This measurement shows the height of the front of the saddle,
or how much wither clearance a horse may have.
From here, we took
the trees outside and
placed them on my
horse. He is a sevenyear
old Dash for Cash
x Beduino gelding and
is built in a bit of a
thoroughbred style. The
rst picture is a rein laid
across where the gullet
should sit in a well-t-
ng saddle. Noce that
it falls across the wither
and travels down. The
second photo is a side
shot with the rein laid
in the same place. This
shows where the girth
should t when the
saddle sits correctly.
This is the 6 x 90 tree. It is close, but not uite right. Some
small shiing and it slid back too far to where it found a comfortable
spot behind the shoulders. This posion would place
the girth in a forward slanng angle and not allow for correct
moon. It also places the stress incorrectly across his back.
This is the same tree with
the pad I generally use
on this horse. Finished
out, this saddle would
not allow for free moon
in the shoulders of my
gelding. Even with a good
pad, there would be
spots showing incorrect
wear.
This is the second 6
¼ x 90 tree. The bars
are aer across his
back and you can see
where it would have
pressure versus where
it wouldn’t. According
to Sco, this is sll not
a correct t.
This is the same tree
with a pad on. You can
really see how poorly
it would connect, even
with an inch-thick pad
to accommodate the
wider bar angle.
This is the third
tree. It is wider
across the gullet
and uite a bit
aer. This saddle
would sore up this
horse in no me.
The width would
create too much
pressure on the
wither and the bar
angle would create
pressure closer to
his loin and sore his
back. Even with a
good pad, you can
sll see it doesn’t
t (boom photo).
82 Rodeo LIFE