advice on saddle for 5yr old

[RachelMcTimoney]

We have just brought a gorgeous new horse, should be picking her up next weekend! She has only been broken for 5 months and had little work until last month, as they are selling the youngsters, so has quite a bit of developing to do.

Getting everything sorted at the moment, such as tack. BUT not sure whether to go for a cheaper second hand GP/Jump saddle if she may change shape or get a new saddle that will hopefully last he for life? OR get a synthetic saddle with cair for first year until she fully grown??
At 5 do you think she will change that dramatically that she would need a different tree size?

 

[Christmas_Kate]

what type is she? what height?

I would get something with a changeable gullet. Even get a second hand one, as you could go through a few second hand leather ones...which aren't cheap, so better to choose one that can grow with her, then once she's finished growing you can buy a decent leather one.

 

[flyingfeet]

We used a wintec close contact on our baby

He changed shape from Wide to medium in the space of 7 months. I would highly recommend them for babies - none of my horses have a single "white" mark from badly fitting sddles.

Fitted him so well I have upgraded to exactly the same model in leather (Bates).

 

[tigers_eye]

Go to a good saddler that has a large range of second hansd ones. Get a gp fitted to her now, then be prepared to keep going back. If you look aafter the saddles you shouldn't lose much money at all. My homebred 5 yo has just had a saddle fitted to him and it's made such a difference I can only assume that damage, or at least delay in his development, has been caused by using ones hat didn't quite fit. I was told he will also get wider quite quickly, so was advised to go for a second hand one and this was before I'd told them I was on a limited budget.

 

[vicm2509]

When I got my horse 4 months ago I went for the wintec gp with cair. He is 7 but had been out for work for a year and had a very poor top line. I didnt want to get a leather one what would need attention from the saddler every few months. I really like my saddle and it is serving its purpose. My boy has really muscled up and filled out nicely and his saddle still fits really well.

 

[Kelly1982]

I have just brought a Wintec close contact saddle for my 4yo as she is still growing. Saddler also suggested getting one with flocking rather than cair as well as they are easier to adjust and will last longer. The close contact is better for both of us as she is still croupe (sp) high at the mo so it doesn't tilt me forward like the rest did.

She also said to get her checked every 6 months until she stops growing.

In the meantime i am going to save for a nice leather one that will last her once she has stopped growing.

 

[Bertie1]

I used to be an agent for a saddler, and have done a saddle-fitting course, and this is what I would do:

Go for the best I could afford (new or second hand, doesn't matter) have it fitted by a qualified saddler to her now, and then get it adjusted if she changes shape. You may well find that she can keep the same saddle with a good saddler making adjustments to it (and yes, it will need to be proper flocking rather than foam or something else which you can't change.)

If you tell the saddler that you expect her to develop more, then he or she could fit one that is slightly wider which you could use now with a prolite pad so that you have some room there for changes.

I know people are reluctant to fork out on a good saddle with youngsters incase they change shape, but to me that is false economy. If your baby is uncomfortable, then you may run into behavioural problems, or worse case scenario, you could seriously ruin its back with a poorly fitting saddle. Then you'll have to fork out for costsly training/vets bills/ back people etc!

And you want to be safe too: older horses often just put up with discomfort, whereas a young horse that hasn't been backed long may seriously object.

Good luck!