Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

   I don't know enough about Big Horn saddles to be able to answer your 
question but I am struck with your first sentence: "I tried a Big Horn 
yesterday and it fit my horse awesomely."  If it fits, go for it!!!  I 
hate to admit how many years I spent believing that I should always wear 
the same size clothing.  Then I realized a few things: each manufacturer 
uses different sizing, and who the heck cares what size is on the label 
hidden inside the jeans.  If they fit, that's all I care about!  
Manufacturers have us hornswoggled into believing that little size 
number!  And in the saddle industry there are absolutely no standards 
for saddle sizing!
   You are correct in looking for a saddle that fits all along your 
horse's back from front to back.  Don't forget that the shapes of 
horses' backs are just as variable as the shapes of human feet.  And 
arab backs tend also to be short which means a lot of saddle bar shape 
change has to happen in a short distance.  Because of their compact 
build, arabs often need a surprisingly wide gullet.  Some also need a 
flat bar towards the rear but not all arabs do.  BTW, don't fall into 
the trap of believing that an "arab" tree will fit all arabs because it 
won't! 
   I'm curious to know why you think the gullet seems to be wider than 
you really want.  Was it because of the way it sat on your horse's 
withers and shoulders or was it because you didn't think your horse 
should need a "wide" gullet?  Just one other point here: not only is 
there no standard sizing for saddle trees, saddle with the same size 
tree made by the same manufacturer can measure a bit differently.  So, 
if you've found a saddle that fits, throw away your preconceived beliefs 
and go with it!
Laney
Alice Yovich wrote:
  

> When saddle manufacturers talk about full or semi bars on a QH does it 
> refer to anything else other than the gullet?
>
>  I looked it up on line today and was surprised to find that the model 
> I tried had full QH bars. It fit my little Arab better than anything 
> else I've tried. I have tried, but not ridden in another big horn that 
> I knew had semi-bars. I didn't know this one had full bars until a 
> short while ago and it's possibly changed my perspective on what I'm 
> shopping for. If it's just a difference in gullet, then I may still be 
> better off with the semi bar b/c the gullet did seem to be wider than 
> I really wanted, but if it's more about the whole tree then I need to 
> change the focus of my search. Thanks!
>
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>
> Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
> Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
> Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp
>
> Ride Long and Ride Safe!!
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=