AH ADJUSTABLE GULLET SADDLES

 

Many riders would like a comfortable saddle that fits their horse for many years but horses change shape with maturity, training, alterations in workload and/or changes in riding discipline, this means the fit of any saddle on a horse is liable to change too. A saddle with an adjustable tree (also referred to as an adjustable gullet) could therefore be considered a good investment for many riders as it can prevent the need to swap out a saddle when a horse changes shape.

The tree width of a saddle refers to the distance between the points of the tree. These are located at the front of the saddle, just over the horse's shoulders and near the stirrup bar. Tree width often varies from "narrow" through to "wide", though at AH saddles we have saddles that have some tree types that can accommodate horses that are up to an "extra extra wide plus" fit. Our adjustable saddles are suitable for narrow, medium and wide horses in our dropped panel versions, and for riding horses that are medium wide (mw) to extra wide (xw) fit in our close contact panel versions.

 

Our adjustable tree saddles can be modified to maintain the optimum width and clearance over the horse's withers as needed. For example, if a horse gains weight and muscle the saddle tree may become too narrow and pinch the horse’s shoulders. Through age, or a horse's workload declining, a horse may lose bulk over the withers and the saddle may become too wide and push down on his withers. The angles of the tree points also affect saddle fit. For details about saddle fitting, refer to our article 'How to check if Your Saddle Fits’.

The gullet of a saddle (sometimes called the channel) runs the length of a saddle between the panels and is intended to allow the horse's spinal processes to work. Interchangeable gullet plates do not affect the width of the rest of the gullet, and for this reason riders should always be sure the gullet of a saddle is neither too wide nor too narrow for their horse's particular shape; to accommodate this issue our adjustable gullet saddle comes in two wither profiles:

• Dropped panel for narrow, medium and wide horses with a wither height needing a deeper panel.

• Close contact panel suitable for riding horses that are medium wide (mw) to extra wide (xw) fit with some wither height.

 

In addition to the two gullet profiles there is a system of interchangeable bars (head plates) that allow riders to fine-tune the width of the saddle tree. These head plates come in a choice of 5 sizes: narrow, medium/narrow, medium, medium/wide and wide/extra wide. The saddle as standard comes with one head plate. Additional plates can be purchased at £22.00 each.