Saddle question - again..

[SIXTEN]

Hello, it's me again with my stupid saddle questions. Sorry to bug everyone again but I just have one quick question regarding size: I understand that most saddles are 16-17 inches. Is 15 inches a children's saddle or for grown-ups? I have found a gp saddle that I am considering (very inexpensive) and it's 15 inches. I am very skinny but of course I don't want a children's saddle..

[Mossy]

I cannot stress too strongly, a saddle is fitted to the horse first and the rider second. The size usually defines whether it is considered to be pony saddle or a horse saddle. However my 14.2 highland wears a very wide 17inch saddle to accommmodate his both his width and the dimensions of his largest rider. My 15.3 slimish built mare will need a different shape altogether. Unless I am totally wrong I believe you do not have a horse at the moment. If so PLEASE do not buy a saddle for your own use and expect it to fit a variety of horses. A poorly fitting saddle can do the horse all sorts of damage, both physical and psychological, which is not obvious at the time. You would not expect a pair of shoes to fit a variety of people.

[Medalia]

Hey again!
The 15 inch saddle has to do with how long the seat is, but you likely knew that anyway.
The inches are to fit the person, and the tree is to fit the horse. The 15 inch saddle is mostly a childs saddle, and if you got it right now, then it would be likely that you got a new one in a few months, so it wouldn't be worth it. I'm also very thin (a downfall if you know what I mean) so anything I get is mostly too big, but I ride a 16 or 16.5 in seat, and I won't likely have to buy another saddle if I don't ruin this one. I have a wintec (my pride and joy!) and I just hose 'em off, it's a lot easier than dealing with leather and everything. :)

[SIXTEN]

Thanks for your advice and for your patience with my ignorance..(I LOVE THIS MESSAGE BOARD!) I have given up on buying a saddle and will do it when I get a horse...

[Wally]

This is a question that has cropped up a few times.I would like to know how many riding establishments out there would allow someone to ride their horses in a saddle a client happens to bring with them.
All my horses are fitted to their own saddles. I certainly would not allow anyone to ride my horse in their saddle, not unless it, by some wild chance, happened to fit.

Is this something that happens in the States?.

[Allie]

I'm in Kansas, and the first barn I took lessons at, they just had various english and western saddles on the wall, and you chose the seat size you wanted and just put it on the horse. At the time, being only 11 years old, I thought that was allright, but I wouldn't ride there now. That is the only barn I have been to that doesn't have specific saddles for specific horses. We don't have any barn certification programs like the BHS (as worthless as you guys may think it is, it's still better than nothing!), so pretty much anyone could open a lesson stable, but most barns in my area seem to be knowledgeable about saddle fit, if not about anything else!

Whenever anyone asks to borrow one of my horses fpr a friend to ride, I say yes, but with the condition that htey come to my house and get the correct saddle. Not only does this make my horses happier, but it also cuts down on the number of people asking to borrow my horses! (they're such sweethearts you see :))

Allie

[Wally]

Oh my goodness, Allie, I can't beleive this was the case, you were allowed to choose the saddle you wanted, with no regard for the horse.
Mind you the BHS are not all that good.I recently went on an upgrade course for on of my instructor certs. and was given a horse to ride. It was handed to me tacked up and ready. I mounted and immediately I saw that the saddle was a dangerous fit, not just bad but injerous to the horse. When this was pointed out to the BHSI all I was told to do was put a wither pad under it. This to my mind was not a satisfactory remedy as the next person to ride may not have been aware of the bad fit. No one had bothered to assess the fit of this saddle for ages.
As I am a daft idiot, I re-stuffed the saddle for them as I had my tools with me, just for the sake of the poor horse.(I did not charge them, perhaps I should have done, with hindsight!)

[jillaroo]

I'm horrified. I am having lessons at a stable in the US and it is standard practice that you choose a saddle that suits you and then plop it onto whichever horse you are allocated that lesson. The horses that I'm on are enormously varied in size and shape - so if I can SEE that they look different I can't begin to imagine the subtle differences that would add to a horse's discomfort. This is so terrible because I really have been so impressed with the way this place is run and the attention they appear to give to their horses' well-being. I also feel negligent because I guess this news isn't really a revelation but because even the really experienced riders in the school plop their own saddles onto different horses I just assumed that it was fine.

[Elaine]

At my stable there is the same problem. There are different school saddles which the rider is supposed to use on the school horses. I have never been told which ones go to which horses. But what can I do? I told my instructor about it, nothing has changed. A lot of riders have their own saddle and use it on the horse they are riding.

[Wally]

Everything now becomes clear, I hadn't realised that it was common practice in the US to use your own saddle on the school horses.

This is why the question of folk buying their own saddle before they have a horse has cropped up so many times.

I did wonder.