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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 433
 
Location: The Lone Star State | I am buying a new saddle, the one I currently ride is an 8" wide thinking about a second saddle and getting 7" wide because I don't want to shim and I have large dry spots on my high withered colt. I was riding with a friend her saddle is standard 6 3/4 and no dry spots on her horse. I have heard all the Martin rhetoric about the dry spots but I'm not convinced I am selling an 8.5 wide crown c now because I don't like the way I feel in it anymore even with double shims. Was curious what the majority of people ride whether it's a Martin or not. Thanks |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
 
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | The same horse I rode in an 8" Martin, I ride in a 6.5" Shiloh. With a thicker pad. Both saddles fit well. I sold the Martin because I needed a bigger seat on her, with the way she moves. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1857
 
| I think you should be more concerned with the angle of the bars and less with the width of the gullet. To many focus on the gullet size and think it will solve their saddle fit, when the angle of the bars is more than half the problem. If the angle isn't right it won't matter the width of the gullet, wider will only move the pressure points down the horses sides, narrow will only move it up.
I would suggest in finding a brand you like, and then calling them and finding out what tree you need. Steep or flat bars, wide or narrow gullet, etc.
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 Own It and Move On
Location: The edge of no where | FlyingJT - 2016-04-01 9:26 AM I think you should be more concerned with the angle of the bars and less with the width of the gullet. To many focus on the gullet size and think it will solve their saddle fit, when the angle of the bars is more than half the problem. If the angle isn't right it won't matter the width of the gullet, wider will only move the pressure points down the horses sides, narrow will only move it up. I would suggest in finding a brand you like, and then calling them and finding out what tree you need. Steep or flat bars, wide or narrow gullet, etc.
^^ This! Most gullets are going to be 6-3/4" or so. You can fit a saddle with this size gullet on a wide horse. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 520
| 6.5" Cactus. My horse is 14.3 1200 lb tank. |
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Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | 8.5" crown C, but keep in mind those are the bare trees measured, so they don't measure this finished.
He also fits in 7" gullet saddles and other "wide tree" saddles in other brands. My gelding is 16 hh and about 1300-1350 lb. |
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  Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | I have found that gullet really has so little to do with saddle fit. I use a Meleta Brown and something about the unique shape of her tree fits what I am riding right now. They vary from a 2 yr old that is built like your average 2 yr old to my 16.3 hand show horse that isn't a bit TB'y and a 15.3 stud that is very stout and thick backed. It's all in the flare of the bars and the dip the tree has (rock I think they call it). |
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | Gullet really has nothing to do with it. Bar spead and width and shape of the bars has everything to do with saddle fit. For example if a Quarter Horse bar spread is too narrow, making the top of the saddle wider still wouldn't fit the horse correctly... BUT If you keep the gullet the standard 6 3/4 and change the bar spread to a FULL Quarter Horse Bar, you can fit wider horses while keeping the same 6 3/4 gullet.
We fit horses all day every day at work and 90% of the horses out there are a 6 3/4 Quarter Horse Bar. Only about 10% of the horses out there need a full quarter horse bar.  |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | There's a heck of a lot more to saddle fit than gullet width. My meleta had a u7" gullet and my martin has an 8". Both fit my gelding. |
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Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | IRunOnFaith - 2016-04-01 4:43 PM Gullet really has nothing to do with it. Bar spead and width and shape of the bars has everything to do with saddle fit. For example if a Quarter Horse bar spread is too narrow, making the top of the saddle wider still wouldn't fit the horse correctly... BUT If you keep the gullet the standard 6 3/4 and change the bar spread to a FULL Quarter Horse Bar, you can fit wider horses while keeping the same 6 3/4 gullet.
We fit horses all day every day at work and 90% of the horses out there are a 6 3/4 Quarter Horse Bar. Only about 10% of the horses out there need a full quarter horse bar.
This |
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