Saddles for a Welsh section D?

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NicolaC

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I will be hopefully backing Max this Autumn/next spring but while I have the money I thought I would get him a saddle and this time of the year there are more sceondhand ones to choose from.

I really don't think he will be too long in the back so I thought a 17inch would be just right. The thing is I have been offered a Ideal Ramsey 1/2 suede for £250, but it is a 17 1/2 inch. Do you think I could get away with it. This is my first native so I'm a bit unsure at the size of saddles that they normally take. I know it varies but on average what size do they normally take. He should mature to about 14.3/15 hands.
 
I am afraid that there is no average...you really must get one fitted correctly otherwise you may be setting yourself up for terrible trouble! You really cannot judge as they change shape so much...why not get someone out when you are ready and look towards a synthetic with the gullet that can be changed as and when needed...
 
Whilst it is difficult with youngsters who are likely to change shape, I agree that you should get the saddle properly fitted if at all possible.

The Sec D I ride is in a 17 extra wide Ideal. 17.5 would be fine but 18 is too long. He is about 14.3-15 hh.

You do not mention how wide the saddle/pony is and that will a major consideration. Natives can be very wide and often do not have a wither to speak of!

The width and lack of wither can mean the saddle lacks some stability, therefore the girth straps can be important. We have a point strap for the front girth buckle and a fifth strap at the rear for the other buckle, thus ensuring the saddle is stable.
 
You can't say what size and shape he will be - Welshies vary from horse to horse in the same way the saddle belonging to the horse in the next door stable to my boy wouldn't fit him.

Some Welshies are big, some are small. I have a 14.2hh Welsh D and for a D, he's fairly slight so what suits him wouldn't suit one of those huge Ds. FWIW, he has an Ideal GP type in a Medium, 17in I think, and had a Wintec VSD in Wide (16.5in). You really need to get a saddler out to get something fitted. I'd be inclined to go for something like a second hand Wintec (much as I dislike Wintecs!) to start with, so you can adjust it while he changes shape.
 
Thanks

He will be a big boy. What ever saddle I get I will be getting a saddler out to fit it anyway regardless of what I get. Wintec / synthetic's are not an option as I hate them. I would rather get a leather saddle then change it as he mature / changes shape. It is more the length. I know that down the line when the time comes that the Ideal that I have been offered dosen't fit him I would sell it.
 
Mine came with an Ideal. He changed shape a lot while I had him, over the years (he's out on loan now). It was either a MW or a W when I got it and I've had it reflocked, sent it back to Ideal for a new tree, and had the size of the tree changed.
 
I wouldnt get that type of saddle to back him in - my cob was rising 4 when i bought him, 3 years alter he has just had saddle number 6 fitted. I would try and get soemthing that you can change the shape with especially as you say he is going to be a big boy, he wont be big just now though will he!
 
As above, the size of the seat really does depend on the length of your horse's back. I would say, as a rough guide though, that a 14.3hh Welsh D is only really going to fit a 17" unless it is long backed.

You really need to have a look at the panels, to check that they fit the shape of your horse's back - if he is a typical welsh D, then you are going to need something flat really.

Ideals are lovely saddles and you would be able to resell it as they are popular.

I know you have said you dont like synthetics, but you might consider the Thorowgood range as they are quite nice saddles and have a cob tree - you can adjust the gullet of the newer ones as well as use shim pads to alter the fit. Also, they have a leather range now.

Otherwise, the native pony company saddles are very good (although rare second hand) and other adjustable leather saddles include Kieffers and Saddle Company saddles (which I fit) - for both of these you can adjust the tree, not just a gullet.
 
Thorowgood do one that's specially designed for cobs, they did one many years ago but this saddle is much better, not only that but it can be adjusted both at the withers, around the shoulder area they can be re-flocked. The points of the saddle further back than the average saddle (of the same size) so you don't get pressure points and it skims the shoulders, the panels are also flatter.

They change shape so much, with age, condition and work, so there are very practical. However I would still have it fitted and have regular checks by a saddle fitter to make sure everything is ok.

Thornwood have a sizing chart, so you can take a rough template (not a proper template) with a flexi curve so you can size a saddle up, along with how the saddle should fit you, then you could order one, then get it fitted once it arrives. If you don't like it or it doesn't fit, there easy to sell on again.

But like everyone else has said, doesn't matter what breed or size they are, they all vary and its better to get it right now, otherwise you could spoil your horses back and attitude to work for the rest of its life, so a few £100 here and there on a saddle fitter is worth doing.
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You could try looking at the new Kent & Masters range, they are leather and built very much along the lines as the Thorowgood and using the same interchangeable gullet bars.
 
Would like to say that although a horse can change shape due to fat/muscle changes, the skeleton does not change in an adult horse. Therefore the length of the saddle will not change through the horses working life because this is dictated by the distance between the back of the shoulder blade and the last rib. Unfortunately, as silly as it sounds, a 17" in one saddle is not always the same length as a 17" in another make. You really need to put the saddle on the horse, with the point of the tree a couple of inches behind the shoulder blade. Then check the panel doesnt extend beyond the last rib.
IME i would expect a 17 1/2 to be too long for your type of horse
 
When I had the saddle fitter out last year for my boywho is about 15.1 and a medium weight D we tried loads of saddles until we found the one he seemed to like the best.

It was a 17" and the saddle fitter said he could take a 17.5" but no longer. It is a Farrington VSD
 
We had a real problem getting a saddle to fit our WSD and had to go with M2M. Some saddles we tried were cut too far forward for her shoulders and she put the odd buck in.

I contacted her previous owner and she had the same problems and she told me the make of saddle she used.

The one she has now fits her like a glove.
 
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