saddle advice

[ellis9905]

so when we got my daughters welsh sec a he was a total barrel of a pony-he lived in huge amount of grazing and very little work. over the year we've owned him hes slimmed down quite a bit and works around 5 times a week, so has changed shape- still typically barrel like but a little less so!

he's always been a slow steady type, never any danger of him carting my daughter of at any speed- kinda pony that thinks trot is hard fast work! However over the last 2 weeks hes become more reluctant to move forward- fine when lunged in tack but without the riders weight and fine when ridden bareback, so this leads me to think that as he's changed shape his saddle prob doesnt fit so well.
Hes the kinda pony that would keep trying his heart out even if he was uncomfortable.

so my questiuons are

can a saddler alter the width fitting of a proper english leather saddle?

can anyone recommend me a good saddler that cover northants, that can come look at his saddle, and if needs be sell me a good secondhand saddle- so few saddlers seem to deal in secondhand saddles, i really wish i could afford a new £xxx one but unfortuantly its not to be.

any particular brands/makes that suit the wide section a ponies?

i hate the thought of pony being uncomfortable

thanks for any advice

 

[sbloom]

Some fitters will alter wooden trees, but they should only be altered a handful of times, and not by more than a size or so, perhaps two wider and one narrower. I alter trees but not all fitters do, and it is too risky with most used saddles - if the headplate can't take the immense pressure of the tree press, then it can cost several hundred pounds to replace the tree.

Welsh As need fitting with much flatter saddles than you might think - look for a flat seated showing saddle or possibly a GP if you can find a model with a flat tree, with flat semi close contact panels and four girth straps which can help with stability and give you choice. You also may need a shorter seat size than he can actuall take - Welsh As have such active upward sloping croup that ikt can kick the saddle forwards - Ihave only ever fitted 14s and 15s and find the latter work much better in most cases if not much too small for the rider. If it is a little small for the rider then ensure the cantle is kept up and stopped from collapsing, this keeps the rider in the right place. Obviously a deeper panel is the preferred way, but with a used saddle you might need to use a rear riser. I only use and recommend Mattes Correction pads.

 

[be positive]

You may find that the saddle is ok but just needs a reflock it is a good idea to get them looked at each year anyway especially if the pony has changed shape, cant help with anyone in your area.