Saddle fitting for youngster about to be backed

Persephone

Persephone

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I shall be backing my rising 3 y/o in the spring and am a bit unsure what to do about a saddle.

I currently have 4 nice saddles that fitted my previous horse and whilst I am happy to pop one of those on loosely to get her used to wearing one I don't want to get on her with a saddle that could pinch or otherwise hurt her.

Should I just get a saddler out to check the fit from the ground only?

I am not confident to say that a saddle fits myself!
 
Definitely work with a fitter - if they can pad out one of your saddles to tide you over that is a great solution. I do occasionally fit saddles to unbroken horses - it is tricky as you cann't assess dynamic fit ie with a rider through at least walk and trot. But if you know the brand of saddle well, know the breed and type, you can usually get the right tree - you do need to get the fitter out very regularly though. Definitely once the fitter can assess the saddle in trot, but otherwise once every couple of months would not be unusual for a short period. Unbacked horses have "vrigin" soft muscles which are way too easy to be damaged by poor fitting. The crucial thing is to not fit too curvy - the horse need space to lift its back once it is working - anything that feels perfect stationery is unlikely to give that little bit of room - you tend to need to fit flatter than you think. As an aside, bridging is more often caused by a too narrow saddle than a too flat one.
 
Ah thanks! I have held onto my saddles in tge hope any of them may fit in turn, at least for a while. I suspect we will go through a few tbh!

Is it an advantage that I know the saddles I have suit me?
 
I guess :). I seldom find riders don't get on with the saddles I fit, so rider comfort doesn't become such an issue :D. But if buying a "permanent" new saddle then of course it is really important that it suits you - perhaps less important for a temporary saddle for backing, depending on your experience I guess, security and all that!
 
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