We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

We’ve been in this business long enough now to see some changes in the industry and in the relative numbers of horses of different sizes and shapes. One of the things we have seen change over the years is the percentage of orders with different bar spreads. So I started to write about that for a specific reason (explained at the end) and then things just expanded from there…

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

In response to an e-mail discussion today, here is an old poem I put together a while back to explain my (Denise’s) part in the tree making process.

Trees
(With sincere apologies to Alfred Joyce Kilmer)

I don’t think you will ever see
a saddle tree that’s been made by me.

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

Rod finished rawhiding this set of trees today, and I had fun comparing a few things between them before he got at them. These pictures will show some of the optical illusions that makes dealing with trees, saddles and horses so challenging at times.

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

Well, the flowers are still blooming like crazy in front of the house and the shop.

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

Rod was cutting up rawhide again this morning, and this was one of the sides of a cow hide we got. (We use primarily bull hides but do use a lighter weight cow hide on request for lighter weight trees.) Those tree makers in the southern hemisphere don’t know how good they have it to be getting clean skins with no brands on them all the time!!

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

OK, so it isn’t quite the same, but I must admit it reminds me of Mickey…

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

with good things lately…

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

When I read in various places about how to take templates on a horse’s back, the instructions that include more than just a “wither tracing” always include taking a tracing of the top line. But very rarely have I ever seen the request for a tracing along the back where the bar of a saddle sits. For western trees, that is crucial, because the top line does not tell us how what the rock line will be. Here is a prime example. (See about half way down our Factors that Affect Fit page if you don't know what rock is.)

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

Or - The long and the short of it. I couldn’t decide on the best title…

Here’s a couple trees we built in the same group of four. Funny how sometimes you get very similar trees in a group and other times you get very different trees. These two are pretty much at the far ends of the spectrum as far as size for the rider goes, and they demonstrate some points I want to talk about regarding trees and how the measurements can work.