English Tack For Sale

How many inches is a wide gullet/ tree?

How many inches is a wide tree on an english type saddle? I have a
2 1/2 year old Clydesdale who is about 16.2 to 16.4 hands tall and is not a crossbreed. I'm just wondering if I can fit him into a wide tree instead of a draft size. Right now he can fit into a cloth type english saddle that is I believe a regular sized tree. I want a leather one eventually, but the leather one I have that is the same size as the cloth one doesn't fit him.

It varies with brand and make, but I have seen wides be about 7-9 inches.

It all depends on your horses individual build. Here is a good way to test it out. Get an old wire coat hanger that you no longer use. Bend it out into a straight wire. Then form it over your horses withers/back, where the gullet would be. Then take the wire to a paper and trace it. Then cut it out. Take that crescent shape with you to the tack store, and hold it up to the saddles you look at, where the saddle would sit on his back.

Be sure to get it on trial so you can still try it on him, and don't forget to girth it up, sometimes that changes how it sits on his back. Lunge him around with it too, see what he thinks of it. Does he show signs of pain?

Place the saddle on his back. stick your hand under the saddle (girth not on) and press down on the saddle along the panels and under the flaps. Is there any uneven weight distribution, or specific pointy places in the flocking that could cause a sore back? When the saddle is sitting on him, can you see light from the pommel when you are looking from the back side? Can you see light from the under the cantel when looking from the front?
It is very important to have the saddle fit your horse, otherwise he will not be happy, and could cause an injury.

Good luck.

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