"Sorry, your saddle won't work because it needs longer points."
What does that mean in simple English? Lets break it down, the 'points' are simply the tree points. Where this can get confusing is that these are often interchangeable in saddles.
An interchangeable gullet refers to changing the width of the tree point to accommodate the width of the horse's shoulder angle.
Tree's are designed to have a set tree point length, so this can't be changed once the saddle has been manufactured.
In the GULLET/ TREE POINTS picture you can see the TOP red gullet has LONG points, compared to the BOTTOM red gullet which has SHORT points.
So why is this important?
This is the front of the saddle which helps stabilize the weight of the rider as sympathetically as possible (so through the WHOLE tree front to back).
The stirrup bars attach to the tree just behind the points, and this is where all of your weight goes every time you weight bear through your stirrups (rising trot, transitions, two point- random spooks, etc).
If this isn't the right length for your horse, the rider weight is not able to be taken kindly through the front of the saddle.
The length is what creates clearance is the term we use to cover the space over the top and sides of the wither.
CLEARANCE refers to protecting the very sensitive and easily damaged spinal processes (POINT LENGTH ON THE HORSE).
A horse with a high, long or high and long wither with a deep/ long drop onto the ribshelf is a likely candidate for long tree points to create clearance over and around the entire wither (especially the back of the wither). If the points are too short then the saddle can't use the points to help spread the weight along the tree. The tree points sink down until the saddles panels sit on top of the horses back and they can't get any lower. A horse with smaller to no withers is usually a candidate for medium or shorter points (WHY POINT LENGTH MATTERS).
So what happens to the riders weight through the stirrup bars in saddles with short points on horses with tall withers?
This is where it can be problematic because now all we have is wool/ air/ latex keeping the riders weight still- which it can't.
The panel line which was once lovely and free of the trapezius may now be using this muscle to hold the rider off the spinal processes, or even worse all the clearance has gone and you are now sitting on the horse's spine.
Long points create clearance for the back and sides of tall withers, and for many horses this is the only way to do it. Some horses can get away with shorter length points if they have medium length withers or drops onto the ribshelf. Sometimes the horse has a medium wither height and can have the choice, but if the horse is "down hill" in the saddle fitting area long points may be needed to lift the rider into balance, by using the correct gullet width, but more lift (length) in the front we can stop the rider following the horses gravity and causing balance issues.
Not all horses need long points. Using a saddle with long points when short are better suited, leads to having bigger panels on your saddle to create balance- which can be problematic in regards to stability, especially on a wide, barrel shaped horse!
REMEMBER the point length is only one aspect of saddle fit, though an important one for your horse's comfort. Your saddle fitter will be able to best advise what tree length is best suited to your horse.
