Speak To Me of McCall Wade Tree Saddles

[Pocket_Pony]

[QUOTE=aktill;8566997]
Most western saddles are designed for relatively narrow, relatively slab shouldered horses IME. People seem to find the most trouble fitting flat backed, low wither, big shoulder english horses…especially if their budget is for “just a trail saddle” (ie, $500-$1000).

They’re also harder to fit because they can’t be flocked to suit. Padding an out of shape tree to fit a horse just doesn’t work long term.

That said, when they fit, they fit. I don’t have to book a $300 fitting with Schleese every 6 months, for example. They also don’t create wither pockets as readily as dressage saddles seem to.[/QUOTE]

I remember talking to Mr. Frecker at the last BB clinic I went to and I asked him about his saddles and trees. Basically, he uses one tree. Either it fits your horse or it doesn’t. At least that was my understanding of our conversation.

[aktill]

[QUOTE=Pocket Pony;8567009]
I remember talking to Mr. Frecker at the last BB clinic I went to and I asked him about his saddles and trees. Basically, he uses one tree. Either it fits your horse or it doesn’t. At least that was my understanding of our conversation.[/QUOTE]

Doesn’t surprise me too much. If you’re a working cowboy and you’re handed a string a horses, most of them will be built pretty similarly. You sure as heck don’t go and get 7 saddles for 7 horses.

They’ll be a little narrower, good solid withers, nice A frame shape to hold a saddle well, and will likely fit a 90 degree fork sort of tree. My Icelandic needed 105 degrees! The last two have fit a 93 degree arrangement pretty well (that’s one one parameter, but just for reference).

They sell the horse to get one that fits their saddle, not the other way around. Don’t blink too much to spend ~$5500+, and a wait of 3-5 years for good makers isn’t unusual. You aren’t fitting a particular horse if you’re waiting that long, and they laugh at microfitting a saddle like the english world does.

[froglander]

My mustang would likely fall under that “slab sided, decent withers” type description, my problem is that he has always had dips to varying degrees behind his shoulders (even when I got him as a 2ish year old 3 weeks from the wild) so saddles seem to like to sit down into those dips. Or my current saddle likes to work its way forward so it ends up sitting on top of his shoulders. Very frustrating

[Halfling]

I would be willing to go up to $2,500 for the right saddle. My horse is a Dutch warmblood. The hollows behind her shoulders have filled in with work and she’s pretty even. The problem is that with most of the dressage saddles out there Most saddles I’ve tried have the billets too far back, eBen the pointment billet… My horse has a laid-back shoulder that’s big and her shoulder blade sits just about or a little behind her girth groove. I ended up with a French monoflap dressage saddle that is cut a bit forward and that fits over the back edge of her shoulder blade. When girthed up the sides pull in and she’s able to slide her shoulder under the saddle. If I put a saddle behind her shoulder blade I would be sitting on her loins.

[airhorse]

Wait for one of the Frecker’s apprentice saddles to show up on their website. You won’t be sorry. (There is a used one currently listed)

We have several of their saddles and they all fit everything from our 15H QH to our 17+H Warmbloods.

They are ride all day comfortable, and are worth more now than we paid for them.

[Halfling]

Thanks!