Mac fits a . . . mule tree!?

[Pocket_Pony]

So yesterday my saddle fitter came out and she has the Steele tree forms that you can put on the horse to decide which tree style would be best for him. Wouldn’t you know, the QH and FQH were the worst fits for him. A couple others were okay, but the best was . . . a mule tree! He does have withers, and big shoulders, but his topline looks like it would work with flatter bars.

The trouble I’ve been having with saddles is that they either roll around too much side-to-side, or rock too much front-to-back and slap me in the rear when cantering.

So now to look for saddles built on a mule tree? Any suggestions? I see on the Horse Saddle Shop website that Tucker and Billy Cook have mule saddles and on Rocking R’s catalog page on their website it looks like they have them as well.

At least I feel like I have a better direction now. At least I hope so - this has been a really frustrating process!

[NoSuchPerson]

This is a nice article. It covers mule saddles and rigging positions.

http://www.mcclintocksaddles.com/mulesaddle.html

Unfortunately, there is about as much variation in mule trees as there is in horse trees. Since you say your horse has big shoulders, be aware that some manufacturers’ mule trees are made for the narrow, gaited-type mules and may not be a good fit for broader, more quarter horse-type equines.

[hank]

My Paso wears a mule tree. I started out with a Steve Edwards saddle and eventually moved up to a McClintock with general mule bars.

[Kerrysmom818]

Crest Ridge also has a section on mule trees:
http://crestridgesaddlery.com/fitting-mules.html

[Pocket_Pony]

The first picture on this McClintock page of a mule tree vs. a horse tree (http://www.mcclintocksaddles.com/mules.html) is what it looked like on Mac’s back - most of the horse trees curved up in the back like that. And I’ve also had the problem mentioned on the Crest Ridge page about the angle.

hank, how did you go about getting a McClintock - did you find one used, or did you work with him directly to get a custom saddle?

[hank]

I lucked into a “used” McClintock on ebay…for about 1/2 the cost of a new one. Most comfortable saddle I have ever owned. It was a wonderful surprise when it arrived…used only meant “pre-owned”, never ridden very hard, although you couldn’t say that about it now.

Best money I ever spent was $5.00 on a beat- up- beyond- repair saddle from a yard sale. (no saddle fitters available) I took it apart down to the tree and found the same thing you are- that the bars were rising up off my horse’s back in the rear and in his case, it was sitting right on the withers at the front.

The Edwards saddle was under $1000 when I bought it. Rode it for about a year to make sure mule bars were what I wanted. I still have it for rain days or a rough trip, but the McClintock is what I reach for on a daily basis. It is a work of art and I figure it will last as long as I want to ride, although I may be riding mules in the future, just so I can keep the saddle!

[rememberthenight]

What about a crates mule saddle? They are made with the Steele tree.

[Pocket_Pony]

Anyone heard of montanamountainhorse.com?

[muleygirl]

If you want a Steele mule tree, I would suggest looking at Alleghany saddles. They do a beautiful saddle, and have several different styles, and use the Steele trees. I have a Montana Mountain Horse mule saddle that I like riding in, but it is a Cordura/Leather model, and not as expensive as some of the others. They do send out trees for you to try, so you could check it out. I like it because it is light and comfortable, and great for trail riding or starting young mules. Stagecoach West also has a nice mule saddle with a mule tree, but I would say it is more to the medium than wide tree. I ended up selling it to a friend of mine for her Tennessee Walker- it fits him perfectly.

[Pocket_Pony]

Thanks for the suggestion - Alleghany is one of the brands that my saddle fitter carries but they didn’t have the right saddles in the right trees for me to try out.

[katarine]

crestridge

[SuckerForHorses]

I believe Steele trees are in Dakota saddles, Rocking R saddles, and a few others.

At one point, I tried the Fit-To-Be-Seen mule tree (made by Steele as well) on my gelding when he was hard to fit (is still hard to fit!).

If you KNOW the Steele tree fits, I would find a brand that has trees made by them, in the mule bar.

[Pocket_Pony]

I talked to Sarah at Crest Ridge this morning. I had sent her photos of Mac’s back and when we talked she said he looked just like a mule (from the base of his wither his back is flat to his croup)! :lol: I did a wither tracing and sent it off to her to confirm tree width. She actually suggested the Wade instead of the Sentry for him but she’s going to talk with my fitter who has worked with him a lot to confirm her thoughts.

I’m getting closer . . .