lrw0250
Well-Known Member
Apologies in advance for length but will try not to drip feed! Looking for advise on saddles plus handling pre teen girls histrionics.
We have had a 13.1 pony on full loan for my 11 year old daughter for almost a year now to get out competing. Second pony type, done all pony club activities but focused on jumping with previous rider. Very sweet mare but has unrecorded breeding and questionable confirmation to match. Think big shoulders with one set further back than the other, wide across the withers, flat backed with a round barrel but also croup high!
She came with a Wow saddle and while daughter was still jumping smaller heights it wasn't a major issue. However as they have started doing bigger courses the saddle was constantly tipping the rider forward and causing falls at the odd stop which my daughter would normally sit on her old pony. 3 separate instructors have told us to find another saddle as it does my daughters position no favours.
Wow fitter came out 6 months ago to check saddle was sound, adjusted it slightly and confirmed it fitted the pony. She suggested a different seat to help my daughters position but have had no luck finding one second hand. We persevered but all came to a head at the start of the year when daughter lost all confidence and didn't want to ride because of the saddle. She says she feels so high off the ponies back she can't feel movement or use her seat as sitting deep has no effect (she is about 5 stone dripping wet)
Since then we have been using a Shires Aviemore Shetland pad which she loves but it's not going to be a long term solution so checked with the owner that they were happy for us to look for another saddle and got the go-ahead with the warning that they had tried and failed hence the Wow. Sure enough we haven't found anything so far that doesn't slip sideways, backwards, impede the shoulders or that pony is happy in.
I contacted a friend I know uses Wow saddles who came out today and helped a bit by adjusting the air, removing the foregirth and moving the stirrups on to the back bar. We also need a narrower headplate and a smaller sternum pad on the H girth. It created a much more balanced picture and could be the best solution if my daughter just learns to work with the saddle.
But like me she us stubborn and is flat out refusing to ride in the saddle ever again. No amount of explanation about best fit for pony is helping and she says she would rather ride bareback and quit competitions and pony club than use it. I'm honestly stuck on what to do. A traditional saddle doesn't suit pony but the Wow doesn't suit the rider and I cannot afford to be shelling out a fortune for a made to measure saddle for a pony we will likely only be loaning for another couple of years. I think I risk ruining daughters confidence if I make her ride in it.
I'm at a loss. The easy way out would be to give up on the pony and look for something else but she is fab and loved by us both so it would be a really wrench to part with her over a saddle.
Any suggestions grateful received!
We have had a 13.1 pony on full loan for my 11 year old daughter for almost a year now to get out competing. Second pony type, done all pony club activities but focused on jumping with previous rider. Very sweet mare but has unrecorded breeding and questionable confirmation to match. Think big shoulders with one set further back than the other, wide across the withers, flat backed with a round barrel but also croup high!
She came with a Wow saddle and while daughter was still jumping smaller heights it wasn't a major issue. However as they have started doing bigger courses the saddle was constantly tipping the rider forward and causing falls at the odd stop which my daughter would normally sit on her old pony. 3 separate instructors have told us to find another saddle as it does my daughters position no favours.
Wow fitter came out 6 months ago to check saddle was sound, adjusted it slightly and confirmed it fitted the pony. She suggested a different seat to help my daughters position but have had no luck finding one second hand. We persevered but all came to a head at the start of the year when daughter lost all confidence and didn't want to ride because of the saddle. She says she feels so high off the ponies back she can't feel movement or use her seat as sitting deep has no effect (she is about 5 stone dripping wet)
Since then we have been using a Shires Aviemore Shetland pad which she loves but it's not going to be a long term solution so checked with the owner that they were happy for us to look for another saddle and got the go-ahead with the warning that they had tried and failed hence the Wow. Sure enough we haven't found anything so far that doesn't slip sideways, backwards, impede the shoulders or that pony is happy in.
I contacted a friend I know uses Wow saddles who came out today and helped a bit by adjusting the air, removing the foregirth and moving the stirrups on to the back bar. We also need a narrower headplate and a smaller sternum pad on the H girth. It created a much more balanced picture and could be the best solution if my daughter just learns to work with the saddle.
But like me she us stubborn and is flat out refusing to ride in the saddle ever again. No amount of explanation about best fit for pony is helping and she says she would rather ride bareback and quit competitions and pony club than use it. I'm honestly stuck on what to do. A traditional saddle doesn't suit pony but the Wow doesn't suit the rider and I cannot afford to be shelling out a fortune for a made to measure saddle for a pony we will likely only be loaning for another couple of years. I think I risk ruining daughters confidence if I make her ride in it.
I'm at a loss. The easy way out would be to give up on the pony and look for something else but she is fab and loved by us both so it would be a really wrench to part with her over a saddle.
Any suggestions grateful received!
