Help! Saddle for a 3yr old - advice please!

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orsceno1

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I am in need of some advice on what to do about a saddle for my 3yr old. She has been recently backed and initially was ridden bareback and then in a couple of borrowed saddles but I need to sort something more permenant out for her as I dont want to risk any issues from potential ill fitting saddles. I was all set to get one of the new model Wintec 500 GPs today and then read some bad reviews on wintecs and cair and their fit on wider horses. I think my mare is a wide fit as my other horse has a Medium to m-w and it is definitely tight(both albions)! I like the idea of an adjustable saddle given she is only 3 and bound to change massively and I cant afford to spend loads on a saddle that will only fit her for a few months. She is fairly flat across her back conformation wise - she is a TB x WB and about 15.2. Does anyone have any words of wisdom/advice please? (apart from getting in a saddle fitter! I will do that but some fitters I know round her tend to be biased towards certain makes of saddle so I wanted some advice first!)
Thank you!
 
Hi am having exactly the same problems with my young mare and have so far tried a saddle fitter who i was not happy with and several saddles from different places :(

What i will say is if your youngster has a large shoulder the adjustable saddles dont seem to fit right whatever the make as when you have it wide enough it rises at the back - I also know that with the wintec any wider than an xtra wide requires the wide saddle series. If i HAD to have a adjustable the best fit i found with her was a thoroughgood but it was too short in the flap.

I now have a stubben on her and that is fitting better but have been searching for a really wide gullet all the way down to accomodate her flat back.

If you find a make / model of saddle please let me know! Good luck :D
 
I would find a good saddle fitter who does second hand saddles and get a second hand one which you can trade on later I have done this several times and often get the same for them when I sell them, you need a saddle that is really stable for a three year old don't skimp as if problems caused by Ill fitting saddles can ruin a young horse you need to get it right or you have to live with the consequences ( I learnt that the hard way. )
good luck and have fun with her.
 
I backed my youngster this summer using a Libra saddle pad. It's great and I actually feel very stable in it. Bonus is it costs about £80 and fits all horses! I am going to start her again in the spring using it and then get a new saddle fitted by Nathaniel Underwood.
 
Treeless would probably work well initially for the horse because you will presumably only be doing short periods of ridden work. Some of the treeless ones are really uncomfy for the rider though - I've sat in one that made my legs feel like they had to go up out of the saddle rather than down! I'm always suspicious that for longer periods of riding, all these saddles (even the more expensive ones) must deform a bit and so create pressure points where the rider sits. I had a Heather Moffett for a while, and although it was great for dressage, I wouldn't have hacked for any length of time in it for this reason.
Another alternative to adjustable is to look at Balance - their saddles are 'fitted' much wider than traditional saddles, with a deformable layer between the horse and the saddle. This make them very comfortable for the horse, and easily adjustable because the pads come in a variety of thicknesses.
 
I prefer Thorowgood to Wintec if you really want adjustable synthetic. The most important thing is to get a really GOOD fit, and not all horses fit the adjustable saddles, whatever the width or brand. A young horse's back is soft and will damage much more easily than an older more muscled horse, so I really do recommend you work with a fitter you trust and who understands your shape of horse. Also bear in mind that if you did find you had to stump up for a new regular treed saddle, many fitters will adjust the trees a little, usually at least a size up or down, at least a couple of times - just be sure you have a saddle and a fitter that will give you this facility. Because of the wide choice of traditional saddles it might just be that one of these works best.

I fit treed saddles and have fitted quite a few very young and/or just backed horses, and more often than not I can adjust the saddle to cope with changes.
 
It really irks me when people instantly think changable gullet saddles are the best for youngsters. I have found that it potentially enourages them to not have a saddler out to check the fit they think is right and many of the wintecs/T4 Thorowgoods saddle tree shape does not fit the countours of the horse they have chosen it for - saddlery is not just about the fit of the saddle over the wither.

Horses with flat backs need saddles with flat panels- the changeable gullet saddles often dont. Sorry OP to rant as you havent done this- but I just hate that everyone seems to assume the best way to go for a youngster is the changeable gullet route!
 
shadowboy said:
It really irks me when people instantly think changable gullet saddles are the best for youngsters. I have found that it potentially enourages them to not have a saddler out to check the fit they think is right and many of the wintecs/T4 Thorowgoods saddle tree shape does not fit the countours of the horse they have chosen it for - saddlery is not just about the fit of the saddle over the wither.

Horses with flat backs need saddles with flat panels- the changeable gullet saddles often dont. Sorry OP to rant as you havent done this- but I just hate that everyone seems to assume the best way to go for a youngster is the changeable gullet route!
Click to expand...

Agree completely but as a fitter of a non synthetic treed brand I try not to rant too much :D. And I'll add this as well, not all gullet systems are equal:

http://saddlefitter.blogspot.com/2011/09/changeable-gullets-details.html
 
I got a new wintec 500 (with flocking) last year when we started to back my pony. Has been a great saddle, i've had the saddle fitter out 3 times so far. Once to fit it, then 8 weeks later to check as he built muscle and then again at 6 months to make sure its still ok. He did show me how to check fitment myself but for the cost of a call out fee i'd rather be safe than sorry.
 
I've just started backing my 3 1/2yo Welsh Cob. I've sat on her 3 times now, but on a Roma pad which I use under her roller. (Long rein her first for a little bit, then put the riding reins on the bit and get on her). My roller is a synthetic one so it's soft, and I've just got on and sat (my bum) behind the roller. I've done this twice in a large stable with a very high roof, and today (Thursday), got on her from the mounting block for the first time and walked her around the school. She's been great and I have a Qualified SMS Saddle Fitter coming out on Monday. I wouldn't ever just put any old saddle on any horse, never mind a 3yo. As people have already said, there's a lot more to fitting a saddle than just the width of the gullet ;).
Get a saddle fitter out, who will fit the saddle to both you AND your 3yo. (My fitting on Monday will cost no more than £45 + the cost of a saddle to properly FIT my youngster). Mine will only be doing gentle hacking and a little light school work, with more long reining than riding, over the winter. She will have a 2 - 3 month break before spring, then come back in and start again. :)
 
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