I cannot remember how to check a saddle tree to see if it is broken, can someone tell me?!
From Equisearch
Testing Your Saddle Tree
A twisted or broken saddle tree is a major pain in your horse’s back. Here are three ways to test your saddle tree
From the Editors of EQUUS magazine.
A saddle is only as good as its foundation, which is the tree, the wooden or fiberglass interior frame that determines its fit for both rider and horse. A broken or twisted saddle tree is murder on your horse’s back, and no matter how perfect the rest of the construction may be, the saddle is a danger if its foundation is compromised. Use the following three-step test to see if your saddle is sound at this most basic level:
-
Support the front of the saddle against one thigh, press one hand on the seat, and, with the other hand, grasp the cantle and pull it towards you. An intact tree does not give to the pressure; a broken tree does. Clicking noises are another possible sign of a breakdown.
-
Reverse the saddle so the cantle rests on your thigh, grasp the front edges just under the pommel or horn, and pull outward and upward. Again, movement or noises could signal a compromised tree.
Check the tree for “give” and noise.
-
Turn the saddle over to expose the gullet. Visualize a line running down the gullet, connecting the center of the pommel or horn with the center of the cantle. If the centerline of the saddle deviates from the straight line, the tree is twisted or broken.
If your saddle has failed these tests, stop using it immediately (and, no, additional saddle pads will not make up for its deficiencies), and get a professional opinion about its condition from a saddle-fitting specialist or saddler. A broken tree is not repairable, so be prepared to shop for a new saddle.
I will add that if it is an old saddle with a wood tree, there might be some “give” - best bet then is having the saddle evaluated by a saddler.
Hold the saddle in front on you, with the cantle pressed into your stomach and your hands on the pommel. Pull on the pommel, pressing the saddle/tree towards your belly, which will cause the saddle to flex in the middle if the tree is broken.
Keep in mind that some saddles have spring trees and they will flex (front to back)…Passier being one brand. But that is a gentle spring feel, that springs back, and there will be no softening of the leather on the seat or pleating. There should be no flexion where the saddle sits over the withers, in the fork.
Trees can also be broken side-to-side instead of front to back. This usually shows up as a squeaking noise at the posting trot and comes from the pommel area of the saddle. It’s different from a leather squeaking noise. You can recreate the squeak by placing the saddle on a flat surface on its back and pressing against the points of the tree (just in front of the stirrup bars) or on the stirrup bars themselves. Push the points of the tree inward toward the center of the saddle at the same time in a sort of rhythmical motion and you will be able to hear a slight squeak (you may have to listen very closely in a quiet room). You may or may not feel movement, or movement might be very slight. A popped tree rivet may have the same symptoms - and a popped tree rivet can also lead to a cracked tree if left unfixed.
Another indicator of a broken tree is a line of wrinkles in the leather sideways across the seat. Then if you bend the tree as described above-you see where the break in the tree is by the wrinkle.
[QUOTE=macmtn;5050781]
Another indicator of a broken tree is a line of wrinkles in the leather sideways across the seat. Then if you bend the tree as described above-you see where the break in the tree is by the wrinkle.[/QUOTE]
Yep…tell tale sign before you ever pick the saddle up.
I wish someone had some pics.
I had the saddle fitter come out yesterday, as my dressage saddle was leaving a couple of dry spots on my horses back - perfectly symmetrical, I thought at most she would have to reflock the saddle,
She told me the tree was twisted and that I needed to throw the saddle away.
My horse has never been sore with this saddle, has never been crooked, and I don’t notice myself being crooked either (in this saddle or any other).
The saddle fitter showed me how I can tell the tree is twisted, and I can see it slightly - but my question is - what are the consequences of continuing to ride in this saddle?
Good chance the saddle is why your horse has gotten hard to catch.
If you continue, you risk making him even harder to catch, sore, and if you continue despite that, there’s the chance you could lame him.
Pro-tip: bumping a six year old thread with a barely related question isn’t the best way to go about posing a question here. Far better to start a new thread.
Thanks Simkie - I’ve seen people post that a thread already exists, so I didn’t want to start a new one if it was considered better to add onto an existing one.
I’ve had the saddle for a year and he has only recently started running - when the previous head mare switched pastures - which is why I figured it was him flexing his muscles and trying to be the new head mare.
I’ve had the massage thereapist come out twice a year since he was 3 and she has never noticed any back pain/problems. It’s always neck, pole, girth and shoulder that she focuses on with him. One time he was mounted and she had to work with his haunches for awhile.
But anyways - I spent $1500 on this saddle, which was 2 years of savings for me - so I don’t know what to do. It will be at least another year before I can afford a decent saddle, and the saddle fitter has me terrified to buy a used saddle ever again.
And when I google twisted saddle trees, it gives me the impression that if anyone has mounted from the ground ever in their life, that the saddle is now twisted.
Am I better off riding bareback? buying a $100 new saddle online? Riding in an all-purpose that does make him sore but the saddle fitter says fit?
Is there a different saddle fitter for a second opinion?
Can you start another thread with pictures of the saddle on your horse? there are many here who can advise you.
Can you privately e-mail pics of your saddle to www.trumbullmtn.com/saddle-fitting/ or one of the other saddle shops with excellent saddle fitters?
$1500 is certainly a bunch of money to flush down the toilet, so getting second opinions would be worthwhile. Is there another fitter you can have out?
Did the fitter who deemed the current saddle unsalvageable try to sell you another one? Does she rep for a brand, or is she independent?
It’s entirely possible to spend $300-500 on a really nice used saddle and get a great fit. Even less, if you’re willing to dig around a bit and troll ebay and the tack trader FB pages.
But a fitter telling you to toss your saddle due to a tree issue is nothing to sneeze at, and shouldn’t be ignored, as the repercussions to your horse can be pretty grim. Perhaps take a step back until you can get more info, work on his issues in the field, do some ground work, teach him to ground drive and just give him a bit of a break until you get more information and answers about the saddle.
[QUOTE=csaper58;8879747]
Is there a different saddle fitter for a second opinion?
Can you start another thread with pictures of the saddle on your horse? there are many here who can advise you.
Can you privately e-mail pics of your saddle to www.trumbullmtn.com/saddle-fitting/ or one of the other saddle shops with excellent saddle fitters?[/QUOTE]
I will take pictures when I go out tonight and send them to you.
This saddle fitter came highly recommended, and it’s my first experience with one, so I don’t quite know what to expect.
[QUOTE=Simkie;8879780]
$1500 is certainly a bunch of money to flush down the toilet, so getting second opinions would be worthwhile. Is there another fitter you can have out?
Did the fitter who deemed the current saddle unsalvageable try to sell you another one? Does she rep for a brand, or is she independent?
It’s entirely possible to spend $300-500 on a really nice used saddle and get a great fit. Even less, if you’re willing to dig around a bit and troll ebay and the tack trader FB pages.
But a fitter telling you to toss your saddle due to a tree issue is nothing to sneeze at, and shouldn’t be ignored, as the repercussions to your horse can be pretty grim. Perhaps take a step back until you can get more info, work on his issues in the field, do some ground work, teach him to ground drive and just give him a bit of a break until you get more information and answers about the saddle.[/QUOTE]
So she had me ride in other ones, but the one I was riding in was even an older version of the ones she was having me in - So I couldn’t get a read on her. She didn’t tell me prices or seem like she was trying to sell me another one, but isn’t that also weird, to tell someone to toss their saddle and then not try to get them another one?
I had a saddle with a twisted tree. The first clue was the horse no longer walking away from the barn ready to hit the trails. He kept trying to turn back to the barn. I didn’t notice any soreness in his body, but he was not happy.
I had the fitter out. She looked at the saddle on him, then checked the saddle and showed me how it had twisted. She was a rep for a brand, but gave me several saddle brands that would work other than hers.
Mine was a used saddle that I had for 10 + years and put a tremendous amount of wear and tear on. It didn’t turn me away from used, but I did make sure to get the next saddle on trial and had her come to check it out.
[QUOTE=Simkie;8879610]
Good chance the saddle is why your horse has gotten hard to catch.
Bingo!
[QUOTE=rockymouse;8880083]
[QUOTE=Simkie;8879610]Good chance the saddle is why your horse has gotten hard to catch.
Bingo![/QUOTE]
I’m not crossing that off the list, I will take the twisted saddle off of the roster for a couple of weeks (if not permanently) to see how it affects things.
But I only ride in it twice a week anyways. The other times I have him in an all-purpose that the saddle fitter said fit, or bareback - and he doesn’t run every day, and it doesn’t usually correlate to the day following use of any particular saddle
[QUOTE=Dressage_Strider;8879869]
I will take pictures when I go out tonight and send them to you.
This saddle fitter came highly recommended, and it’s my first experience with one, so I don’t quite know what to expect.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the vote of confidence 
I would not consider myself a professional saddle fitter. While I can spot a bad fit or damaged tree in person, there are many on COTH, and at the better tack shops, that truly are experts.
Trumbull Mountain and COTH are good places to start.
Wrinkles in the seat don’t always indicate a broken tree. Some leather stretches by its nature of the way it is ridden.
Another way to tell in addition is to put the saddle on a flat surface. Starting with right hand, hold the left front with elbow bracing the right rear and take your other hand and try to lift the left front and then switch. If one corner rises much differently than the other, the tree is likely crooked. Or, have the panel dropped and take the seat part and put it on a flat surface and see how the 4 corners rest and if they are even. Option number two requires a fitter or saddler.
