Has anyone ever bent a gullet plate?

C

countercanterr

Active Member
Joined
27 December 2014
Messages
43
Visit site
My mare is between sizes, wide is too narrow & xw is too wide causing pressure points on her trapezius which she is not liking at all! I've tried a front riser which was good in changing the balance and stopping it lifting slightly off her back but there is still too much pressure on her trapezius.
I was wondering if there was any way I could widen my wide gullet plate to make it fit her tracing exactly (or make the xw narrower, but she is still filling out so I'd rather have that one in case I need it in the next few months). I've heard of fitters doing this, do they have machines for it or is there any way I can try at home without weakening the metal (or breaking something ;)).
Otherwise I'll just ask my fitter, she is coming out soon anyway but I'm impatient!
 
Do you have a wintec wide? If so you can get inserts to that job. My Tb is in between black and blue so he is in a blue but with front inserts to bring it up without trapping anything. If that makes sense, brain turned off.
 
Id personally not try it at home. If you do it unbalanced youll ruin the gullet and have a wonky saddle.
 
Slightlyconfused said:
Do you have a wintec wide? If so you can get inserts to that job. My Tb is in between black and blue so he is in a blue but with front inserts to bring it up without trapping anything. If that makes sense, brain turned off.
Click to expand...

It's a monarch, are the inserts like the fish thorowgood system or do you actually put something else into the saddle as well?
 
yes i have previously bent a gullet bar. My mare was wider than the widest gullet they did so i used a gullet measuring device then templated her size on paper and my father used his machine to adjust the gullet to fit the template. Worked perfectly, happy horse :)
 
Paint Me Proud said:
yes i have previously bent a gullet bar. My mare was wider than the widest gullet they did so i used a gullet measuring device then templated her size on paper and my father used his machine to adjust the gullet to fit the template. Worked perfectly, happy horse :)
Click to expand...

what machine did he use? I'm an art student and was thinking of using a vise to trap one end and try bending it with my weight, would probably have to do it very gradually and on both sides to keep the balance though. But we have a 3D workshop so may be something else in there that will be able to do it properly :)
 
Slightlyconfused said:
Do you have a wintec wide? If so you can get inserts to that job. My Tb is in between black and blue so he is in a blue but with front inserts to bring it up without trapping anything. If that makes sense, brain turned off.
Click to expand...

This is odd, you can't use black or blue in a wintec wide? I was told categorically to only use white wintec as the narrowest and then of course the standard wintec wide plates designed for the saddle ranging from pink through dark purple as it would damage the tree.
 
Yes, whilst fitting saddles (wintecs) I found (often) that some horses were in between fittings and adjusting the flocking wasn't quite enough to get the fit right. The plates are mild steel, I made a cardboard template of the horse's wither, then transferred that to a piece of thick plywood. Cut the shape out with a jigsaw, remember to mark it nearside profile and offside profile (important) on the templates then heat the gullet plate up with a blow lamp and lay it across the wooden template and tap round gently with a ball pain hammer to get the exact shape, do it outside as there will be smoke!
Then when it's cooled down, spray with cellulose paint and re fit into saddle.
You can't go too wide or narrow, this is for in between fitting only.
Oz
 
Took the gullet to a metal craft place with the tracing and the guy matched it to her shape for free :) Tried it today and we only hacked but she seemed a lot more comfortable so hopefully it has worked :) not bridging and pressure seems very even and I felt centred, we will see what my fitter says in a few days :)
 
countercanterr said:
Took the gullet to a metal craft place with the tracing and the guy matched it to her shape for free :) Tried it today and we only hacked but she seemed a lot more comfortable so hopefully it has worked :) not bridging and pressure seems very even and I felt centred, we will see what my fitter says in a few days :)
Click to expand...

Brilliant news :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top