Imagine you are in the store trying on a pair of jeans. They don’t fit. But the answer to the question “Why don’t they fit?” tells you what to grab off the shelf to try on next. Is it leg length or waist size that is the primarily problem, or both? Do they need to be larger or smaller to fit?
It is the same thing with a saddle. Saying “the shapes don’t match” is the same as saying “the jeans don’t fit”. The factor or factors causing the high pressure are what need to be corrected. Changing bar width or angle won’t help if it is the amount of rock that is causing the problem. So what factors can affect fit?
The links in this section talk about both tree and saddle factors. The first post in this series lists and gives a quick explanation of what the various tree factors are. The second tells you how we measure them, if they are measurable, and the rest of the tree posts concentrate on individual factors for more in-depth information.
Because we were tree makers, not saddle makers, most of what we wrote on our previous website was about trees, but things about the saddle affect fit for the horse as well. This section of the site is a bit sparse at the moment (there is much more information in the video) but hopefully over time we’ll get more posts about the saddle – in our “spare time” of course…
Factors that affect tree fit
Measuring a saddle tree
Speaking of surface area
The trouble with too short bars - surface area
Ya gotta look inside… - seeing surface area in contact
Why we use hand hole width rather than gullet width - bar spread
Bar spread and how it works on horses
Bar angles: why the numbers are meaningless between makers
Angles - it just isn't that simple
Padding doesn't fix mismatched "angles"
The top line doesn't match the rock line
Bridging - rock
He's gotta lotta rock
Of saddle fit, shoulder blades, and "flare" - rock
Let's do the twist!
Of single backs, double backs and crown
Flat on round and round on flat - a paradox - crown
Avoiding the withers - hand hole and gullet heights - clearance
How do you spell "relief"? - edges
Different rigging types - an explanation