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 Born not Made
Posts: 2937
   
Location: North Dakota | I also got trees from Triple Creek. I've never seen a bare tree on a horse before so that was kind of neat.
First I tried the REGULAR quarter horse tree. I can see right away that that is too narrow.
Then I tried the FULL quarter horse tree. It looked pretty decent on his shoulders. However, I am concerned because the saddle seems to be "bridging" across his back. I could easily fit my hand underneath the center of the tree.
Thoughts???
(He's really not as fat as this^^ picture makes him look. )
So far I think I have struck out on every saddle.  There's just been something not quite right with each one.
I'm still waiting for my Lisa Lockhart Flex2 Wide saddle to arrive. And I've got my fingers crossed.
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 902
Location: Qld Australia | So far I think your vet's saddle looks best.
I agree, the triple creek is not going to suit, the bridging was the first thing I noticed on both trees.
Please continue to post everything, this is an awesome journey to share with you. There are so many posts about saddle fit without photos, this has been great to look at. (Not fun for you though.)
I do agree with others that he needs to be fitter because his shape will change especially through the back. Without having a saddle to fit makes it harder to do this though.
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 Veteran
Posts: 224
Location: Southern OK aka God's Country | I posted this EXACT same issue a couple weeks ago and most of these girls told me the same thing with my 8" Crown C--too big. Some of the suggestions I got were Meleta, the Lisa Lockhart Circle Y wide tree, Lynn McKenzie Double J wide tree, and I'm blanking on the other. . .Anyway, I actually like the way the BP Double J looks on him. My mare is not as "beefy" as yours is, but my gelding is built almost just like him. Ideally, I would love to find a saddle that fits both. Meleta gave me the name of a lady near me that has her saddles, so I plan on seeing if I can try one of hers when I get my Crown C sold (ironically it fits my skinny, Thoroughbred looking 3 year old colt the best lol). |
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  More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
 
Location: Riding Crackhead. | I'd say no to both the Triple Creeks and the Double J is too wide in front? So you would have to shim it or go for a little smaller gullet. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 365
| I love my Flex2! Most comfortable saddle I've rode in. And it fits great, my horse is wide and short backed. Well you've seen pictures of him. One suggestion I want to make and you can take it or leave it. I'd look for a round skirted saddle since he has a short back so it doesn't effect his hips. |
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 Cinnamon Honey One
Posts: 6549
Location: between here and there | Being too tight on the shoulders equates to hobbling their front legs. And yes, the full bar tree is bridging & you called it correctly. Now, that said, your horse needs to be in better shape, not for the weight as much as he needs to be using his stomach muscles more to lift his back. I would guess you've had other saddles on him that were bridging and were too tight in the shoulders. Do you see where this is going with his conditioning?? If you get him into shape, his shape will change and you may have to start over with fitting. Hope this makes sense! Fitting is no different than anything else we do with our horses. Bits, shoes, pads all need to be checked and changed when necessary. Saddles are the same, just initially more expensive. |
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Location: Beneath the Cypress trees | Have you considered trying a roping, ranch, or wade saddle instead of a barrel saddle? The only reason that I ask is because I went through a ton of saddles with my horse (both English and barrel racing), but nothing fit him. Years ago I took a wade saddle on trial and it fit him nicely. I couldn't afford it at the time so I passed on it and my search continued.
My current saddle is a perfect fit. It is an older ranch/roping saddle. It is heavy, it is plain, the seat is hard, and someone over oiled it at some point in its life, but I would not trade that thing for a Cadillac, it took waaay too long to find. I thought for sure that the weight would be an issue but he runs much more freely in the well fitted 50ib. saddle than in an almost fitting saddle half that weight.
Your boy is round and compact, much like mine. You may have better luck with a different type of saddle, as the trees are made with different body types in mind. |
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Fire Ant Peddler
Posts: 2881
| I think that you need to get Fatboy in shape before you try to fi a saddle. I just took my really broad backed mare up to Joseys and the Ultimate with the Semi Quarter horse bars fit like a glove. That is what I ordered. |
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Grammar Expert
| Lucky86 - 2014-03-19 6:43 PM I love my Flex2! Most comfortable saddle I've rode in. And it fits great, my horse is wide and short backed. Well you've seen pictures of him. One suggestion I want to make and you can take it or leave it. I'd look for a round skirted saddle since he has a short back so it doesn't effect his hips.
Can you post your flex saddle??? Would love to see. |
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 Firecracker Dog Lover
Posts: 3175
| No matter what you end up with I'd like to see pictures of the saddle not on the horse's shoulder. Move it back a bit so the bars of the tree are not sitting right on top of his shoulders. That should help. Good luck with whatever you end up getting!! |
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 Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | Whatever you find to fit him now in the condition that he's in isn't likely to fit him once he's actually in shape and free of winter hair. |
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Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | First of all, I greatly appreciate everyone's input.
I understand and realize that when he is in better shape that a saddle will fit him better. But I still think I can find something BETTER than my current Circle Y in order to even get him in shape in the first place.
I understand that asking him to stay collected when I ride him will help develop his back muscles better. But I just don't believe that he would build THAT much back muscle to fill in the bridging you see with the Triple Creek tree. ???
Many of you have suggested a Meleta, and I see that WimpyB has joined us in the converstation!!  I was going to wait and see how the Lisa Lockhart fits him (supposed to arrive tomorrow) before decided if I need to try yet another saddle on him. I understand about the muscling, and honest to God I'm probably not the BEST person for asking my horses to collect up all the time. I've gotten almost a solid 2 weeks of riding on him but most of it has been straight lines because it's muddy and slippery. I really like to do circle work with him, but I've been avoiding that for the most part until I can get his stifle injected (which we did yesterday!!). I hope as the ground dries up, and he gets to feeling good, that I can get him into better shape.
And if a saddle looks good now, but not so much when he is in shape, well so be it. Saddle fit is constantly changing. Ideally, it would be great to find something that fits him when he's out-of-shape (for winter riding) and when he is in shape (for summer riding) would be a dream, but probably not going to happen.
Are all the Meleta Brown trees the same? Does anyone has a specific suggestiong on a certain tree for that saddle?
HoneyMoney: Please don't call him "Fatboy". Maybe I'm just having a bad morning, but name calling on my horse is rubbing me the wrong way today.
Brlraceaddict: Am I placing all the saddles too far forward? Or have their just been specific ones?
rachellyn80: Well he's got winter hair at least 5 months out of the year. NOt sure of the idea of having two saddles for him: One for winter hair and one for no winter hair. ??
Edited by r_beau 2014-03-20 2:19 PM
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 Veteran
Posts: 209
| Your gelding looks a lot similar to my mare and I've been having the same issues with saddle fit! I tried on a friends calf roping saddle and it fit her like a glove and it was on the Howard Council Tree, I know someone who is getting a barrel saddle built up on that tree by Oxbow Saddlery. I am looking into that tree as well as Tod Slone, they make 3 different trees and can tweak a tree if needed. Might be worth checking out. Best of luck! Saddle fitting is a nightmare. |
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Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | Okay! Got my Lisa Lockhart Flex2 Wide saddle.
I am not 100% satisfied with the fit. But it's not bad. I noticed right away when I took it out of the box that the part of the saddle by the conchos in front really flared out wide. Not sure how I feel about that?
I feel like it is just a teensy bit wide for him, but I think better than anything I have found thus far. I'd be concerned if I tried the Flex2 Regular, that it would be too small.
What do you guys think? I just set it on his back and did not cinch it down (my trailer is in the shop ... and all my cinches!).
Again, I really appreciate all the help.
***Now his "withers" look high in these pictures but it's just his mane. I tried to throw it over to the other side so it was out of the way. Looking at the pictures, it see that the shadows make his hair look like withers. So look closely!****
Edited by r_beau 2014-03-22 10:15 AM
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| It's all on feel, you need to feel underneath the saddle for even pressure and no tight spots. |
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Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | cheryl makofka - 2014-03-22 10:21 AM It's all on feel, you need to feel underneath the saddle for even pressure and no tight spots.
Yup! I did run my hand under it and it seemed to feel pretty even to me. I couldn't feel any spots that seemed to be digging in.
I still like running things by the knowledgeable people on BHW.
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Expert
Posts: 1815
| I think I would make sure it is making contact where the pommel meets skirt..........looks like it is setting pretty far down. I used to use a wide tree Pro Rider and it fit pretty well, but set down like that. Have since put the reg Pro Rider on and it fits great. Just a thought........the reg tree may fit better, but I agree ~ looks better than all the others have |
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| The debra sibley saddles some people dont like the quality but they fit and i an sorry i sold mine, as it was light and it fit every thing i put it on, its just something you could not rife in every day. Theymare nice sadddles and they fit a lot of different horses. The stirrups you can move around and make then fit you. You need to try one.
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 The Bling Princess
Posts: 3411
Location: North Dakota | I think the Lisa fits the best out of all of them. The Lockhart saddle is made for a close contact feel, so as long as the pommel isn't crushing his wither and you've got about 2 fingers distance in there you should be fine. By the time you get a pad on that I think its going to be perfect for him. My horse and your horse are so similarly built its scarey!LOL The lisa fit Flash Em the best out of everything, its just I HATED riding in it.
My suggestion would be to pad him up and ride. Get a good sweat on him and go from there. No saddle is ever going to fit perfect. |
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Expert
Posts: 1815
| The Lockhart has plenty of wither clearance, what I meant by sitting too low, was I don't like where the pommel is sitting pretty far down and right behind the round part of the shoulder.......but previous poster had a great point, the lift of a saddle pad might make it perfect |
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