My mare is mutton withered - just like a barrel with a flat top. I need a light weight (25 lbs ) wide, western saddle - but she is also short backed.
Any suggestions?
My present one is Billy Cook barrel - not the best fit - should be a bit wider.
If you are not roping, look into trail type saddles.
Those are more apt to come in wide than barrel racing saddles do and are also lighter weight than other western saddles.
LOVE my Circle Y El Campo… Its leather and synthetic. The leather is surprisingly good quality, the synthetic makes it lightweight. VERY comfortable and fits my couch sized TWH like a glove.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b277/kasjordan/IMG_2609_zpsn11cfznq.jpg
Tooled saddles tend to be heavier, because it takes heavier leather to have the tooling hold well, like in the higher end and show type saddles.
Staying away from those will also help keep the weight down.
[QUOTE=Bluey;8063723]
If you are not roping, look into trail type saddles.
Those are more apt to come in wide than barrel racing saddles do and are also lighter weight than other western saddles.[/QUOTE]
???
Lynn McKenzie (Double J) makes a wide tree.
So does Lisa Lockhart (Circle Y).
So does Sherry Cervi (Martin Crown C).
Caldwell has 6 types of trees with the “Maxed Out” being their widest version.
Etc.
Barrel saddles have plenty of wide trees available.
[QUOTE=Trails;8063712]My mare is mutton withered - just like a barrel with a flat top. I need a light weight (25 lbs ) wide, western saddle - but she is also short backed.
Any suggestions?
My present one is Billy Cook barrel - not the best fit - should be a bit wider.[/QUOTE]
In my experience, I don’t consider Billy Cook’s to be wide at all. I’ve got a real beefy wide quarter horse and a Billy Cook was much too narrow.
Right now, I’ve got a Lisa Lockhart Circle Y Flex2 Tree in the wide version. Fits him quite well. And it may be an option for you too as it is lightweight and it should be somehwhat shorter for your short-backed horse.
http://www.horsesaddleshop.com/lisa-lockhart-barrel-racer-dynamo.html#.VQwsQeEephI
Meleta Brown makes a REALLY nice saddle that actually fit my wide horse great. I didn’t even up getting it because I couldn’t get used to the “flatness” of the seat. Her saddle do run a little heavier though.
http://thefreedomsaddle.com/
Is there a specific reason you need it under 25 pounds?
Arabian trees are meant for mutton withers and short backs.
Abetta sells Arabian tree saddles.
Arabian trees are awesome if you horse has a curve in its back, but they don’t work for a flat-backed QH. I have a Fabtron Cross Trail that fits my mutton withered, wide QH. It’s all leather and light weight. They sell them at horsesaddleshop.com and they are great with helping you fit a saddle to your horse. I bought mine on ebay and saved some $$.
Circle Y makes Arabian trees that come in wide. They also make trail saddles, which are really comfy, that come in wide and xwide. If you go to horsesaddleshop and download their saddle tree templates, you can figure out which tree fits your horse. They have a ton of different saddles. I bought the Cottonwood in xwide for my small mare - it’s a tad long, but otherwise great. She is under 14 hands.
http://www.horsesaddleshop.com/cottonwood-circle-y-saddle.html?gclid=CLb25JjEucQCFWdo7AodOksA8Q#.VQ1vi46jOjc
I got my wide draft saddle from Montana Mountain Saddles. They sent a wide tree blank, which I put on her and took numerous pictures, then sent all back and Wa-Lah! 8 weeks later, a very nice, very light weight draft saddle that fits her quite well. With the right saddle pad. I had to change my then saddle pad to get the saddle to sit correctly. Also I am SHORT and had to have the fenders shortened at the local tack shop because I failed to tell them the exact length I needed.
