Fitting a harness saddle that has a tree questions

It seems that I am at the point where I need to upgrade to a harness that has a tree in the back saddle.  I am not looking forward to this.  I love my harness, it is serving me well and it very easy for me to use and buckle (arthritis).  But Peanut is using himself differently and we are asking more of him and his shape has changed a bit, so it is time to start looking.

My question is, how to I tell if it is a good fit?  He still does not have a lot of wither, and won't because of his conformation, but he does have a little. He has a broad back with slight withers. The one time I used a treed back saddle, it was much too narrow and pinched.  Do they make flexible trees?  All the ones I see in catalogs look very narrow for most minis.  

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

None of my minis have a high wither. I have gone to the Comfy Fit harness for all of my minis and my Fjords. The Fjords have zero wither also. I've never had a problem with them pinching. In fact, when my Fjords were in training and got really thin (thinner than I would have liked) I actually had to purchase pads for the saddles because they started wearing bald spots on the sides of the wither. So it seemed like they fit worse when the wither was more pronounced. 

I can't say enough good things about my 5 comfy fit harnesses. I actually bought all of mine direct from the Amish man in Iowa. But when we went back this spring he had moved to Missouri. Shop and all. However, same quality stuff coming from the same guy. If we've ever had a problem we've been able to call him (usually leave a message and he calls back within a few days) or call Chimacum Tack. They've made custom pieces for us, rigged up special orders, and when I ordered my last harness from them I took him the measurements and when the harness arrived at my home I didn't even have to adjust it for my mini. It was already sized to fit in all the right buckle holes!

Wow... so that was my soap box about comfy fit. They cost a little more than most but I've never had a problem with any of my harnesses and if I wanted something custom added or removed they always come through.

Hi MajorClem  :salute  !  How are you?  Hope you are having a nice summer.

I keep thinking about Comfy Fit.  I need an over check for Peanut and that is what is holding me up, plus I am on the fence about synthetic, after the last harness debacle where they both refused to wear the "beta/bio whatever it was" harness. That last harness was weird.  I can see one not liking it, but both had meltdowns. So now I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger on a new one.  

How are the buckles to manipulate?  Are the stiff at all?  

I should call them and see if they can make one with a check.

I messed around with the tie down straps today and found he is happy with them looser.  I have to keep reminding myself of that.  I know this, but keep buckling him up tight.  I think my husband wore off on me, he tends to do the tie downs pretty tight and I am always after him about it, lol.  I need to listen to my own words .

The nice thing about the comfy fit is you can get it leather lined. All the padding in mine is leather. You can get synthetic padding but I chose not to. I would call them and see if they can do an over check LeRoy can make just about anything you want. His other harnesses you can get with an overcheck so I imagine he can make a comfy fit bridle with one. It's worth asking.

The only buckle that is stiff is the traces. They are really thick so they are a little hard to unbuckle if you need to. However, the rest of the harness is really supple and easy to adjust. I wasn't sure about synthetic either but I'm in love with this harness. I have both the deluxe deep V collar and the euro-collar. I like both. I single drive Clem with the deep V breastcollar and team drive or drive Candace single with the Euro.

The more I learn the more I realize just how patient Clem was with me as a beginner. I used to strap her down TIGHT too. With my new harness the shafts just float in the loops. I keep thinking how much pressure I must have been putting on her back with my tying those down so tight. She never complained. I've found several things like that. She's a good girl. I'm glad she's back.