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 Georgia Peach
Posts: 8338
    
Location: Georgia |
I looked back and read the few threads on this subject but my question is slightly different. My coming 3 year old has virtually no withers. With about 10 rides on her, it is easy to see that having no withers plus being downhill currently makes saddle fitting her a nightmare. I dont want to start out her riding experience with a ill fitting saddle. I am currently riding her in my Lynn Mckenzie, which isnt terrible but I think its just too wide. It rolls forward pretty bad just during a normal roundpen routine. I have never dealt with mutton withers so I honestly dont know how to approach saddle shopping. Any input? |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 682
Location: Northwest | I have this same problem with my four year old. Following! |
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 Expert
Posts: 1552
Location: Texas | Look for a saddle with wider set BARS not neccessarily GULLET. The Bars and the twist of the bars is the answer. If your saddle is moving forward (depending on if you set it on the shoulders or behind the Scapula) it is probably too narrow not too wide. I suggest Cactus CJ saddle, Pozzi WIDE tree from Double J. Flatter, wider bars . |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 883
Location: Southern Indiana | First off a saddle can't roll forward...it would slide. This is due to a horse not having shoulders that are not fully developed or are narrower than the loin and hip. I had the same issue on my mare when she was young and as she got older it doesn't happen as bad. As long as the saddle isn't making her sore or makes you feel unsafe then I would just try a thicker 1" pad until she grows and develops more. You aren't going to find many saddles much narrower than a standard Lynn. If you want to try another brand I would look for something with a 6.5" gullet with flatter bars...trees without a lot of rock to them. |
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| My turning 4 year old is mutton withered but only because she broke off 2 inches of her withers when she fell. So it has been difficult to fit her. I've tried several saddles. I'll list them all below. My mare also has wide shoulders so yes gullet does matter because of the width. A flatter bar will help as well.
So far I have tried a:
Circle Y Treeless (HORRIBLE ROLL)
Triple Creek 7inch gullet FQHB
Coats - not sure of gullet width but the girl I bought it from has a wide horse and she said it should fit mine. (wouldn't even go down on her.)
Cactus Flex tree 7 inch gullet & 8 inch gullet FQHB (still rolls)
Double J #10 tree wide fit 40 degree bars. (Wouldn't sit down on her, you could stick two arms on top of eachother down the middle.)
So my next try is Martin Crown C 10 inch gullet.
I also use a 5 star mutton withered pad 1/2 thick. Which helps a lot. A thicker pad will only make it worse.
My suggestion is take her to get fitted for a tree or have one built. Dont be like me spending thousands trying saddles that won't fit. A saddle might always roll on her but at least you'll have one fitted to her as best you can.
Hope this helps.
Edited by GrahamKayleigh 2017-01-12 1:16 PM
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 899
Location: Idaho | I would look into getting a wider gullet/wider bar saddle. A few of those are the Cactus Charmayne James record Breaker, the older courts Sharon Camarillo and Master's are wide too.. but I absolutely HATE the seats. Ugh. Anywho, and if it is a little too big for your horse.. that is fine. Go get a 1" CSI pad. I had a really wide saddle for my colt when he was growing up, broke him as a 3 year old. Started him out in a Sherry Cervi then moved him an 7 1/2" Gullet Teskey. Bought me a CSI and never looked back, The CSI pad saved him while he was constantly growing and changing, he was never sore or had any back issues, never became resentful. But the saddle he had was never too small for him either, but I did it that way so I could just make up the difference with a really good pad.
Now he is 5 1/2, mutton withered and wide. He has now grown out of his Teskey and I bought a Courts Sharon Camarillo with wide bars, should arrive any day now. If that doesn't work, then I will be going to the Cactus CJ, which ironically I owned both a Cactus CJ AND a Courts Camarillo before but sold them because the horse I had it for passed away, and I was certain I wouldn't have another horse as wide as he was! 2 1/2 years later, I'm stuck looking for the same saddle! lol I tried a Master's on him that fit, but I absolutely hated the seat.
Good luck!
Edited for typos..
Edited by DashNDustem 2017-01-12 1:17 PM
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 851
Location: West Texas | They are hard to fit usually and the saddle will always have a tendency to roll. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| GrahamKayleigh - 2017-01-12 1:08 PM
My turning 4 year old is mutton withered but only because she broke off 2 inches of her withers when she fell. So it has been difficult to fit her. I've tried several saddles. I'll list them all below. My mare also has wide shoulders so yes gullet does matter because of the width. A flatter bar will help as well.
So far I have tried a:
Circle Y Treeless (HORRIBLE ROLL)
Triple Creek 7inch gullet FQHB
Coats - not sure of gullet width but the girl I bought it from has a wide horse and she said it should fit mine. (wouldn't even go down on her.)
Cactus Flex tree 7 inch gullet & 8 inch gullet FQHB (still rolls)
Double J #10 tree wide fit 40 degree bars. (Wouldn't sit down on her, you could stick two arms on top of eachother down the middle.)
So my next try is Martin Crown C 10 inch gullet.
I also use a 5 star mutton withered pad 1/2 thick. Which helps a lot. A thicker pad will only make it worse.
My suggestion is take her to get fitted for a tree or have one built. Dont be like me spending thousands trying saddles that won't fit. A saddle might always roll on her but at least you'll have one fitted to her as best you can.
Hope this helps.
Make sure you get a flat tree with the crown c. The regular trees have too much rock for the flat backed horses, the back of the saddle will pop up.
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 Veteran
Posts: 254
Location: Kaufman, Texas | I had a mutton withered horse for years. Tried everything. The only saddle that stayed in the middle was a Lynn Mckenzie special, a tacky too pad and a wide neoprene girth. Never hung off the side during a run again. |
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| cheryl makofka - 2017-01-12 3:41 PM GrahamKayleigh - 2017-01-12 1:08 PM My turning 4 year old is mutton withered but only because she broke off 2 inches of her withers when she fell. So it has been difficult to fit her. I've tried several saddles. I'll list them all below. My mare also has wide shoulders so yes gullet does matter because of the width. A flatter bar will help as well.
So far I have tried a:
Circle Y Treeless (HORRIBLE ROLL)
Triple Creek 7inch gullet FQHB
Coats - not sure of gullet width but the girl I bought it from has a wide horse and she said it should fit mine. (wouldn't even go down on her.)
Cactus Flex tree 7 inch gullet & 8 inch gullet FQHB (still rolls)
Double J #10 tree wide fit 40 degree bars. (Wouldn't sit down on her, you could stick two arms on top of eachother down the middle.)
So my next try is Martin Crown C 10 inch gullet.
I also use a 5 star mutton withered pad 1/2 thick. Which helps a lot. A thicker pad will only make it worse.
My suggestion is take her to get fitted for a tree or have one built. Dont be like me spending thousands trying saddles that won't fit. A saddle might always roll on her but at least you'll have one fitted to her as best you can.
Hope this helps. Make sure you get a flat tree with the crown c. The regular trees have too much rock for the flat backed horses, the back of the saddle will pop up.
The Martin Crown C 10inch gullet worked and I don't have any roll. Fits her perfect. |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12842
| Personally, I have found that a very thick saddle pad makes the saddle roll worse.
P2
I might add that if you get a saddle with a wide twist, it will cause you extreme hip pain. The resale value on this type of saddle is null. This is the area right behind the pommel (swell or fork if you want to call it that). That is not what you want to change on a saddle.
Edited by streakysox 2017-01-16 6:51 PM
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