What are your opinions on this saddle and it's price?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270174189238&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching

I need a saddle with interchangeable gullets as all my horses take different sizes and I can't afford 3 different saddles.

 

Thanks!
 

 

It looks like a nice saddle, I have no idea about the price since I'm not too up on the market.

However, the easy change gullet system changes the GULLET of the saddle ONLY! There is no change in the tree. It is meant to, and is pretty good at, make small adjustments to adjust/perfect the fit around the withers on a saddle that already fits the horse fairly well. I think most of these come with regular/medium trees and that does not change. You can put an extra wide gullet in it and you still have an extra wide gullet on a MEDIUM tree. As a consequence these saddles simply DO NOT FIT some horses. Also as a consequence if you have 3 very different horses that NEED different tree sizes you will still NEED different saddles because the gullet system does not change the tree only makes relatively minor adjustments around the withers.

On the other hand if your horses are fairly close in size this could work well, but then if they are fairly close in size you can probably also get a standard saddle that fits them all pretty well and adjust with padding.

Another thing to think about with this saddle is that it's wool and it's used. Wool is thought to be a good thing because it molds really well to the horse and it can be restuffed. BUT this saddle is used, so it's already molded to at least one horse before which WILL affect the fit on your horses (you see this with foam too to some extent). You may find you need to reflock the saddle even if the tree is a good fit (not horrible, but you should think about that in the pricing/your budget). Also the benefits of wool won't be seen as much if you are continually swapping the saddle around from horse to horse as it won't mold like it's designed to do.

There are saddles that supposedly adjust in the tree area as well (specifically wintec's air ride "CAIR" pannels and some of the treeless/flex tree saddles that I don't have much knowledge of). However, I know at least wintec recommends their CAIR system be set up by a professional saddle fitter to your horse and then left alone unless your horse changes do to muscling, etc. It's not something you want to be fiddling with daily to make it fit multiple horses, especially if they are vastly different in shape.

Collegiates are nice saddles that hold up extremely well. I had one probably 10 years ago and it was in great condition even after I outgrew it. It might be helpful to go to a local tackstore if you can, find a collegiate and see how the tree fits on your horses. I'm always a little weary buying saddles offline because you can't try them on your horse's back. However, it is flocked with wool which is VERY important so it could be changed if need be.

 When looking up collegiate convertible line it says no tree and seller says its tree is convertible to fit almost any horse so I am a little confused as to what it would fit...

The GULLET is convertable, and the seller is mistaken (as are very very many people) in assuming that it will convert to fit "any" horse just because the gullet (the very very front of the saddle) will adjust. This is where most horses are hard to fit so it can be a great tool; however, if the saddle tree doesn't fit the horse somewhere other than at the withers (it can bridge, rock forward, be unbalanced, all sorts of things) no amount of interchangable gullets are going to help.

I'm pretty sure collegiate convertable saddles are based on some form of rigid tree with an interchangable gullet (in fact I'm not sure there is such a thing as a treeless-saddle with an interchangable gullet, after all if it's treeless why would you need to change the gullet???). The tree may be some new sort of "flex tree" or "spring tree" as opposed to a more standard, more rigid tree, so it might have some flex, but it's still a structural tree. I had problems finding that information as well, so I'm not 100% sure.

It's a good saddle from a good company, but you might be asking too much of it to fit 3 different horses especially when buying it sight unseen off the internet without having tried similar saddles on your horses. It may fix your problems, but if your horses really are different enough to warrent 3 different saddles to begin with it may not. I wouldn't ask one saddle (interchangable gullet, treeless, flex tree, CAIR pannels or not) to fit two horses that were so different that in standard saddles one would require a narrow tree and the other a wide. If you have two horses that both require a medium to maybe a wide tree but differ enough in withers/back shape that corrective padding or two saddles would be required to fix fit around the withers; THEN this saddle would probably be a good bet and it's something I'd think about trying it out for.

That's correct the collegiate convertible has the changeable gullet system.  They are very nice well made saddles and are very well balanced as well.  Another saddle that's very similar to the Collegiate would be the Wintec 500 close contact.  It's a synthetic saddle, but looks very nice and you can get one brand new for around $500.  There are a few sellers on ebay that will include shipping, a gullet set and webbers for that price.  That's how I got mine and I love it.  Good luck in your search.

I agree with BoyleHeightsKid about the Wintec 500 CC. It's an awesome saddle! I got mine in black, I know that's a bit different for a hunter, but black looks good on bay Morgans and the camel-colored Wintec looks really terrible. Mine however, you can hardly tell is synthetic. I've had it for 2 years now and when I clean it up (just hose it off and towel/air dry!) it looks as good as new. The only complaint I have is that the billet holes are starting to crack on one side...but I think the billets can be replaced. However, like some of the others have said, the changeable gullets only work on horses that are similar in size, and all of the ones I ride are.

The huge benefit of the changeable gullet has been for a single horse, actually. When I first started leasing this mare right before I got the saddle, she was FAT. As I got her into shape, we had to change gullet sizes to fit her more precisely. The same goes for the horse I lease now, as he grows and gets into shape, I'll probably have to change the gullet for him.

It looks like a very nice saddle. However, the interchangeable gullet system is a lot more difficult to use than you might think. I had to take mine back to the shop to have the gullet changes, it'a quite difficult. I had a Wintec close contact.

http://www.wintec.net.au/products/jumpCrossCountry/closeContact.html 

 

If you're planning on changing the gullet everytime you ride a different horse, you're going to have a hard time. There are lots of screws and shredding, so it's not easy.

And the tree issue is a big problem as well. But you got enough good information on trees, I just thought you should know about the system. 

 My horses aren't terribly different both are AQHA and have that build, one being slightly bigger than the other.  I will have to check on the tree, it is more the withers that my current saddle doesn't sit right on.  I am concerned about having to change the gullet to ride these 2 but it may have to be done, I do not ride everyday or even close to that so I will have to suffer...plus is I can plan it out and change it while watching tv...thanks everyone

unless you want to spend 10-20 mins changing the gullet before you ride EACH horse, dont get the saddle. they arent as easy to change as they say. they also dont fit as well as they say, i had to get one because the gullet (part where the spine is) was the widest one we could find but the saddle didnt fit anywhere else and had to pad it up to get it to fit decently. they also dont feel very flexible like some saddles do, like the move with the horse better, on these trees you feel like your sliding from one side to the other. in my opinion dont get it.