Equimeasure

[Traveller]

Just had a thought... if those of you who make trees (or the whole thing, from tree through finished saddle) can actually see the horse in person ( as it were), do you still need/like to have the information that a system like Dennis Lane's offers? Or can you take your own measurements as needed and move forward from there?

Thanks!

Joanne

[Rod and Denise Nikkel]

For us, seeing the horse is the ideal - so long as we have a tree or three of our own to try on. (Trying on other maker's trees, while interesting, doesn't really help us a lot in figuring out how ours will fit. Something about differences between tree makers or something like that... ) While we are at the point now where we can look at a horse and say, "I think a this and that will fit him" there is still optical illusion that will get you now and then, especially in regards to rock. Different lighting, shadows, coat length and even color of the horse can affect how you see his back and we need to stay aware of that. Seeing a horse gives us a good idea. Trying on trees to check actual fit would be the "gold standard" but very few of the trees we build stay in our immediate area and some go a long way off. So seeing the horse they will fit is a real luxury.

This is where Dennis Lane's system really shines because you can actually compare a standard shape between horses. It is amazing how you will look at two horses standing in front of you and say, "They are way different" but when you put the cards on them, they measure the same. Or vice versa. As Jon has said, there has never been an industry standard for comparing shapes of horses. Dennis's system has the potential to be that. We have only made a few trees so far based on information from the Lane system, but they have worked well from the feedback we have received. (We don't make our trees to fit the shape of the cards. We make trees the same way we always have, but use the system to determine which measurements we will use to get the fit we want for that shape.) So we see this system as having the potential to be as useful as seeing the horse in person, and possibly as good as seeing the horse and trying on trees, but that may be pushing it a bit...

Edited May 29, 2008 by Rod and Denise Nikkel