>>> She had a saddle fitter few months ago and got a wide gullet in her >>> synthetic saddle.
What brand if I may ask? I just saw that Thorowgood now offers changeable gullets. I haven't seen one though. >>> Master saddlers are few and far between. There is one locally who I will >>> consult next time. I don't think the saddle fitter who came out >>> (recommended) will have a clue how to fit Ofeig. The very best saddler I've met has had some formal and much informal training, but what makes her great is her own experience and intuition, and her willingness to see the whole horse, and not just a back to fit. She's a master by my definition, but not a "Master" by title. Some "master saddlers" may be good, some may even be great, and some awful, but remember, they probably got that title from a traditional bestower of titles, and the one doing the bestowing may be way out of touch with horses, and with new technologies. Saddle-making has largely been a static industry for about 100 years or so, with the most significant changes coming maybe in the past 10 years or so. Some fitters are trained by the manufacturers they represent, so you may not always get an objective, or even well-informed, opinion. Carol Brett told us stories of master saddle makers (major brands, too, very pricey!) who had no first-hand experience with horses - yet they argued with her that real horses aren't shaped like the templates she brought them. The "master" part of their title came from their leather-working skills, not from any in-depth horsemanship/biomechanics knowledge. Thank goodness more and more people like her are catching on and making waves. BTW, in Stan's recent video, the saddlemaker talked about reflocking the saddles but there is only so much flocking you can remove before you get to the rigid part of the tree. Did you catch what he said about widening the gullets? I believe he mentioned Passier as one brand whose gullets are strong enough to be reformed by his massive press. Do you know how much Passier saddles cost? Like $3000-4000, I believe...? I don't know about you, but that would give me some serious heartburn, allowing someone to rip open and re-engineer a saddle I'd paid that kind of money for. The saddle maker strongly implied (or so I took it) that many brands can't be widened without risking the integrity of the saddle. And Sina kept widening and maturing until she was at least eight, during which time I went through several Wintec gullets, then several saddles... at the rate of about one every 3-6 months the first year or two. Can you imagine paying $3000+ for a saddle, then several hundred (or even more? I'm guessing..?) more to re-engineer it, only to have her outgrow it again in 3-6 months? Yikes. Would the reengineering affect the resale negatively? I would expect so. Could a saddle be widened many times? I'd suspect not, but I could be wrong. Those are questions to keep in mind - I don't know the answers, but I'd have to wonder. >>> I need to have the knowledge to know when someone is BSing me. Ask simple and direct questions - you may be able to discern more than you think. There's one individual you can always bank on never to BS you about the saddle. That would be your horse. If someone tells you something and your horse strongly disagrees, go with your horse's opinion. Of course, the complication is that your horse may not be able to explain the "why" behind his/her opinion on any given day. :) Karen Thomas, NC
