Pony Saddles

[LCA]

For all you pony owners what kind of saddles do you have ?
Recently I have ridden two ponies both very nice (but 1 a bit mental) but I felt the saddle was too small for me on both occassions. My knees stuck out past the knee rolls which I think stopped me getting my heels down as well as usual as my leg was being forced away from the saddle. This was a problem especially when jumping and then I could not slide my seat to the back of the saddle because there was nowhere to slide it to - the cantle was directly behind me ! The resulted in me getting thrown forward on landing everytime as a result of not being able to get my heels down and having the cantle slap me up the bottom too (hope that is not too rude) ! I felt very unbalanced. I think the instructor said it was a kids saddle because it was on a pony - can you get saddles in adult size for ponies because I really felt not that I was too big for the pony but too big for the saddle !

[Steve.R]

I know the feeling, Rupert is 13.2hh and came with a 15" saddle, I may be small but I am not that small! I now have an Australian Stock saddle (we are aiming for Endurance riding) for him that is about a 16.5" and that works fine for both of us, but it would be tricky going to a bigger size as he is lightly built...........

I don't know the answer to this one, but I assume it is a case of the build of the pony and a bit of shopping around!:)

Esther

[Wally]

The saddle has to fit the rider as well as the horse. My horse is about 13.1hh and I use a 17 inch saddle on him.

[Peace]

I'm just learning about all this, too. My pony came with a 15" saddle, and I had the same problem you did. Galadriel sent me a great website:
http://www.saddlefitter.com[/URL]

click on the saddle fit button once you're there

I think it's just with short-bodied horses, you don't want the saddle so long it interferes with the horse's hips. Some western saddles have skirts that do this - don't know if it would be a problem with english saddles as well.

I've sent mine off to the consignment shop!:)

[Wally]

Another brill site is www.saddlecheck.co.uk

[Fraggle]

The saddle fitter told me I couldn't have have any bigger saddle on Sam as he's quite short backed and 14.2hh.

Unfortunately, Saddles seem to have to be a compromise between both pony and rider.

If your knees are going over the knee-rolls then you're riding with your stirrups too short and forcing your hips out of the saddle.

I'm gradually trying to lenthen my own stirrups over time as I had the same problem and used to lose my stirrup irons a lot. Over a period of 6 month, I think I've gone down 2 holes and my position has really improved.

I got a working hunter saddle because Dales ponies need a saddle that doesn't interfere with their shoulder action and you can also show in that type of saddle so I wouldn't have to buy another one.

:)

[Peace]

Hi, Fraggle:

Speaking of shoulder action, I've only just realized that all this time I've been putting the saddle too far forward on the horse! I was taught early on to put the saddle right over the point of the withers, but now I'm reading that you only start with it there, then slide it back until it stops.:o

The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know!;)

[Fraggle]

I used to have my saddle too far forward as well!!!

You should see all the stupid mistakes I used to make (and still do!)

Fortuately Sam my pony is very forgving and just stands there giving me slightly withering looks if he think I'm doing something wrong.

At the end of thr day you can only try to do your best, you get so much conflicting advice off other people that you have to use your own judgement and get on with it!! :D

[Steve.R]

Its nice to see that other people have saddle fitting problems too. I had a local saddler come out to do a saddle fitting on Rupert. When I finally got the saddle it was a 16" instead of a 16.5" and too wide for Rupert - and I still had his wither tracing from the fitting to prove that he hadn't lost weight (the saddle didn't even fit the original tracing!)

So as you can imagine I pointed this out to the saddler, returned the saddle and got my money back. But it was lucky that I didn't automatically think that everything the saddler said was right and use the saddle - I would have been uncomfortable and poor Rupert would have had the pommel pressing on his withers!:(

However we are both very happy with the new stock saddle which fits really well as the tree was altered to fit Rupert's wither tracing and it was sized properly to take into account his size and build and my height, build and leg length.
Esther

[Emma_G_NZ]

Yeah it has to do with how long the ponies back is, so that the saddle doesnt go too far back- so it doesnt go past the last rib etc. How big is your pony? My pony who was 13.3hh couldnt go any bigger than 16.5", a friends pony who is 13hh or so cant go past 16" and my pony, who is 14.1hh has had a 17" but that was too long, and so I have a 16.5" on him, which luckily fits both me and him! I could do with being a 16" though, but this one came up, so i got it because it fits lenny well.

[Mossy]

imho saddle fit is dependent on 1 horse 2 the biggest rider. Both of mine are short backed, 5' 9" rug. Moss is the smaller horse in height but has the longer saddle as he is ridden by folks with more generously proportioned hind quarters. However a saddle so long it sits on the horse's loins is unforgiveable.

[Steve.R]

Rupert only takes a 5ft3 rug which is why we can't go beyond a 16.5" saddle as he is shortbacked. He has a new rug now and looks really cute, I'll try to post some photos tonight. It is a Rambo rug with a full neck cover and he looks so cosy (they live right up on Hadrian's Wall - literally - so he needs a heavy rug as it can get a bit wild in the winter!). Although I hope he has no fashion sense - it is a purple rug and he is bright chestnut and they clash badly!:D

Esther

[LindaAd]

I had this problem wiht my old pony Tristan - 14.1 and quite short-backed, and I'm rather ... not slim. I did find a second-hand saddle that fitted us both really well; Tristan's retired now, so I would sell it if anyone wanted it, although I've been sentimentally keeping it... I think it's 17"

[Kerry's Partner]

The pony saddle we have on loan at the moment is a 17" and being used whilst our Barry Swain/HM/Sue Carnell Saddle is adjusted so you'd probably expect that I would find the pony saddle really uncomfortable - but I don't, it's a lovely little GP.