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Discussion on Trouble changing Wintec gullet
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New Member:
abby12
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Posted on Sunday, Feb 7, 2010 - 12:02 pm:
I have a new Wintec jumping saddle which I bought on line (on sale, no returns), and am trying to replace the medium gullet plate with a wide. An hour and two bloody knuckles later, I can't get the blasted thing on. I just can't seem to get the holes at the points of the tree to line up w/ the holes on the red gullet plate. If I apply a great deal of force, like my whole body weight, I can widen the tree almost enough, but not quite, to get both screws in. The gullet plate is borrowed, not new--could there be different versions of gullet plates? A few years back I rode in a borrowed Wintec and had no problem changing gullet plates, and I'm mechanically inclined. Anybody have experience with this?
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Sunday, Feb 7, 2010 - 1:33 pm:
I changed them on a friend's saddle and they were easy to change. If the gullet plate didn't come with the saddle, there may be some differences. Are you sure the saddle you got is supposed to have the plates changed and that the plate is for the same model as the saddle you have? Silly questions maybe, but then again, thinking about some of the things I've done in the past....
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New Member:
abby12
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Posted on Sunday, Feb 7, 2010 - 2:33 pm:
Not silly questions--I feel I must be overlooking something obvious! The saddle is supposed to be changeable. I have borrowed an entire gullet plate set, and the medium plate I took out of the new saddle exactly matches the medium plate from the borrowed set, so I'm taking that to mean that another plate from that set "should" work in this saddle.
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Sunday, Feb 7, 2010 - 2:50 pm:
You think so! What a bother. I think I'd give Wintec a call or email.
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Member:
maggienm
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Posted on Sunday, Feb 7, 2010 - 3:05 pm:
HI Abby,
I had some trouble putting a wide, it might have been an extra wide in my a/p Wintec.
I did get it done but I wasn't happy with the fit.
Somehow the wide gullet wasn't as wide as it should have been.
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Member:
terrido
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Posted on Monday, Feb 8, 2010 - 1:07 pm:
Abby, putting in the wide and the extra or ultra wide plates are not easy. For me getting the plate in was not an issue itself, getting the saddle back together was a pain though and took me over an hour.
With the medium plate out the saddle should be very flexible, the tree should be fairly flexible too. And yeah sometimes you have to fidget a bit to get a wider plate on, but that part should be the easier part. Be sure you have slipped the saddle completely off the tree points before you try to replace a gullet plate. Otherwise no, you won't be able to "stretch" it to get that plate in. Course then, the fun part as I said is getting the saddle back onto the wider tree. ;)
Yeah I think mine is the "ultra wide" it's the widest plate they make for the normal saddle. They do also make a "wide saddle" must be special ordered I never see many just available to purchase. Anyway their wide model has two gullet plates even wider than the widest in the normal plate set. My mare's back is a smidge wider than the Wintec plate.
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New Member:
abby12
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Posted on Monday, Feb 8, 2010 - 4:42 pm:
Thanks for the tips, I double checked everything. Terrie, you mention "...the tree should be fairly flexible too." I'm thinking the tree is defective--it is nearly inflexible. By pulling hard on the point of the tree while pressing my knee into the pommel, I finally managed to align the second bolt with the tree & gullet plate holes, and then the staples holding the nut in place fell out, and on top of it I think I stripped the threads! Something's wrong here!
I have a local Wintec dealer, and though I didn't buy from them, maybe they can help. What a pain!
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New Member:
abby12
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Posted on Saturday, Feb 20, 2010 - 1:12 pm:
An update on adjusting this Wintec: I put the thing aside for 2 weeks and tried again today. Managed to get the wide plate on and put the saddle back together, but it required a LOT of force and about an hour & a half of wrestling. My hands still ache. Key tool: a pair of Vise Grips made it easy to pull the points of the tree back into the point pockets, and helped pull parts into place and hold them in alignment so I could tighten bolts. This saddle is now a wide, and will remain that way as long as I own it!
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Member:
leslie1
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Posted on Saturday, Feb 20, 2010 - 2:14 pm:
Terrie
Can you use a wintec without any plate and then it is sorta like a tree less? in a way? or not?
leslie
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Member:
terrido
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Posted on Monday, Feb 22, 2010 - 1:42 pm:
Abby - I hear that! haha Mine is set on the extra wide and I too will leave it that way forever most likely.
Leslie, that's a great question. I wouldn't try this myself. The way these saddles are constructed without the plate in the front of the saddle it has no form at all, I would think it would place too much pressure on the withers. Most treeless saddles today have enough shape in them to keep them off the withers. That's one area you definitely do not want to add undo pressure.}
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