DESPERATELY seeking a Western Dressage saddle for my very wide horse

[marylou0513]

I am going cross-eyed having sat at my computer for four hours searching the internet for a Western dressage saddle that will fit my very broad backed Draft-cross. So many saddles offer the option of regular and wide, but wide won’t cut it. I need an 8" gullet. Yes, I would consider treeless, but guess what? Lots of them are wolves in sheep’s clothing because although tree width is not an issue, the fork is! It will pinch the shoulders if not specially made to be wider. Case in point - Bob Marshall treeless. Otherwise a great saddle, but too narrow a fork - a rep actually admitted this to me.

I can afford about $2,000 for a saddle. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Bluey]

If you are close to a saddle shop, they can order different trees, you can try several and they can make you a basic western saddle to fit your horse on that tree.

Generally, full quarter horse bars tend to fit cowboy drafty looking and mutton withers horse types.

We had one such, a feral horse that may have been part draft, that required a very wide saddle and a rider that stayed in the middle.
We ordered an Amy Gambling full quarter horse bars from Windy Ryon that fit him very well and, surprising, fit many other horses well also.

Maybe you could find something similar in a used saddle?

[beau159]

You stated you’ve tried a Bob Marshall treeless. What other brands have you tried so far that have not worked? Might help narrow down the suggestions.

While I agree that gullet width is important, remember that bar angle is also important.

I have two Quarter Horses that are exceptionally “beefy”. I ride both of them in a Circle Y Flex2 WIDE saddle (the barrel racing version, since that is what I do).
This is the saddle I have:
http://www.horsesaddleshop.com/lisa-lockhart-barrel-racer-furious1.html#.VxeS93pBmvY
It does not list a gullet width and I’ve not really measured mine, but I know it is well over 7" for the width. It’s a pretty wide saddle. It actually does not fit any other horses I have tried it on (way too wide), except my two boys! So that may be one for you to look into. Of course, they do make other versions of the saddle besides barrel racing with the same Flex2 WIDE tree.

Meleta Brown makes a really nice saddle with Crates. Very pleasant woman to talk with too. She’s very honest on if she thinks her saddle design will fit your horse (you can send her pictures).
http://thefreedomsaddle.com/

Martin Crown C makes wide gullets with their saddles, but they also measure their gullet differently (bare tree vs finished tree) than most saddle makers. Their fitting philosphy is a little different than most. I’ve tried them in the past and they did not work for my horses, but I know many people who are very happy with Martin.

Of course, the question would be if you SPECIFICALLY want a Western Dressage saddle, or if you are open to using other types of saddles.

[Palm_Beach]

Circle Y’s Flex2 tree comes in an extra wide tree. If you go to horsesaddleshop.com, they have templates you can print and trace onto cardboard and then put on your horse.

[NoSuchPerson]

In my recent experience, Circle Ys run narrow. During my recent “OMG when did this %^$# mule get so wide” saddle hunt, saddles seemed to fit like this:

narrow-ish FQHB=Circle Y wide < average FQHB < wide-ish FQHB=Circle Y extra wide < Haflinger, which was about the same width as draft, but depending on manufacturer, bar angles maybe a bit different

[Draftmare]

[QUOTE=Palm Beach;8629161]
Circle Y’s Flex2 tree comes in an extra wide tree. If you go to horsesaddleshop.com, they have templates you can print and trace onto cardboard and then put on your horse.[/QUOTE]

They only have a couple of ones that come in it though. Others can be made, but its a custom that takes at minimum 6 weeks and adds to the cost. Probably wouldn’t be under $2000.

Have you looked at Big Horn’s draft saddles? Or their reining saddles fit my wide mare. They aren’t super awesome leather, but they are decent enough on good trees, and well within your budget new. Rocking R, if you can find one, is also built on the same tree as is Dakota and American. I am keeping an eye out of a Dakota myself as I have heard good reviews of them.

[Palm_Beach]

[QUOTE=Draftmare;8643763]
They only have a couple of ones that come in it though. Others can be made, but its a custom that takes at minimum 6 weeks and adds to the cost. Probably wouldn’t be under $2000.

Have you looked at Big Horn’s draft saddles? Or their reining saddles fit my wide mare. They aren’t super awesome leather, but they are decent enough on good trees, and well within your budget new. Rocking R, if you can find one, is also built on the same tree as is Dakota and American. I am keeping an eye out of a Dakota myself as I have heard good reviews of them.[/QUOTE]

Yes, it takes 6 weeks. But how long have you been looking for a saddle? I have one in xwide, and yes it took 6 weeks, but they can put that tree in just about any of their saddles. I think the one i got was on sale, and maybe I spent $1400 (it was a trail saddle). Very nice, soft buttery leather, and I think a good deal for the price point. Although too upright in the cantle for wd.

Try the xwide template on your mare. That’s what prompted me to take the leap to ordering the custom saddle - I put the template on the horse and went “Ah” and saw exactly what a good fitting tree looks like. I tried the regular wide on the horse as well, and could see that it was too narrow. The templates are free, and if neither the wide nor xwide looks good to you, you can at least cross those trees off your list. Hope you find something soon.

[dog_amp_horsemom]

I have a friend who does western dressage and she just bought a ‘lady wade’ for her wide horse and loves it.