saddle help (show) long legs

NiceNeverNaughty

NiceNeverNaughty

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I am really struggling to find a saddle that I am comfy in as well as my pony.

She is a 13.2hh welsh c and quite long, so can just take a neat 17". I want something straight to show in but everything i have tried only seems to work for me if I have my stirrups longer than I would like. If I shorten them to the correct length, my knee pops over the front. Im 5ft4 and petite but I think I must be long from my hip to knee. At the moment I am riding in a 16.5" ideal ramsay which is a lovely fit on her but Im locking out my lower back to try and keep the correct position.
 
Can you try an 17” Ramsay? I have one and saddle fitter said they’re designed to accommodate the longer rider. Too big for both me and my guy so I ended up having to buy a 16” ideal working hunter instead.
 
There is no magic solution. The flap cut is what gives space for the leg, so you either go more forwards cut or you put up with it to a certain extent. You could try stirrup bar loops to see if setting the stirrup leather back a little helps, you could have a saddle with very small high set blocks, or similar velcro blocks, so you can put them up out of the way of your knee with shorter stirrups.

A flatter seat will help a little, but that's still more about bum size than leg length and yes, some saddles have shorter footprints than others, but equally they can ride smaller too. A deeper seat will actually often be smaller on the horse's back but will make things worse for you and unlikely to fit a Section C. And yes, AH has a true, no gusset, upswept panel which does mean you can get a shorter panel on, but only on some shapes (croup high or curvy/level). I should also say, beware the company that says they can put a bigger seat on a shorter tree/panel, it ALWAYS involved compromise and won't always work, you can't get the height at the back, ie balance the saddle on all horses, without the length of panel/gusset. The SMS amongst many others feel it should only be used in very narrow circumstances despite what many saddle companies promise.

Sometimes a quart into a pint pot just won't go and a compromise must be made but it sounds like you're close, how tall are you/inside leg/photo?
 
thank you, i have an AH fitter coming out soon with a trad WH to try and i have BC gpd coming as well. I could 'make do' with a 17" ramsay but Id have to ride longer than Id like. I understand what you're saying though, quart and pint pot !

22" from buttock to knee when sat with my thigh at a right angle as per
https://www.thorowgood.com/fitting/10-measuring-the-rider
31" inside leg
 
Might be worth trying a solution, I looked at them originally because my mare can only take a 17" but I need 17.5 and husband needs 18".
 
I’m also 5ft 4 and ride a 13.2hh welsh c who is not particularly long.
My lad normally has a 17” saddle absolute maximum in a GP which I find fine for my leg/arse. However my show saddle is a17.5” ideal ramsey which several independent saddlers have verified as fitting beautifully.
So it may be worth trying to get hold of one and trying it. They seem to measure big compare to others.
Here is a picture of my lad in his show saddle
8AC545B6-5BEC-45DB-A85B-2F60EDBFA331.jpeg
and litterally the only photo i have of his GP which is a 17” black country GPD, sorry for the crap angle.
2DB23665-2453-43F3-B485-FE9A83A15889.jpeg

another one to try would be a 17” black country heartly as ive been told these suit short backed ponies with long legged riders
 
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conniegirl said:
I’m also 5ft 4 and ride a 13.2hh welsh c who is not particularly long.
My lad normally has a 17” saddle absolute maximum in a GP which I find fine for my leg/arse. However my show saddle is a17.5” ideal ramsey which several independent saddlers have verified as fitting beautifully.
So it may be worth trying to get hold of one and trying it. They seem to measure big compare to others.

another one to try would be a 17” black country heartly as ive been told these suit short backed ponies with long legged riders
Click to expand...

Fyldes, and their duplicates (ie the Ideal Ramsay and the Fylde Marjorie are the same saddle), tend to fit both horse and rider small, so an 18" Hayden rides like many other brands 17", and the others all ride 1/2" smaller. It slightly drives me nuts that I see horses in the TG/K&M Compact in, say, a 17.5, to "give the rider more room", when it looks like the Cob tree might have been a better bet for the horse's flat/short back (usually go together) but would have been a 17" - the flatter seat means the rider has more room. However if you focus on leg length as they do for their sizing then you end up with the supposed larger seat, but a deeper seat giving no more room and making it harder to jump in!

The Hartley is their WH model, not dissimilar to the GPD, so you're simply giving a slightly more forwards flap compared to their flat showing saddles, this would go for comparing any flat showing saddle to a WH or VSD on the same tree (or not). Not meaning to have a go at all, just trying to help everyone understand why some saddles ride bigger than others, there's no magic to it. Some brands are better at keeping the rear gusset (or no gusset) as short as possible to get the footprint size down, and some trees ride "bigger" than others for a bigger bum (ie a wide seat, a flat seat) but ultimately you need a more forwards flap or high set block or both to give more leg room.

So yes, each of us may have a notionally bigger size in one particular saddle but it's highly likely, in so many cases, that it simply fits smaller than average for both horse and rider and the more straight cut the more likely you are, on average, to have to go up in REAL seat size to compensate such as most who have a dressage and a jump having the jump 1/2" smaller than the dressage.
 
just to update i had the fitter out and i do feel things have 'clicked' in my head - you are quite right steph, my own conformation and leg length means if i want a very straight show saddle like a ramsay i will have to compromise and ride longer than i am comfortable with. I tried a couple of AH saddles and was surprised to the find the M&M Sports GP was a match. It's more forward than I wanted but still looks good to show in and as you say - square peg and round hole, just doesnt work! Thanks again .
 
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