Wintec Gullet sizes

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Anna Ern

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I have just bought a Bates saddle and wanted to check I have the correct gullet size . I do not have the guage but have placed a flexi curve on my horse which corresponds exactly to the shape/size of the narrow gullet. Can anyone let me know if this would be the correct gullet to insert or whether the guage reads differently. I currently have a medium narrow inserted and it does sit very slightly low, but do not want to pinch by putting the narrow in.
Thanks
 
Although I'm no great fan of the shape of the Wintec head plate I've yet to see a horse that is truly a narrow fit. Try not to look at the clearance and instead look at the point pockets on the saddle and see if they are parallel to the horse's side. I would recommend that you slide your hand underneath and see if it feels even pressure - trouble is the Wintec headplate leaves more pressure at the top because of the "kink" in the arms.

If the angle is correct, and I suspect you'll be up to a medium to get the right angle, then you need a front riser. No of course you shouldn't need a pad for a new saddle, but you can't have the panels made deeper, and if you have muscle loss, which I suspect, then a front riser pad is often a good idea, though I presonally only recommend the mattes correction pad system.

I think you'd be better working with a fitter, and I suspect this saddle isn't really right for your horse (adjustable gullet does not mean it fits any horse) but otherwise follow the above procedure and then check that the saddle is level from front to back - especially with you in the saddle in trot, where the horse lifts its back the most.
 
Thankyou. I bought the Bates as the horse (ID/TB) had lost weight due to not eating but I knew this was only tempory. He is now eating and beginning to put weight back on. Due to spending 5 hours at a time in the saddle (hunting), I find pressure points developing either side behind the wither, approx under the stirrup bars. Not sure how to deal with this as also happens with my other horse whose Albion saddle has been confirmed as fitting correctly by the saddler.
 
If your horse has lost weight and you downsize to a narrow gullet, then the back muscles have nowhere to go when they start to rebuild and your horse will just develop atrophy. If the current saddle is slightly too wide, better to sew some gamgee to the front of your numnah in layers and peel them like an onion as your horse muscles up again.
 
Thanks. The Med/narrow currently fitted gives room for the muscle to redevelop, so will not take it down any further.
Does anyone have any suggestions re the pressure areas over the stirrup bar areas please?........other than not staying in the saddle so long!
 
If there is pressure under the bar then the fit is not right, whether a fitter has "fitted" it or not. Flocking does need to be light behind the bar to avoid pressure, but prequently the tree is the wrong shape and that pressure is because there is a lack of pressure at the front and back, and the saddle is fractionally rocking. With the Bates you also have the issue of the kink, and upright bars/rails (the tree) both of which could contribute to pressure at that point.

Do see if you can assess the gullet plates for width rather than clearance, it is so important. You could even girth up firmly, no pad, and post photos on here showing clearly the front of the saddle and the angle of the points against the ribcage, and then side views showing the whole of the horse.
 
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