HOW TO PROPERLY MEASURE A SADDLE GULLET ON A COMPLETED SADDLE:
Peek between the skirts in the front and find the connection between the top of the saddle bars where they connect to the pommel. Place your tape ever so slightly below that joint on the inside of the gullet on the fleece and measure across to the other side in the same place. Keep in mind that the saddle maker’s measurement will be recorded as wider because he measured the saddle tree before it had leather and fleece put on it.
All 3 of these saddles have a wide tree according to their makers, but the CA saddle on the top has a narrower gullet at the top and a flatter bar angle which makes it wider at the bottom but not wider at the top where the horses scapula has to pass.
"Bar Angle"
"Bar Angle" is totally different area of saddle fit than “width” (narrow, medium or wide tree) and extremely important!If a horse has wide, steep strait up shoulders. the narrow (6″) gullet saddle on the bottom is might be the correct fit thru the shoulders. If the horse has a wide set apart front legs and large shoulder muscling the top saddle would be more of what you would look for.
Another area of concern to horses that are full behind the shoulder. Many saddles simply aren’t wide enough in this area to accommodate their shoulder blade when in motion and this means PAIN for your horse!!!!!!
Most saddles measure 4.5 to 5.5 in this area-
Full shouldered horses require at least 6.25…some require even wider! Once again I can’t stress enuf…
KNOW HOW TO SHOP FOR YOUR HORSES BODY TYPE !
Notice the differences in where these saddles are being measured?” That is because the skirting leather is laid on the tree higher in the gullet on some of them so your tape appears to be measuring too low…but its not if you have located that joint between where the pommel connects to the saddle bars. Placing the tape out on the edge of the leather is NOT the gullet measurement. That is where you measure for bar flare.
