 851
Location: West Texas | Most custom saddle makers can fit a horse for you. What you are talking about requires taking the horse to the saddle maker. He can make a mold of your horses back and order the tree to be made to those specifications. Then he should fit the finished tree on the back and make notes to make the saddle. This will ensure a saddle fit that is perfect. However, the saddle may not fit other horses due to its tailored nature.
If you just need a different tree than what you have, I still recommend taking your horse to a saddle maker and having them look at him and possible try a few different trees. If he has a fairly common back, a stock tree might fit really well. This is a more versatile scenario. |
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Veteran
Posts: 160
| spitzh - 2016-03-09 2:50 PM
Triple Creek will send you 3 or 4 different trees to try. I think its $40 for the kit. Their basic models start at $950, mid grade is about $1,200, and their high end saddles are $2K.
I second this 100%. I just got my custom TC about two months ago and I'm so in love. Highest quality for the price range and such great customer service! Please try them! |
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 Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | horseshorseshorses - 2016-03-10 9:17 AM
spitzh - 2016-03-09 2:50 PM
Triple Creek will send you 3 or 4 different trees to try. I think its $40 for the kit. Their basic models start at $950, mid grade is about $1,200, and their high end saddles are $2K.
I second this 100%. I just got my custom TC about two months ago and I'm so in love. Highest quality for the price range and such great customer service! Please try them!
Their customer service has gone down hill. I have a 2009 model and have tried to order a second saddle at least 3 other times. I will not support them any longer due to their service. |
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Own It and Move On
Location: The edge of no where | Phxbarrel - 2016-03-09 6:57 PM MS2011 - 2016-03-09 3:57 PM Phxbarrel - 2016-03-09 10:29 AM Well, I had my horse fitted yesterday to see if my saddle fits my mare and nope. Her high withers and my saddle don't mix and she is an exceptionally round mare. What saddle makers out there will custom fit or make a saddle for your horse? I'm gonna have to do a lot of saving up because it seems that custom saddles start at 3k or more >.< I have no idea what I'm going to do till I can get her a good saddle. What type of saddle did the fitter recommend for your horse? What are you currently riding your mare in? There's most likely something out there that will work on your mare.
I need a higher gullet. I am currently riding a Bar-H Equine. I got it for my last horse. I'll admit I wasn't quite sure how to fit a saddle before. I've never had issues before.
Ok - just a couple of things to note here. Saddle fit is a funny thing - there's no university to go to, no tests to pass. Several of the larger saddle companies will educate their reps to fit saddles to the philosophy that the company uses. Just because someone tells you they can fit a saddle - doesn't mean they're correct in the way that they do it. (I learned a tough lesson after listening to 'professional' advise that my gut told me was wrong.) Needing a higher gullet is a new term to me - is your saddle sitting down on top of her withers? What type of saddle did they reccomend that you try? Have you tried other saddle makes on her? Sometimes if you can't get to a saddle maker - you can try various saddles on her until you hit upon something that works for you both. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 702
Location: MN | Another thing to consider...your horse's shape and build are continually changing. Weight loss, weight gain, conditioning and age all play a factor in how a saddle fits. A "custom" fit may work for right now but she will fluctuate...even in just one season. Also, don't forget that padding plays a huge role also. Best of luck!
Edited by Neros Winning Chick 2016-03-10 1:33 PM
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 I hate cooking and cleaning
Posts: 3314
Location: Jersey Girl | Ammerman |
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 Zeal Queen
Posts: 3826
Location: TEXAS | You can text pictures to Larry Coats of your horses back and he's so good he can build a saddle from that! |
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Veteran
Posts: 268
| When custom fitting saddles, it is all about the TREE... My husband makes saddles (has only made me one...always busy building or fixing for other people...)and has these cards which are coded for measurements for a tree maker....There is gullet width, bar spread, rock of the tree and a couple other things he does....which determine the shape of a tree for a particular build of a horse. That being said, horses bodies do change as a previous poster said. Most tree makers have the experience that they can make a tree with these measurements and have sort of a "common" fit for a particular "type" of build...that why the big saddle companies have a few different tree styles. Custom trees you just don't "buy off the shelf". A reputable tree maker generally will have a waiting list and then add about six weeks once yours is started. The big saddle makers have manufactured trees from a tree company unless they have a assembly line tree factory of there own. Most of us can't afford to do this with every horse we have so we find the best fit we can with the saddles we can afford. I do have a Coats saddle and I am very happy with it. Larry has YEARS of experience and has an awesome eye for what fits. Good Luck. Sometimes you can also pad an ill fitting saddle to get a better fit.....May require more or less padding than you currently use. Just remember you are looking for tree contact on the horse which is comfortable with no bridging which causes pressure points. |
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