Saddles, did you know?? am I dim??

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beaconhorse

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I am just dim? did everyone already know That with most good/reasonable quality saddles the tree can be altered making it either narrower or wider?
Not talking about adjustable ones either
And it is fairly cheap to have done!

If most knew this why are so many 'I love this saddle, just doesn't fit new horse adverts about'???
 
isn't it only for very minor adjustments and can actually damage the tree/saddle in the process. I could be completely wrong
 
There is a slight risk that the tree with 'ping' but thats why I said quality/reasonable ones. I have seen them altered successfully from med to wide but will check how much they can be altered, good point
 
I was talking about this to my saddler man a few weeks ago and he says that the machines that do this have been known to cause damage to the saddle as the trees arent made to be altered. He has known the trees to have snapped under the pressure and not long ago he had a saddle in, when someone had asked him to re-fit it as they were having problems. They`d had the saddle slightly widened and it had been ok for a few weeks. But when saddler took it apart to re-flock it, the tree was in half. So not something I would risk, even with a well loved saddle. You never know if and when it would snap, leaving your horse vulnerable.
 
This can be done, but is pretty dodgy. My saddler was explaining this to me a couple of weeks ago. This stresses the tree and its attachments to the saddle, making them more likely to shear off, or the tree to snap. The actual adjustments are done by putting the saddle in to a vice and squashing the tree narrower or pulling it wider. There is no guarantee that both arms of the tree will be adjusted to the same degree and my saddler said that she has seen saddles which are wider on one side than the other. So yes, it can be done, but the advice is... DON'T!!
grin.gif
 
Thanks for that, I did wonder when I knew it could be done. Would be yet another thing to worry about buying a second hand saddle too
 
Also true :P Most saddles are made to a specific width and aside from adjustments in flocking, theyre not designed to be altered.

Physically altering the width of a tree isnt good for the material its made from and its not designed for this. The adjustable saddles on the market are specifically designed to be adjustable.

Also, since the width is only a small part of what makes a saddle fit, its still no wondering there is such a market for second hand tack.
 
No - wooden ones do not alter better than plastic ones. The trees in most saddles are not designed to be adjusted regardless of whether there is a metal gullet (all of them but the cheapest saddles have metal gullets, oh, and a couple of JW saddles).

I fit saddles for the SC which has an adjustable tree and therefore I have the machine that widens or narrows the saddle. We are trained to use the machine correctly and to take the measurements so both sides of the saddle are adjusted evenly. It is not something you can do at home yourself. I have been asked to adjust other saddles and although I know I could adjust them (maybe once) the risk of the tree warping is not worth it - and it is around £150 to put a new tree in. I have seen a SC saddle which has been adjusted maybe 500 times and the tree is still true and is not warped or uneven.

The tree in Kieffers can also be adjusted using heat - again, the Kieffer factory/saddler would not consider adjusting the tree of another saddle.
 
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