Saddle which places childs legs underneath him

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MagicMelon

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So I had a saddle made for my 5yo son and his Dartmoor. They based it on the usual Flyde type showing saddles. I couldnt understand why my son seemed to have stopped doing his "up downs" but Ive realised after watching him a few days ago (being led by someone else, Im always leading so couldnt see properly), that its because his legs are way out in front of him so he has to lean right forward and even then it looks impossible to get his bum out of the saddle without a lot of effort. His previous saddle was a Cub saddle and his up downs were great in that, but he's too big for that now.

Im considering selling the saddle and getting something else, dont have a massive budget though. Probably just looking at about the £250 range, what saddle would suit that helps a tiny rider have their legs more underneath them in a more effective place? Ideally with suede bits on for extra grip. Dont care if its synthetic, as long as it works - just a GP type, they just do lead-rein pony club stuff. Suggestions please?
 
TBH I would return it to Fylde and ask them to make it fit for purpose. Why on earth would they think it was acceptable like that? Are the stirrup bars too far forward, or is the flocking pushing his legs forward? Either way, when the saddle maker came to fit it to your pony, it should have been adjusted properly.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
TBH I would return it to Fylde and ask them to make it fit for purpose. Why on earth would they think it was acceptable like that? Are the stirrup bars too far forward, or is the flocking pushing his legs forward? Either way, when the saddle maker came to fit it to your pony, it should have been adjusted properly.
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I agree, if they didn't make it to fit your child correctly they didn't do their job.
I got my daughter a thorn pad at 4 and it did her great. We've since sold it to my daughters riding teacher and she was back in it today for a jumping lesson. They put the kids leg in the right place and don't overly support them so they learn to balance and sit well.
 
How long has he been riding in it. Little legs which have been used to a cub saddle do need a bit of help to be in the right place. I remember posting on here because my daughter always had one knee more bent than the other one for a while!
 
MouseInLux said:
I agree, if they didn't make it to fit your child correctly they didn't do their job.
I got my daughter a thorn pad at 4 and it did her great. We've since sold it to my daughters riding teacher and she was back in it today for a jumping lesson. They put the kids leg in the right place and don't overly support them so they learn to balance and sit well.
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What is a thorn pad? I learnt to ride in a soft felt saddle and I always thought that is why I seldom fell off, as I learned good balance. As it happened, when my older sisters decided I needed a leather saddle (!) the bought cheaply from a friend a nice little showing saddle that I did everything in. I really regret selling that one now.

I think it is nice for children to learn to ride on a sheepskin. But of course for showing you need a proper saddle.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
TBH I would return it to Fylde and ask them to make it fit for purpose. Why on earth would they think it was acceptable like that? Are the stirrup bars too far forward, or is the flocking pushing his legs forward? Either way, when the saddle maker came to fit it to your pony, it should have been adjusted properly.
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Sorry no its not a Flyde, I should have been clearer - I told them to base the style on a Flyde, but they were just a little saddle maker (not a brand). I got the saddle some months ago now so I really cant return it...
 
So the Thorn pad, does it have a tree? Looks very flat and I never fancy anything jumping in a non-treed saddle. My only concern is because my son is very small still (he's only just 5 and a small one at that, on a Dartmoor so certainly not a tiny pony) he does need a bit of support especially in the seat. Think he'd shoot off the back if she put in a slightly bigger than usual jump!
 
my 5 year old rides in a zoe snape pad - like thorn but suede, he jumps on the leadrein in it and its very smart. My choice if the pony was big enough to take one would be the thorowgood pony club saddle tbh
 
MagicMelon said:
Sorry no its not a Flyde, I should have been clearer - I told them to base the style on a Flyde, but they were just a little saddle maker (not a brand). I got the saddle some months ago now so I really cant return it...
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I would still get them back to adjust it - that would work out cheaper than buying another saddle, I imagine.
 
Does the saddle sit too high at the front? It would then be lower behind causing him to sit towards the back with legs forward.
 
have I read somewhere that little boys pelvis/hip locations also make them more inclined to chair seat? I was also wondering if it is level too though? I would do some critical analysis of the balance and where the stirrup bars are to see whether it is worth adjusting or not.
 
I think a lot of small children struggle with the showing type saddles they offer hardly any support and take some getting used to, but it might be worth getting it checked to make sure the stirrup position is right but it might be that he just needs a bit more time to adjust to it.
 
NeverEver said:
my 5 year old rides in a zoe snape pad - like thorn but suede, he jumps on the leadrein in it and its very smart. My choice if the pony was big enough to take one would be the thorowgood pony club saddle tbh
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my daughter has no problem jumping in the thorn pad. This is from yesterday, she's only just turned 6 last month. https://youtu.be/_PgwTiJjgcc she did try my old 148cm German Riding Pony in it and didn't go well but she was not quite 5 then and he had lots of movement.
I would also agree on trying the thorowgood pony club saddle, I've heard lots of good things about them.
 
My daughter, who is 10 but has only been riding for a year has this very problem - legs stuck forward, leaning forwards in trot - she has been riding in a felt pad. The girl who had the pony before, now several ponies on, has a chair seat, too.

There's nothing I can do about the felt pad - shetland combo, but she has been riding my mare in an old 16" Wintec 2000 which has made quite a difference as the stirrup bars are quite far back. The only thing I don't like about the Wintec is its incredibly narrow gullet (even on a wide setting) on my flat backed connie. Anyone heavier on her is going to cause problems and this is not ideal for the short term but will do whilst I save pennies.

How big is the Darty? K&M do a Pony Club range starting at 15" seat which, whilst he is tiny might be a bit too big, but it's a proper saddle if you can find one.
 
The change does take a bit of getting used to and will require a stronger seat and stronger lower back than a cub saddle, and this takes time. Basically, they need to develop the strength to sit centred in the saddle, and to do this they go through a phase of pushing forwards in the feet to brace themselves against the trot, which then means they have to hunch over in the body. Keep putting him back in the centre of the saddle and practise up downs in the walk with a nice straight back and centred leg. It will come. Which Fylde model is the saddle based on? Some are harder than others for little ones to adjust to. Can you post a photo? Do you use a balance strap across the front D rings? Is it long enough to pull on to rise to the trot without having to reach forwards? Has the child grown in the arms recently and do you have knots in the reins? I've found that arms affect seat as much as leg growth! It's a constant game of adjusting things! Play about with the stirrup length, balance strap and rein length a bit to see what helps, but mainly it is about the child developing his own core rather than being held in place by the cub seat. Are the stirrup leathers the very narrow Fylde-type ones for small children? I recommend those, use them myself as more comfortable than standard ones.
 
Pinkvboots said:
I think a lot of small children struggle with the showing type saddles they offer hardly any support and take some getting used to, but it might be worth getting it checked to make sure the stirrup position is right but it might be that he just needs a bit more time to adjust to it.
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This, I understand that showing saddles are a certain type, but unless you're doing a lot I can't understand why people don't get more secure saddles. I've see so many photos of children in the chair position it makes me cringe.
 
AFB said:
This, I understand that showing saddles are a certain type, but unless you're doing a lot I can't understand why people don't get more secure saddles. I've see so many photos of children in the chair position it makes me cringe.
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I love my showing saddles. Hate riding in saddles with knee rolls, thigh blocks, deep seats, high cantles etc. I don't like being forced into a position!
 
Many pony saddles have too small rear gussets and/or do not sit far enough back, and won't stay there. The saddle ends up tipping back and the child in a chair seat, I see it all the time. It may be possible to make the saddle sit in correct balance, but unlikely in most cases. Unless it's in correct balance the child doesn't stand a chance. You just need a saddle that fits. If your current saddle fitter botched up then I'd look for a specialist, if you'd caught it earlier you could have asked them to rectify it, they may still do so especially if you have photos from very soon after the fitting showing it was out of balance then. Always go back to the fitter in the first instance.
 
If you're on facebook look up Inky Dinky Saddles. They're designed with velcro padding that can be moved to help the child with balance issues. IIRC they cost in the region of £250 but have only heard good things from people who have them.
 
sbloom said:
Many pony saddles have too small rear gussets and/or do not sit far enough back, and won't stay there. The saddle ends up tipping back and the child in a chair seat, I see it all the time. It may be possible to make the saddle sit in correct balance, but unlikely in most cases. Unless it's in correct balance the child doesn't stand a chance. You just need a saddle that fits. If your current saddle fitter botched up then I'd look for a specialist, if you'd caught it earlier you could have asked them to rectify it, they may still do so especially if you have photos from very soon after the fitting showing it was out of balance then. Always go back to the fitter in the first instance.
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I definitely agree with this...

What does the pony look like.. shape wise? Is he difficult to fit?

When our Welsh pony was fatter it was very hard to find a saddle for him, the only option our saddler had was a barnsby show saddle. My then 4yo son never had problems with rising trot. It was definitely well fitted and didn't tip him back.

Could you pony have put weight on since saddle was made? Making it too high in front and tipping your son back.

Then pony lost weight and now fits a nice barnsby pony club saddle which is more forward cut, and has knee rolls etc...

Fiona
 
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