Does 1/2 inch make alot of difference

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NicolaC

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My lovely oh has offered to buy me a new saddle for Dora if I want one. If he had asked a couple of months back I would have jumped at the chance. I love my saddle and the more I ride in it the better I feel but it is only a 17 1/2 inch and I think an 18 inch one might be better. So the question is does 1/2 inch make that much difference?
 
If your feeling comfortable in the one you've got why change?
However if its going to be one of those things that's going to keep cropping in the back of your mind you could get saddler out to try one then you'll know one way or another whether you want that extra half inch.
 
A very important factor seems to have been over looked her.... How tall are you and what dress size are you? Generally a 5'4" lady of correct weight would be about a 17.5 inch saddle. Obviously this is just a guide and varying factors can change this... for example.. If she has longer than average legs for her height then she may need a different size. and depending on the type of saddle, you may need to go up or down a half inch. The way a saddler will determine what inch saddle you need would be to measure the length of the underside of your thigh from back of bent knee (you must be sat with knee and body at right angles) to the back of your bum if that makes sense although a good saddler can just look at you and know. Obviously if you carry excess weight then again you may need a bigger saddle. The saddle size is determined more by the size of the rider although some consideration needs to be made for short coupled horses such as an arab who has one set of ribs less than most other breeds.

Generally speaking, when sat in the saddle a rider should have a human hand of spare saddle space directly in front of them (pommel area) and a human hand of spare saddle space directly behind you on the cantle area.

Hope this helps.
 
Holly Hocks said:
Half an inch can make a LOT of difference... ;)

Oh, sorry, did you mean a saddle? No idea!
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Kiribati_uk said:
Well in my honest opinion 1/2 inch will make a huge difference!!!!:D:D:D
But its all down to individual taste!!!
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MeganLindsx said:
I think you have got the wrong forum :p

But as for saddles I would guess so?!
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Ha! I'm glad I'm not the only one with a dirty mind! I saw the title and thought it was past wine o'clock already. Alas, its not :mad:

Miss L Toe said:
I hate to see size 20 ladies on a 16.5 inch saddle, to me one should be able to put ones hand on the cantle and not have the bum pushing on both cantle and pommel.
The most important thing is the fit for the horse.
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I know exactly what you mean. There is a rather...ahem...rotund lady at our yard with a little pony about 11hh. Poor thing doesn't look happy at all when she rides it...in her cub saddle!!!!

As for the OP, could you try going up 1/2 an inch and see how you feel? You'd need to get the fit checked properly though. I'm 5'9 of average weight and have a 17" saddle on my 15.1 sec D. I can get a hand span between the top of the cantle and my seat. I suppose the style of the saddle and the depth of the seat would be a factor to consider too.
 
I guess we read that she already felt she needed a little more room in the saddle and whether the 1/2" extra of an 18" would feel different. I think the only caveat is the horse's rib cage and I can certainly say that it is not just arabs that have issues with saddle length - I'd say that in maybe even 50% of my fits there is an issue with seat length - the horse can't take what is ideal for the rider. We can extend the cantle (some makers describe this as being a shorter panel on a larger tree but I think they all actually take the standard tree and panel and extend the cantle) and/or can deepen the rear gusset to help keep the rider comfortable and the saddle in balance. Our models are quite short in the panel, it is just that so many natives and cobs have short ribcages, yet can carry weight, so have relatively larger riders.
 
Thank you all for replying even the funny ones. I knew with a title like that I would get some varied replies! LOL

I am 5'4 and a size 16 that is going down! Mare is a 15.1 cob that is slightly long in the back. I know that she will take an 18 inch and I ride my other mare in both a 17 1/2 inch jumping saddle and an 18 inch dressage saddle. Current saddle is a working hunter and that is hopefully what the new one will be.

We are both comfortable in the current one but I just have this niggling feeling that an 18 inch would be better for my mare.
 
I would say that a longer saddle is seldom better for the horse unless you are trying to spread a rider's weight - it is much more common than fitting a shorter seat length leads to a better fit. For example you are much more likely to hit a very active croup, an asymmetry etc with a larger seat size. Do you think there are specific issues for your cob from this saddle?
 
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