How Do You Measure Gullet Size On A Saddle? - Extension Horses

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How do you measure gullet size on a saddle?

Jul 31, 2019 | Horses

Unfortunately, no standards for gullet measurements exist within the saddle industry. Most gullet measurements are taken on a raw saddle tree and not on a finished saddle. Once a saddle is finished, there is really no way to determine the gullet width. A good rule of thumb to use for gullet fit is that there should be clearance of two to four finger-widths between the withers and the gullet. Standard measurements for gullets described in Horseman’s Handbook of Western Saddles are: Regular quarter horse bars: 5 3/4″ Semi-quarter horse bars: 6″ Full quarter horse bars: 6 1/4″ to 6 1/2″ Extra-wide quarter horse bars: 6 3/4″ to 7″ Arabian bars: 6 1/4″ to 6 3/4″ (has a flatter pitch than quarter horse bars) The gullet is the tunnel underneath the fork and rides over the horse’s withers. The design of the fork and the angle of the bars of the saddle tree determine the width and height of the gullet.

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This is a national Cooperative Extension resource

This work is supported in part by New Technologies for Agriculture Extension grant no. 2020-41595-30123 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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