# What size saddle on ponies with adult riders?



## Nagling (8 November 2011)

After reading several threads on adults riding ponies, which I am all for, I was wondering what length saddles do you have?  Its difficult for an adult to fit into a tiny seat and I'm sure this creates more pressure over a smaller area.  I know when a saddle is too long for a ponies back and I'm not thinking of putting saddles that are too big for the pony just to suit the rider - don't worry!  I have a four year old NF at the moment (I don't ride her)  that has changed shape so much since being backed that she is on her 4th saddle!  However her 15.5' saddle looks tiny on her.  She is only 13hh but is quite long backed and this saddle just seems to accentuate it.  I know every pony is different but it would be interesting to hear what everyone else has on their ponies plus any favorite brands for natives especially.
Many thanks in advance


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## gillianfleming (8 November 2011)

My boy is 14.1 and is very short backed, he wears a 5ft6 rug and now has a 16inch saddle which was made for us by ideal with shorter panels so that it fits me as well.
My sister has a fell mare who is 13.3 and wears a 6ft rug, she has a 17inch ideal saddle which looks huge next to mine.


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## Natz88 (8 November 2011)

My 13.3 has a 16.5 inch saddle & had to have it made as he such a difficult pony to fit, he is also in a 6ft rug. He is short but very wide


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## magicgirl (8 November 2011)

We use the saddle that is the best fit for the pony.  We have 1 Dartmoor in a 15.5 inch and another is a 17 inch( But it does look smaller) Both wear 5ft rugs Our 13.2 Connie is in a 15.5 inch and would take a 16 inch 5ft 9 rug but our 14.2 well built but short backed connie is isn a 15 inch and 6ft rugsand our 13hh new forest was in a 16 inch and 5ft 9 rug.  Height of pony is not really relevant to size of saddle The above ponies have all been ridden in their own saddles by my 6ft very lightweight OH and my 5ft lightweight daughter.


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## team barney (8 November 2011)

Don't use a too big saddle whatever you do, I have seen so many ponies backs destroyed by too long saddles used to fit their riders.  

If in doubt I always go bareback, far less damage worries.


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## cptrayes (8 November 2011)

WOWs can be fitted with a bigger seat on a smaller panel. The panels have a big bearing surface, so the seat can be bigger to fit a bigger bottom. I have a horse in an 18 inch seat on a 17 inch panel.


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## Jazzy B (8 November 2011)

gillianfleming said:



			My boy is 14.1 and is very short backed, he wears a 5ft6 rug and now has a 16inch saddle which was made for us by ideal with shorter panels so that it fits me as well.
My sister has a fell mare who is 13.3 and wears a 6ft rug, she has a 17inch ideal saddle which looks huge next to mine.
		
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I also have a 14hh pony who has a 16 inch saddle which was made for me by ideal - its quite an odd looking saddle but hey very comfortable for all parties!


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## sbloom (8 November 2011)

You may have seen from other threads that I fit a lot of adult riders on ponies - today I saw a 5'9 rider in a 17" which is tricky, a 5'7 I think in a 17" again, whic works well, and a 5'4 rider in a 15" which was used for backing but is now an issue with bringing the horse on.  The most common problem is that a too larger rider will sit on the cantle, placing too much weight on the rear half of the ribcage, possibly moving forwards because of it.  The pounds per square inch can become the least of your worries!  Awkward ponies can also be saddled more easily if you can go down a size from what they actually have room for, which of course doesn't help larger riders. 

We sell more 16.5 and 17 than anything because of fitting a lot of natives.


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## Walrus (8 November 2011)

I've got a 16.5" Ideal WH on my 13.3hh Fell, I'm 5'8", he takes a 5'9" rug. The first time my new saddler came when I moved yards she looked at me stood next to the pony with the saddle sat on the stable door and just laughed and asked how we coped?! Then we put it all together and she was surprised how well it worked. She said that to get a better fit than the one I have I'd have to get one specially made (and that was for my benefit to accomodate my legs slightly more), but she also said that for the cost of getting one made versus the minor benefit it would give us I was fine sticking with what I have.


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## sbloom (8 November 2011)

Walrus has a good point - a little more knee roll ie a forward flap will allow a longer leg, a flatter seat will allow a bigger bum  so all saddles are different.  When getting a larger rider into a smaller saddle a short panel, not extending much beyond the cantle, will obviously help in getting a larger seat size on a smaller pony.


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## Paddy Irish (8 November 2011)

Although i don't have a pony ( well he has got a pony size brain ) I have been using a Dever 17" saddle that has slightly shorter panels , i think it's specially made for the teenager/smaller adult rider but they say it looks / rides ok on anything between 13.3hh and 15.3hh, it has calf skin knee rolls and memory foam seat - only problem is now that the boy has filled out and it's got to go


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## Walrus (8 November 2011)

sbloom said:



			Walrus has a good point - a little more knee roll ie a forward flap will allow a longer leg, a flatter seat will allow a bigger bum  so all saddles are different.  When getting a larger rider into a smaller saddle a short panel, not extending much beyond the cantle, will obviously help in getting a larger seat size on a smaller pony.
		
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Totally agree, if I had a deep seated saddle with big blocky knee rolls that fitted my pony I wouldn't get it in. I think Ideal saddles are a common type seen on many natives ridden by adults. WH cut or show saddles provide flatter knee rolls and a flatter seat to accomodate bigger bottoms! I like my WH cut - just enough knee roll to give me something to grip when we have a "freestyle" moment out hacking!


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## OFG (9 November 2011)

The 12.2 Dartmoor had a 15" Wintec PC saddle which I just about managed to ride in (5ft 71/2)

My personal rule is if the saddsle fits the pony and not me then i wont ride the pony.

I now have a felt pad that we use on the Welsh A as she was a bugger to fit a saddle to and at the moment I can't afford to get a custom one made 

If I had had the pad when we still had the Dartmoor then I would have used this instead of her treed saddle for when I would ride her.


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## AngieandBen (9 November 2011)

Our 12.3hh NF has a 17inch saddle which fits us both perfectly, he is very long and takes a 5ft 9 rug!  My 14.1hh Welshie has a 17.5inch one and again is perfect as he is also very long taking a 6ft 3 rug


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## tango'smum (9 November 2011)

i am 5,3ft. my pony is 12.3hh and in a 16inch saddle... and 5,3 rugs..


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## sbloom (9 November 2011)

Walrus said:



			I think Ideal saddles are a common type seen on many natives ridden by adults.
		
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I fit Native Pony saddles


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## catkin (9 November 2011)

It's not just the smaller ponies that you have to careful with - I have a 14.3 Sec D who is best in a 16 inch saddle - she has big shoulders and a big bottom so there's actually not much space in between to comfortably fit a saddle (she takes 6foot3 rugs BTW)

We are using an old Fieldhouse showing saddle successfully at the moment - flat seat to give a little more human 'bott-space' and straight cut flaps to give shoulder room. 'Tis no armchair, though good for position - any sloppy riding and you're out the door. This saddle is probably old enough to vote, don't know what more modern ones would be equivalent (I'd like to know as we love it and I know it will need to be replaced at some time)


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## Zarkaz (9 November 2011)

Im 5'1 my boy is 12.1 and he has a 15" and takes 4'9 rugs


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## nixxyz (9 November 2011)

catkin said:



			It's not just the smaller ponies that you have to careful with - I have a 14.3 Sec D who is best in a 16 inch saddle - she has big shoulders and a big bottom so there's actually not much space in between to comfortably fit a saddle (she takes 6foot3 rugs BTW)

We are using an old Fieldhouse showing saddle successfully at the moment - flat seat to give a little more human 'bott-space' and straight cut flaps to give shoulder room. 'Tis no armchair, though good for position - any sloppy riding and you're out the door. This saddle is probably old enough to vote, don't know what more modern ones would be equivalent (I'd like to know as we love it and I know it will need to be replaced at some time)
		
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I totally agree ^^^ you really cant measure a saddle by a horses height, my old loan horse was 15.1 and couldnt take anything more than a 16.5 inch saddle she took a 6ft rug too. she ended up going home as i simply couldnt find something to fit, she was croup high with huge tb withers and a short arab back  im 5ft7 with very long legs so the biggest problem was getting something to fit both of us  oh and she was a tb x nf x arab lol


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## aradiagreen (1 May 2012)

I've had a nightmare with my boy  He's 13.3hh heavyweight cob-type and he'll be 4 next month.  I've had him a year.  He was sold with his own GP saddle but it was far too long for him so I can't use it.  I'm 5'6'' and a size 10.

I called out our local saddler who brought a large range of saddles (ideally I wanted a synthetic GP costing £500 or less) but not one of them fitted.  He's very very shortbacked and although we managed to find child-saddles that fitted him, they did not fit me.  She said she'd keep looking but many saddles later we despaired.

In the end I've bought a leather Barefoot Cheyenne treeless saddle with a wide pommel insert.  These saddles are sized according to the rider rather than the horse and should fit most ponies or horses though you can change the width of the pommel insert.  This saddle still comes past his last rib but this is not a problem with treeless saddles as the weight is distributed throughout the whole saddle and you can feel there's no weight at the back if you put your hand under it.  I find it comfortable but it still dwarfs him.  It looks enormous on him and is heavy compared to the synthetic tree'd saddle so I'm still not really satisfied.  I love riding in the treeless saddle and find it so much more comfortable than all the tree'd saddles I've ridden in over the years, its bliss!  It just looks silly on him and must feel heavy.

I wish I'd found a tree'd saddle that would fit him OR that this barefoot didn't look so ridiculous on him (I LOVE it otherwise).  He seems happy in it but then again he didn't complain when he was wearing the tree'd saddle that was far too long for him (poor lad).

How much should I expect to pay for a made-to-measure?  Or can anyone recommend a make?  I would need a 17" I think.

As more and more adults ride smaller ponies saddlers ought to do a range catered for us!


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## Jade&Syrah (1 May 2012)

my 13.2hh has a 15.5" saddle but saddler advised because im an adult jockey to help balance out weight to pad out with a prolite with no padding in, or a gel pad just to help with his back.


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## weeanne (2 May 2012)

Iv got a 14hh welsh d very short back 16" saddle fortunately I'm small. I fit saddle co saddles and you can have a shorter panel with a bigger seat and have it made with longer flaps for long legs also square cantle saddles are a bit more spacious. The semi synthetic pony 1s made 2 measure start at £ 540


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## Jazzy B (2 May 2012)

My pony was 14hh and I had a 16.5 inch saddle made by ideal hich had the panels adapted to fit her and me.  Its sadly for sale now but not having much luck.


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## cremedemonthe (2 May 2012)

Probably the most extreme that stands out in my mind was about 17 years ago, I was attending a yard to repair some saddlery and fit & flock a few saddles on site when a 6' 4" lady asked me to look at the fit of her saddle as her "horse" was reacting to her tacking up.
As I strolled round the corner to view her "horse" there standing infront of me was a Icelandic horse of 13.2" she was riding it in a 19" saddle, with the girth right back on the ribs, very long story about this which had all the stable girls watching in amazement and I won't bore you with the details but needless to say I did have an issue with her!
I know Icelandics are supposed to be different in every way (according to this woman) but the mere fact she couldn't get anywhere near it with a saddle spoke volumes to me, I left her lecturing the farrier who'd arrived after me, on how to shoe it!
Oz


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## ClassicG&T (2 May 2012)

I've got a 13.2hh Fell and he wears 6ft rugs and 17.5inch saddle. I can't fit in anything smaller as knees come over rolls but saddler says its fine on him and looks fine on him


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## OldNag (2 May 2012)

aradiagreen said:



			I've had a nightmare with my boy  He's 13.3hh heavyweight cob-type and he'll be 4 next month.  I've had him a year.  He was sold with his own GP saddle but it was far too long for him so I can't use it.  I'm 5'6'' and a size 10.

I called out our local saddler who brought a large range of saddles (ideally I wanted a synthetic GP costing £500 or less) but not one of them fitted.  He's very very shortbacked and although we managed to find child-saddles that fitted him, they did not fit me.  She said she'd keep looking but many saddles later we despaired.

In the end I've bought a leather Barefoot Cheyenne treeless saddle with a wide pommel insert.  These saddles are sized according to the rider rather than the horse and should fit most ponies or horses though you can change the width of the pommel insert.  This saddle still comes past his last rib but this is not a problem with treeless saddles as the weight is distributed throughout the whole saddle and you can feel there's no weight at the back if you put your hand under it.  I find it comfortable but it still dwarfs him.  It looks enormous on him and is heavy compared to the synthetic tree'd saddle so I'm still not really satisfied.  I love riding in the treeless saddle and find it so much more comfortable than all the tree'd saddles I've ridden in over the years, its bliss!  It just looks silly on him and must feel heavy.

I wish I'd found a tree'd saddle that would fit him OR that this barefoot didn't look so ridiculous on him (I LOVE it otherwise).  He seems happy in it but then again he didn't complain when he was wearing the tree'd saddle that was far too long for him (poor lad).

How much should I expect to pay for a made-to-measure?  Or can anyone recommend a make?  I would need a 17" I think.

As more and more adults ride smaller ponies saddlers ought to do a range catered for us!
		
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I've struggled with native types... our Welsh A now has a Tekna show saddle which was a tad under £500 and fits her well.  I think the trouble with most synthetic saddles on natives is that they tend to have deep seats, and are just the wrong shape.   The Tekna one we got has a good flat seat and just sits really well on her flat, round middle!  (ETA this is for the kids so it's a 14" but she's 11h).  Might be worth looking at a similar one in a size that will fit you? 

My roudn body, flat back, no wither 13.2 Welsh C ended up in a 17" Jeffries Adler VSD and I'm now using that on my 15hh loan Welsh D.  Somewhat more than £500 though (but you can pick them up as a bargain second hand).

I'm sure there options for you out there - you might not need to go made to measure?


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## I See Clover (2 May 2012)

I have a 14.1hh Connemara x Highland mare and ride in a 17inch Ideal saddle not made to fit but was professionally fitted by a master saddler. Initially I thought it would look disproportionate, but looks perfectly fine!


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## wowser (2 May 2012)

i have a 13.2 new forest mare, she wears a 17 inch working hunter. and a 13.1 new forest mare, she also has a 17 inch working hunter. i find alot of saddles are to big on the shoulders thats why i have w/h saddles i'm 5 ft 5


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## Casey76 (2 May 2012)

Some manufacturers will put adult flaps on a 16" pony saddle, so if you are tall and slender, your knees don't hang off the front


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## spookypony (2 May 2012)

I have a 14.1 that wears 5'6" or 5'9" rugs, who is needing a new GP saddle. His dressage saddle is 17", and I can cope with it despite having silly long legs just because it's a DR shape. The fitter is coming next week to try a 17" GP of the same make on him. We'll see if the saddle is big enough for me as well; if not, we'll probably go the route of something made with shorter panels and a longer seat and longer flaps.

Interesting thread; lots to think about!


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## sbloom (2 May 2012)

Not checked what I posted previously but...

Not all very tall or lage riders can be fitted on all ponies with a treed saddle - I'm no great fan of treeless but they might be worth trying, or a flexi panel saddle which wil be non-weight bearing at the rear of the panel, allowing a larger seat size.

Any bench made saddle can be made with longer flaps, but for a taller rider a more forward flap is often more useful.   And with a heavier rider the saddle may need a deep rear gusset to keep the saddle in balance - or, if the larger rider is only occasional and lighter rider is riding mroe often, then a rear riser to be used for the heavier rider.  It all depends on how the rider affects saddle balance.  Sometimes a thicker pad altogether may be needed if the whole saddle is squished and the rear of the spine is close to contacting the cantle.

A shallower seat, which will suit most natives, cobs etc, will give more room for the rider.

You really don't need to go m2m, I fit lots of adults on ponies and short backed horses, an often with in stock standard saddles - it's not impossible.


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## little_critter (2 May 2012)

sbloom said:



			Walrus has a good point - a little more knee roll ie a forward flap will allow a longer leg, a flatter seat will allow a bigger bum  so all saddles are different.  When getting a larger rider into a smaller saddle a short panel, not extending much beyond the cantle, will obviously help in getting a larger seat size on a smaller pony.
		
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I've been having a little trouble with my lower legs swinging back when jumping - it feels like there's not evough room to accomodate my knees on my 16.5 inch saddle. I was thinging of looking for a different saddle (longer if possible, if not then more forward cut) until my instructor said 'what happens when you remove the knee rolls (velcro on blocks)?'
Bingo - instantly more room for my knees and better lower leg position, and I didn't feel insecure without them.


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## SpockkyBoy (2 May 2012)

I had a 14hh Cob X who was very short flat backed, took 5'6/5'9 rugs and wore a 16" made to measure GP/event saddle, with longer saddle flaps.


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## POLLDARK (2 May 2012)

Make sure that the saddle padding below the cantle doesn't extend beyond his last rib, if it does it could  start internal bruising.


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## Fransurrey (2 May 2012)

sbloom said:



			Walrus has a good point - a little more knee roll ie a forward flap will allow a longer leg, a flatter seat will allow a bigger bum  so all saddles are different.  When getting a larger rider into a smaller saddle a short panel, not extending much beyond the cantle, will obviously help in getting a larger seat size on a smaller pony.
		
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This pretty much describes my saddle. I had it made especially for me and Henry, who's about 12hh. The saddler described it as a 'sweeping seat'. It's a 15.5" saddle, but the seat is more like 16.5" (I'm a size 12, so it's snug, but comfortable).


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## sbloom (3 May 2012)

Yep, nice flat cantle is also great for most jumping as you should be keeping your backside in the saddle and sliding it back rather than popping up and out of it as some deeper seated saddles can cause 

Good point on the knee blocks - a fixed block that sits AT your knee will get in the way with short stirrups, and will take your leg out away from the horse. I personally have a long femur and like velcro blocks - I use triangular blocks for both jumping and dressage and like them high up out of the way of my knee, more a thigh block than a knee block (calf blocks are the ones at the back, and they can be some help in stopping a swinging lower leg as well, but best to address the cause).


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## Lobo (14 April 2013)

OFG said:



			The 12.2 Dartmoor had a 15" Wintec PC saddle which I just about managed to ride in (5ft 71/2)

My personal rule is if the saddsle fits the pony and not me then i wont ride the pony.

I now have a felt pad that we use on the Welsh A as she was a ****** to fit a saddle to and at the moment I can't afford to get a custom one made 

If I had had the pad when we still had the Dartmoor then I would have used this instead of her treed saddle for when I would ride her.
		
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Hello, I have a small Welsh pony 11.3/12 hh. She has a VERY short back and is very dainty. I have tried saddles on her with no luck. I would like to find a saddle (western) for her that will also fit me. I'm 5 foot 1, so I'm fortunately tiny. I have thought about bareback pads (with no stirrups) but haven't tried any yet though I have barebacked on her. I would like something so that I can work with her longer. I don't have the money to get a custom made saddle either right now, but I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on this?


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## moodymare123 (14 April 2013)

13.1 pony 17 inch saddle


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## Angelz (14 April 2013)

I've had a nightmare with my 14'2 cob, I've had two M2M saddles now, none of which fit. I've now bought a 2nd hand saddle company Sadle off eBay with a 17 seat and 16.5 tree, saddler coming out to fit it this week but we have got a custom made Ideal on order to, if this doesn't work I'm going bareback


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## sbloom (16 April 2013)

Lobo said:



			Hello, I have a small Welsh pony 11.3/12 hh. She has a VERY short back and is very dainty. I have tried saddles on her with no luck. I would like to find a saddle (western) for her that will also fit me. I'm 5 foot 1, so I'm fortunately tiny. I have thought about bareback pads (with no stirrups) but haven't tried any yet though I have barebacked on her. I would like something so that I can work with her longer. I don't have the money to get a custom made saddle either right now, but I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on this?
		
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I would start a new thread as this is rather old, and western saddles are totally different and rather specialist.  An English saddle for that size would be 14"-15" and the former would be VERY small for you, the latter less than ideal.  I believe you take off 2-3 inches to get the right Western seat size.


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