Proper saddle for shetland

blitznbobs

blitznbobs

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We have the worlds nicest Shetland pony . She is ride/ drive and a proper beginners pony . My son has never shown any real interest having the odd toddle round the arena but nothing more (think 5 minutes once every other month) so she has a cub saddle for this purpose . But sons bff has recently started riding and has now acquired a pony and all of a sudden son is super keen. All half term he has ridden for nearly 45 mins a day and he is keen to go to pony club... But if he's going to ride properly the cub saddle is not going to cut it... We have a sec a with a proper saddle but he is hot as hell and liable to scare son to death... Has anyone solved the Shetland saddle issue?
 
Thorowgood make small saddles. I do not know the make but I bought an ancient small leather saddle off eBay for a tiny pony, a half panel saddle so no excess bulk under the riders leg. On older saddles I noticed the seats are bigger and the panels finish before the cantle. It makes the saddle smaller in length for the pony, if that makes sense. I wonder why modern saddles have longer panels and smaller seats for the rider when the average size for humans is taller and fatter than in the past?
 
There are smaller proper saddles out there, you may need a flatter tree than you think and also consider a very "upswept" panel at the back which keeps the footprint of the saddle short, if your son needs a smidge more room. If the seat is flat consider a suede seat and knees to give grip, you may be able to get a deeper seat even on a relatively flat tree.
 
Firefly9410 said:
Thorowgood make small saddles. I do not know the make but I bought an ancient small leather saddle off eBay for a tiny pony, a half panel saddle so no excess bulk under the riders leg. On older saddles I noticed the seats are bigger and the panels finish before the cantle. It makes the saddle smaller in length for the pony, if that makes sense. I wonder why modern saddles have longer panels and smaller seats for the rider when the average size for humans is taller and fatter than in the past?
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Should have read your response first lol. Yes, an upswept panel. We seemed to lose the art of pony saddles when continental saddles started to sweep in in the 60s and 70s and we all wanted a big deep seated black saddle! There are new versions of these old pony saddles with better shaped trees, wider gullets, and more support for the rider.
 
Thorowgood pony club saddle :) or keep your eye on ebay for a good 'original' :) We have a lovely, literally vintage but shoe condition Shetland saddle :)
 
Firefly9410 said:
I do not know the make but I bought an ancient small leather saddle off eBay for a tiny pony, a half panel saddle so no excess bulk under the riders leg. On older saddles I noticed the seats are bigger and the panels finish before the cantle. It makes the saddle smaller in length for the pony, if that makes sense.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I use. Old flat pony hunting saddle as described by Firefly... with the addition of a crupper to make sure it doesn't end up on his neck, as shetland's don't have what you would traditionally describe as a wither, so a saddle quickly rides forward (especially cantering downhill) without one. :)
 
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