I recently had a saddle fitter out who said that my horse needed a narrow tree. (under 4") My current saddle has a 4.75" tree and apparently is much too wide. My problem is that I am having such a hard time finding such a narrow tree. It seems all the used saddles these days are built for the wide warmbloods with no withers. Any suggestions?
The Tack Box in Middleburg has a few in narrow fit. Have a look on the website www.thetackboxinc.com .
I know there are a few narrows, and I know there is a nice, extra narrow County.
I’m not sure if you just emailed me but I do think very few horses are true narrow trees. Generally, many horses have a narrow wither but if the panel has more depth such as drop, trapezius, K, skid row, or trapezius panels and perhaps a wither or full front gusset, then the saddle will often clear the wither. Frequently, I see saddles sized too narrowly to clear the wither but pinch the shoulder. Of course, with a foam saddle, you don’t have the same options.
Secondly, some saddles run wider. I do think many County saddles run wider than their stamped width.
Might not hurt to get a second opinion from another saddle fitter? The reason narrow trees are hard to find is because most people have realized that they aren’t usually the solution (plus we ride more WBs these days I suppose).
As per Jay above, my saddle fitter tells me that for a large wither, get a saddle which is wide enough to clear the sides of the wither, then pad it up to clear the top of the wither. If you just get a narrow tree, you’ll usually end up pinching the sides of the wither and the shoulders.
If you’re still deadset on a narrow tree, try looking for a Northrun Ashland or an older Butet on eBay or one of the used saddle sites. You can do a forum search to find which ones are reputable, and which ones aren’t.
I would ask the saddle fitter for help. I have a horse that wears a narrow and literally will not even trot in anything else.
I’ve heard that narrow horses exist, but I’ve never seen one! I’d love to see pictures. Usually, as said above, people think horses with high withers need narrow trees when really they need medium or larger with extra deep panels.
[QUOTE=Gumby80;8437780]
Might not hurt to get a second opinion from another saddle fitter? The reason narrow trees are hard to find is because most people have realized that they aren’t usually the solution (plus we ride more WBs these days I suppose).
As per Jay above, my saddle fitter tells me that for a large wither, get a saddle which is wide enough to clear the sides of the wither, then pad it up to clear the top of the wither. If you just get a narrow tree, you’ll usually end up pinching the sides of the wither and the shoulders.
If you’re still deadset on a narrow tree, try looking for a Northrun Ashland or an older Butet on eBay or one of the used saddle sites. You can do a forum search to find which ones are reputable, and which ones aren’t.[/QUOTE]
This has been the case for pretty much all of the TBs I’ve had-- huge withers, but also big shoulders. I find that they do well with the Stubbens (which seem to run narrowish) but they are still M-MW for the most part.
I just went through this. Saddle fitter said I needed a narrow tree for a high withered TB. I ended up buying a new Pessoa XCH Heritage. It has an interchangeable gullet (It comes with a medium so you would have to order the narrow separately but it cost less then $50). It is also wool flocked, so saddle fitter was able to adjust the panels as well in order to get a better fit.
[QUOTE=no.stirrups;8437900]
I’ve heard that narrow horses exist, but I’ve never seen one! I’d love to see pictures. Usually, as said above, people think horses with high withers need narrow trees when really they need medium or larger with extra deep panels.[/QUOTE]
I have a horse that was described like this and I think that at the end of the day you need to try a bunch of saddles and listen to your horse. I went the custom French route (with the regular medium tree that is quite generous) and he was initially fit with a panel with a lot of foam around the withers to accommodate the withers. The saddle wasn’t balanced, it bounced in the cantle, and he hated it. Changed the panels to the standard panel. Saddle was pommel low at the point and still bounced. They said we had to go back and build up the panels again. Decided to cut my losses and sell the saddle.
Tried a bunch of different saddles including a narrow County that some people said fit okay off pictures and then others said was too narrow for him because of his shoulders. Horse was okay but even with a narrow there was very little wither clearance. Didn’t buy it.
Sent tracings to a fitter who sent me an English saddle in a medium tree with full front gussets. Horse better than the french saddle so kept it. Still felt that horse not as happy as he could be.
Went to another fitter who also represented that English brand of my saddle above to get it checked since it was new when I bought it. She looked at the saddle, measured him according to the manufacturer, and he measured a narrow or narrow medium. Argh! She added flocking.
Went on to try a number of other saddles including some Italian saddles with a “medium” tree but narrower than the English saddle I have. One seemed to fit well but wasn’t the right size for me. Ordered another on trial in the same tree and it was really pommel high. Sent photos to that dealer and she said the tree was too narrow and I needed a medium wide tree. Argh again.
So, thus far, I have had multiple saddle fitters look at this horse either in person, from photos, or from tracings and each one told me he needed a different tree size.
Took a chance on a used French saddle (different brand than initial saddle) and it is like he is a different horse. He has never moved so well. Sent the serial to the company to see what the tree was and it is custom with a “quite narrow tree.” It measures narrower than my medium English saddle with the full front gussets.
It seems to me like most people err on the side of wider and then add support either with gussets or with pads. I was reading a saddle fitting site and it talked about some saddles with wider tree points or are shaped to free the shoulders, but what actually happens is that the stirrup bars of the tree end up taking the majority of the weight rather than the entire tree. I think this is what happened with my horse and all the trees to accommodate the shoulder…I think they were all too wide and the part of the tree with the stirrup bars was bearing the majority of the weight and causing discomfort.
Long story short, try a narrow tree and see what you think…but I would try a couple different saddles because they are all different. Your horse will tell you.
I have a Pessoa XP3 with the interchangeable gullet and have used it on a paint, a thoroughbred and a pony by changing the gullets (I found them on ebay).
I love this saddle. It was a demo I bought on ebay for $1200. I told my husband to bury me with it.
