Patches
Well-Known Member
I am seriously fed and think we may have to sell our beloved Oliver a year earlier than we wanted to.
I knew his old Fieldhouse Generation Pony saddle was on the wide side for him, since we dieted him. (Right now a fat pony sounds a damn good idea as it fitted him, with the help of a prolite pad before he lost all that weight)
Have had the saddlers out today and he has gone from a wide fitting (which his saddle is) to a medium!
As he's now matured, and has a nice set of withers, the old saddle is simply too straight in the tree as well as too wide to fit him properly and she said it is now a horrendous fit on him, which will eventually cause issues. Although they've never adjusted the flocking since we bought it new, it would seem nothing flocking wise can help to make it fit temporary (with the help of prolite) and we now need a new saddle.
Ok.....we'll have a new saddle. Simple? Not so apparently!
Basically, in all of the saddles they have that are best designed to fit Oliver he needs a 15" seat in. Hannah needs a 16" ideally. (Although the Fieldhouse he has, and they fitted, is a 16")
The only ones that she said would fit him were a Wintec and a Bates (so very similar). The 15" new style Wintec was the best fit on him, and indeed she's convinced me to have it on trial, but I really and truly think it does nothing for Hannah.
It's like my old Saddle Co saddle. It's too deep in the seat, due to the tree shape and high cantle, and when I started to put the fence height up it was throwing her out of the saddle and smacking her up the backside. I put the fence up to 2ft 3 and hung some tyres over the pole to get him really looking at it. He threw in a big leap and she was well and truly shafted in the bum with the cantle which launched her forwards.
She said it's the best they can do....without spending £1500 on a flat seated jump saddle (and let's face it, for a pony you plan to sell next Summer who is probably worth less than that, it's a ridiculous amount to spend).
I am so torn. I know when we have a lesson in this one the instructor will hate it.....infact we've had a chat about it already. I just know it's not what we want for her to be jump out of, even though I will agree it does fit him better than his old Fieldhouse saddle.
Saddler is also going to price up some jump saddles as that's the only other option, but has again said we'll struggle as most start at 16". She thinks she has a Prestige pony jump saddle in 16" and believes it's worth trying on him should we not like the Wintec, but debates whether it will fit length wise.
She also said that we have the worse three factors combined here.
1) Pony is ultra compact
2) Child is growing by the minute
3) Child wants to jump biggish fences.
How can it be so difficult? Hannah is nowhere near hopelessly outgrown on him. She fits him ok now, but if she grows next year the same as this she will be rather tall on him. Kids at PC are ridiculously big on some of their ponies and yet they can get fitted.
What would you do? Are there any cheaper answers to this? Help.....I feel like crying!
I knew his old Fieldhouse Generation Pony saddle was on the wide side for him, since we dieted him. (Right now a fat pony sounds a damn good idea as it fitted him, with the help of a prolite pad before he lost all that weight)
Have had the saddlers out today and he has gone from a wide fitting (which his saddle is) to a medium!
As he's now matured, and has a nice set of withers, the old saddle is simply too straight in the tree as well as too wide to fit him properly and she said it is now a horrendous fit on him, which will eventually cause issues. Although they've never adjusted the flocking since we bought it new, it would seem nothing flocking wise can help to make it fit temporary (with the help of prolite) and we now need a new saddle.
Ok.....we'll have a new saddle. Simple? Not so apparently!
Basically, in all of the saddles they have that are best designed to fit Oliver he needs a 15" seat in. Hannah needs a 16" ideally. (Although the Fieldhouse he has, and they fitted, is a 16")
The only ones that she said would fit him were a Wintec and a Bates (so very similar). The 15" new style Wintec was the best fit on him, and indeed she's convinced me to have it on trial, but I really and truly think it does nothing for Hannah.
It's like my old Saddle Co saddle. It's too deep in the seat, due to the tree shape and high cantle, and when I started to put the fence height up it was throwing her out of the saddle and smacking her up the backside. I put the fence up to 2ft 3 and hung some tyres over the pole to get him really looking at it. He threw in a big leap and she was well and truly shafted in the bum with the cantle which launched her forwards.
She said it's the best they can do....without spending £1500 on a flat seated jump saddle (and let's face it, for a pony you plan to sell next Summer who is probably worth less than that, it's a ridiculous amount to spend).
I am so torn. I know when we have a lesson in this one the instructor will hate it.....infact we've had a chat about it already. I just know it's not what we want for her to be jump out of, even though I will agree it does fit him better than his old Fieldhouse saddle.
Saddler is also going to price up some jump saddles as that's the only other option, but has again said we'll struggle as most start at 16". She thinks she has a Prestige pony jump saddle in 16" and believes it's worth trying on him should we not like the Wintec, but debates whether it will fit length wise.
She also said that we have the worse three factors combined here.
1) Pony is ultra compact
2) Child is growing by the minute
3) Child wants to jump biggish fences.
How can it be so difficult? Hannah is nowhere near hopelessly outgrown on him. She fits him ok now, but if she grows next year the same as this she will be rather tall on him. Kids at PC are ridiculously big on some of their ponies and yet they can get fitted.
What would you do? Are there any cheaper answers to this? Help.....I feel like crying!
