So for those of you with the adjustable tree saddles that have those plates that come out (like wintec, pessoa, etc) I have a question for you.
if you took a plate, could you hammer it to your desired shape and then put it in the saddle?
for instance, if your horse had a weird wither that needed to be wide at the top, do you think you could ‘shape’ it to accommodate that? Or a wither that needed to be really narrow at the top, but then flare out for large shoulders?
I was thinking about all of us horse owners with weird shaped horses. I swear, I’ve never owned a horse in my life that fit those off the rack saddles.
I think you would be limited by the shape of the tree itself, because the gullet plate screws into it but only at the bottom of the tree points. The carbon fiber tree is just flexible enough that it gets squeezed in or out. If there were screws going all the way up the plate, then maybe you could force them together in a different shape. Also, it can be near impossible to get the holes in the tree, the plate, and the panels to all line up so that the screws go in straight - just, ugh.
However. You can do a lot with flocking and/or shim pads that mimic flocking adjustments, like any saddle. Way more than you’d think, because you have such easy access to the panels. That’s why these adjustable gullet plate saddles also have the adjustable riser system option, which just adds shims directly to the panels.
The beauty of these types of saddles for hard-to-fit horses isn’t just the gullet plates, but the fact that the saddle is already deconstructed, so you can make changes quickly and easily on a cheap saddle.
That’s interesting. I didn’t even think about screws.
One of my horses is a hoop tree; i think I solved his saddle fitting quest though. However, I thought about maybe sticking a hammered out gullet plate in a adjustable saddle to see if I could use that.
My OTTB has a weird wither, and he changes shape a lot. I bought a Devoucoux for him and he grew out of it. I was thinking an adjustable saddle for him would work well. He has a tall wither, but also big shoulders. It’s been a pain.
You’re out of luck with the hoop tree, take a look at the tree shape here. But my horse sounds similar to your other one, and I do have success swapping between medium and narrow gullet plates as needed. It’s worth a trial! The key for us is to use the gullet plate that fits the withers and flock/shim to fit the shoulders. I flock up the hollows right behind the shoulders so the saddle sits up a bit and the shoulder can slide underneath. Plus, the higher an A gullet is sitting, the wider the part on the shoulder.
I would be worried about the screws fitting in the right holes and damaging the tree.
I would never put an adjustable saddle with a tree reshaped by a lay person on my horse. The smallest imbalance in a tree has a ripple effect throughout the saddle. The saddle was also build around a certain style plate so I’d be concerned with how that would throw off the balance, alignment, etc.
I’d go treeless before homemade tree. Before homemade tree I’d consult with someone like Mike Scott who has something like 100 different tree options he can order to build a truly custom saddle.
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No, the shape of the tree plates are not adjustable and I doubt that hammering them into a different shape would produce desired results. Probably won’t be able to line up the screw holes, at minimum.
while custom is a nice dream, it is not something I am willing to pay on a horse whose shape changes so very often.
Looking at the plates it looks like it would be possible to adjust it at the top but not near the bottom. However, I’m not about to run out and buy a saddle just to try it.
I did that to make one of my wintecs fit one of my mules. Only problem was that I did it before wintec made the wide tree saddles, and when I widened the gullet plate enough so it fit the mule then the back of the saddle curved up higher. However, the fit was still an improvement over the alternatives, so I shimmed it up and went with it. The mule lived into her 30’s with no signs of back soreness, so it seems to have worked for her.
The plates are not easy to bend, but I put it in a vise and used a pipe wrench to do just a little at a time until I got it to the shape I wanted it to be. I also labelled it before I put it back in so I wouldn’t ever mistake it for a medium (black) gullet plate.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought of this! Thanks for sharing 
Some of the newer adjustable saddles have more adjustability than the earlier Bates and Wintechs. Many aren’t custom so could be a reasonable option to try. You could also have a fitter come out to see if getting a pad with inserts would help? I have an older horse who last winter dropped weight and noticed saddle was really pressing on his wither. Out comes fitter, she switched trees, got a fancy pad with shims and we were back in business.
When I bought my first Wintec GP it was before the Wintec Wide was introduced.
I was buying it because a pony I rode (not my pony) was a good bit wider than my saddles, or the saddle that barn had.
I am not rich. I was looking for something I could afford to “waste” money on.
I looked at the saddle and I looked at the widest pommel plate of the regular Wintec and I went “sorry, it still is not wide enough.” The lady who owns the tack store then went behind the counter and came out with a pommel plate that one of her customers had her blacksmith widen for her super wide pony. The tack store owner warned me that using it would void the warranty of the Wintec saddle but I could not afford to get a new leather saddle that would be wide enough. She gave me the gullet plate for free, and her son wrestled with the saddle and actually got it on. He struggled with it for around 10 minutes to get the second screw in (and he is a big guy and quite strong.)
It worked, sort of, the front of the saddle was wide enough, barely, and I was able to ride the pony and keep the pony more comfortable.
Later I bought a Wintec Wide. The widened plate was in-between the middle gullet plate and the widest gullet plate which came with the Wintec Wide. That pony died and I faced the fact that I absolutely HATED riding in the Wintecs, regular or wide, on wide horses. The lower end of the gullet plate dug into my thigh and it was very hard for me to feel secure at all.
Later on I was finally able to get a good saddle and I spent my money on a Pegasus Butterfly saddle (the Claudia jumping saddle.) I sold my Wintecs and I never looked back. With a 6 pocket shimmable pad (I use the Contender II BOT/ThinLine pad) I have been able to fit every horse I’ve ridden since then. This saddle, unlike the Wintec, is comfortable for me to ride on the widest horse I’ve put it on, a horse that required the widest gullet plate of the Wintec Wide.
AND with the Pegasus Butterfly Saddle, due to its hinges at the front of the tree, I no longer have to wrestle with changing the gullet plates, a process that would leave me in tears from frustration, calling for my husband to help me get that darn #$%^& final screw in.
I know the Pegasus Butterfly saddle is probably more expensive than what you want to spend, but to me it is worth every single penny I paid for it. Often there are used ones on E-Bay, you could look there to see if there is a used one in your price range.
You need a Wow, their headplates come in different shapes as well as widths - V for the A framed horse, U for your regular wide one, and UU for the seriously broad ones in need of a genuine hoop
No, do not adjust the headplate. With the help of a saddle fitter and a good farrier, you may be able to forge it to the right size after taking a tracing, but it will be very risky to do and could cause harm to both the saddle and the horse. It could break the tree. That is why you can only put a specific gullet plate series made for the saddle in the saddle. My horse goes in a narrow plate and does well with shimmable half pads, specifically the prolite tripad. Also, make sure the saddle is wool flocked, it will be easier to fit and make adjustments to fit hard to fit horses unlike synthetic or foam flocking.
Nope, you will break the saddle.
For example, if you use the plates for the wide wintecs in the regular wintec, will probably it twists the tree. Seen it happen and that is directly from wintec.
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I’ve done it, haven’t had any issues with it bothering my mare or the saddle. It’s been in use for 2 years now.
I had my husband, who works in an engine testing facility make me one based off of templates. I was not needing one wider than you could buy though, just one for a hard to fit OOT mare. But he also has access to any tools/machines make it and is normally making prototype precision parts for engines. So a new gullet plate was a walk in the park for him and he has access make any changes necessary if it ever needs it.
If you’re not worried about voiding your warranty, going wider than your model is designed for and have the means to do so with precision, I would go for it.
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Thanks! It seems it is definitely possible. I won’t need to go wider but maybe make some adjustments for my OTTB so it is narrower where it needs to be and wider where his shoulders are.
Sounds like you have a similar fitting issue to mine. I would have to ask my husband for specifics but he made a new one with I believe hardened steel, and put new screw holes after it was bent so they would line up properly. So we didn’t have to worry about changing where the screw holes lined up after bending an old one. Which I would think would be your biggest issue if you change an original one to fit.
Ok, I do have access to a metalworking shop so maybe I could make one myself
I haven’t done this and wouldn’t do it for a few reasons:
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altering the gullet plate shape can damage the tree.
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altering the gullet plate shape can void the tree warranty.
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if my saddle isn’t a reasonably good fit with the standard tree and gullet plate shape, I’m not going to try and force the saddle to work. Instead, I would look at a new saddle. Different brands of adjustable saddles are not only shaped differently, but the gullet plates are not exactly the same shape from brand to brand. My adjustable saddle for instance is wool flocked.
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If I can’t find an adjustable gullet saddle that works for my horse’s shape, I would instead go through a saddle fitter and get something wool flocked. Which can also be adjusted when your horse changes shape.
