09/07/2026
This week's research and development. I see so many photos of a tape stretch across the front of a saddle measuring the flare at the bar tips and calling it gullet width.. THAT IS NOT A GULLET MEASUREMENT. A true gullet measurement is taken on a bare tree and only on a bare tree where the swells meet the bars.. In the first photo you see a saddle tree with a true gullet measurement of 6 1/4", or Semi QH tree. Going over to the horse fit photos you can see this tree is too narrow for this horse.. I have used the same stallion for the entire series to illustrate the fit differences. This tree would dig into the shoulder and be uncomfortable for this horse. Qh and Full Qh trees seem to fit him the best..