5'8'' rider/short backed cob/what size saddle?

hayinamanger

Well-Known Member
Joined
27 July 2010
Messages
2,123
Location
Devon
Visit site
I am 5'8'', weigh 12 stone and a have short backed 14.2 cob. I have always ridden bigger horses and used 18'' saddles, but this is not an option on this horse. So, for those of you with a similar combination, like JFTD, what size saddle do you ride in?
 

5bs

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 April 2012
Messages
206
Visit site
I have avery short coupled cob, he is 15.1, I am 5"8", I weigh 9&a half stone, and I have a 16 & half inch saddle. The saddler said it should be 16inch really but it would not fit me.
 

hayinamanger

Well-Known Member
Joined
27 July 2010
Messages
2,123
Location
Devon
Visit site
I have no bum, but I thought my knees would be hanging over the saddle flaps in a 16.5'' saddle. He has a lovely Ideal which fits him, I've never sat in it.
 

POLLDARK

Well-Known Member
Joined
31 March 2011
Messages
1,211
Location
HEREFORDSHIRE
Visit site
The maixmum saddle MUST be dictated by the horses conformation. if this length is less than your build will cope with for comfort then to my mind the horses needs come first. Tricky for you.
 

OFG

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 July 2011
Messages
541
Location
South West
Visit site
I am in a similar situation and about to order a Saddle Company saddle for my 13.2 Exmoor (I am just shy of 5'8 with long legs).

They can make the saddle with undercut panels so you can have a slightly larger seat but the panels will be made to fit the horse. They can also put 'adult' flaps on to account for a longer leg and allow a bit more knee roll than you might get if you were riding in say a 16" which may have 'pony / child' flaps.

As long as you are a good rider with balance the size of the seat shouldn't matter as your weight will be distrbuted correctly.
 

POLLDARK

Well-Known Member
Joined
31 March 2011
Messages
1,211
Location
HEREFORDSHIRE
Visit site
The saddle should not extend beyond the horses last rib if that's a help. Every horse is different in this, not always related to height or breed. If the horse has a big shoulder this will push the saddle further back & take up even more of the available back length. To be sure a saddle fitter out.
 

joeanne

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 May 2008
Messages
5,322
Location
Cornwall
Visit site
Stupid phone.....if you cannot run to a saddle company saddle, try different types of saddle and you will likely find one that suits you both.
 

sbloom

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 September 2011
Messages
10,321
Location
Suffolk
www.stephaniebloomsaddlefitter.co.uk
As a professional fitter who specialises in natives and cobs I will firstly totally agree with those who say that the saddle must ONLY come to the last rib and not beyond, and every horse varies, as well as every saddle varying in its panel length. I can fit our narrow twist tree usually 1/2" longer than any other for example, and that's within one brand! You are highly likely to have to have a 16.5" or 17", a 16" would be rare on a pony that size but is not unknown.

If you have a small hip measurement then seat size shouldn't be a problem, I'd advise not going straight cut - a more forward flap, as well as longer flap so the most forward point of the flap is lower, will give you more space for a long femur. Also, if there is any risk of your knee going over the blocks, say for jumping, then try and get small blocks, or ones that are high placed so your knees sit under them. Blocks on velcro may help.

MOst bench made saddle companies have ways of giving a slightly bigger seat on a short panel - we extend the cantle, our makers fit a standard panel to each tree size, so they won't make a 16" panel on a 16.5" tree, but will extend the cantle on the 16" tree. As long as the seat is fairly flat, then the cantle will make the saddle both longer and a smidge deeper - if the cantle is upright on a deeper seat then I'm sure you can imagine that extending the cantle simply makes the saddle even deeper.
 

Skippys Mum

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 January 2008
Messages
802
Visit site
I am 5'10" (and 14 stone) on a 15hh short coupled cob. For a few years I ended up going treeless as I only really fitted into an 18" saddle as I am long in the thigh. With a treeless saddle things are much less of an issue. I managed to get a 17.5" Ideal saddle fitted for him this summer. It has a square cantle which gives me a little bit extra room.

Riding in a saddle thats too small for you can also cause bother for the horse as it concentrates the pressure at the cantle.
 

FfionWinnie

Well-Known Member
Joined
20 July 2012
Messages
17,021
Location
Scotland
Visit site
Not all saddles of the same seat size are the same length on the horses back so you would want to try lots of types.

I have a 17.5" saddle on my short backed 14.3. This saddle is shorter in length than a 16.5" saddle I have (and fits my long legs better). A lot depends on your length if thigh. Mine is stupidly long.
 

Shysmum

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 February 2010
Messages
9,084
Location
France
www.youtube.com
Hello, well done for having a coblet ;):D

My lad is the same size, and his Barefoot Cheyenne is size 2.

He also has a GFS Genesis and that is 17" and fits perfectly. I'm a size 12.

Piccies ??
 

Passtheshampoo

Well-Known Member
Joined
20 September 2008
Messages
1,135
Visit site
I'm 5'8" and 12 stone so similar to you. My daughter's 15.2hh coloured cob which I exercise regularly is in a 17 1/2" Kent & Masters S Bar dressage saddle (square cantle). It takes adjustable gullets so I can put a wider one in when she fills out over the summer.
 

sbloom

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 September 2011
Messages
10,321
Location
Suffolk
www.stephaniebloomsaddlefitter.co.uk
I managed to get a 17.5" Ideal saddle fitted for him this summer. It has a square cantle which gives me a little bit extra room.

A square cantled saddle will indeed have a flatter seat which means it feels bigger - any flatter tree will give you more room.

Riding in a saddle thats too small for you can also cause bother for the horse as it concentrates the pressure at the cantle.

But you still can't go beyond the last rib - you need a good fitter who can look at how you ride and how you sit and spec a saddle that WILL stay in balance - if the tree is in balance with you in it then the weight will be spread correctly.

Try black country saddles :) they can do all sorts of things to make a saddle that fits you and your horse!

As can any "bench made" saddle maker - you do need a good fitter though. I went out to a NF recently where the owner had wanted Black Country at all cost, a nie enough saddle, but the fitter clealy had seen an XW fit NF and decided the only option was the new trendy hoop tree. The saddle went nowhere near the horse and was unstable in every direction. The saddle I ftted was almost the opposite - narrower across the top as needed by many NFs, Connies, even some traditionals. He'd had back issues before, and ever since, getting his BC saddle but went REALLY sweetly in the new saddle. Not the saddle's fault, but the fitter's and vaguely knowing the BC range I'm not sure they have the perfect tree for that sort of fit.

Bench made saddles include most traditional English makes - Black Country, Ideal, Albion, Jeffries, Lovett and Ricketts, the Native Pony saddles that I fit just to name a few....so many options.
 

hayinamanger

Well-Known Member
Joined
27 July 2010
Messages
2,123
Location
Devon
Visit site
Thank you for all your replies, very helpful stuff. I do understand the fitting/last rib priorities and want to get it right. He is a 4yo, constantly changing shape and is croup high at the moment, so I am in no hurry.
I don't have a recent picture, this was taken 12 months ago.

JulieSylvester2-1.jpg
 

tinap

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 January 2011
Messages
4,897
Location
Yorkshire
Visit site
Our short backed 14hh cob is in a 16.5" Bates Caprilli GP with a medium plate in it. It doesn't matter if its my 5', 7 stone daughter or her 5'10, 12 stone friend that rides him, its still the saddle that fits him xx
 

sbloom

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 September 2011
Messages
10,321
Location
Suffolk
www.stephaniebloomsaddlefitter.co.uk
He does have some curve to his back so you won't necessarily need the flattest tree around, though he may work much flatter than he looks and active fit is most important - is the saddle stable through walk, trot, canter and over a fence? Also, if a pony is croup high then you are likely to have better success the shorter a saddle you can use - getting away from that rise up to the croup makes it less likely that the saddle will be propelled up the neck, though there are other factors that also can lead to that happening.
 
Top