Small pony saddle

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planete

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I need to find a saddle to back my sturdy 12 hands New Forest pony. I am 5ft and 8 stone and do not intend riding him any more than necessary to make sure he accepts and responds well to a rider. He will then be used as a lead-rein pony until he is a bit older and more experienced.
My problem is finding a saddle to suit both him and me. Is it possible and what type/make of saddle should I be looking at?
 
Anything that little I normally back bareback, though I have used a ponyclub Wintec on occasion :) I can fit into a 15" saddle but I just find bareback easier for the littlies :)
 
I like rhino can ride in a 15' saddle, one of the benefits of being vertically challenged. One pony I ride has a bates and the other has an ideal both comfy and easy enough to ride in (and I happen to know the bates was an ebay bargin).
 
I can just about squeeze into my 14" saddle if I know it fits and sit very evenly! I find either the old showing saddles with no knee rolls are best, so you can simply have your knees off the front- or if you want to have slighly more support I find the wintec pony jump saddles to be very versatile and good at getting long (well only 5'4s worth!) legs onto 12hhers :) Some companies do make special small pony/big rider saddles but doesn't sound like that'd be worth it for you.
 
Get a shetland pony pad. They are awesome. Fit anything, go round anything and dont have a "shape" so you don't need to worry about fit or if your sitting on the wrong bit. They are plenty cheap enough aswell.
 
I fit a lot of adults on natives and there are general guidelines for larger riders on natives, plus extra ideas for New Forests.

NF first - they can be very very flat - any slope to a wither at all? They are one of the few breeds who can have no visible slope to the wither without being massively wide. You will need a flat tree and a flat seat which does mean there will be more room for you than in a deeper seat. A curved tree will rock and lift at the back.

For larger riders in smaller saddles, you will need a decent flap, possible slightly more forward cut than a very straight showing saddle which won't giv you knee room. A WH style may work well, or a straightish GP. If you only want to show him in the future just bear in mind a straight cut saddle will be trickier for a leggy adult to ride in.

You should be okay in the right 15" saddle - any bigger than that might be too big for a tiny rider, though I expect the pony may be able to take a 16", it all depends on ribcage length. You may need a deeper rear panel to help keep you off the cantle, OR have the pony fitted as if a lighter rider is riding, and use a rear riser for you or anyone else larger. The latter might be a better option - a deep rear panel might mean the saddle is pommel low for a diddy rider which isn't good for horse or rider.

I've yet to see a Wintec work really well on very flat backed natives, and I would definitely steer you away from very thin panelled showing saddles - you can often feel the tree through them, and they can fit very cantle low, and as his back is young and soft you want to treat it as kindly as possible. Look for something with a decent depth of flocked panel, though the panels still need to be fairly close to the horse, semi close contact, to get the most stable fit.

Do PM me if I can help more.
 
Thank you all, and particularly Sbloom for your replies. I have measured his back and looked at a friend's saddle and now know I can fit him with a 15" saddle but no larger which should be ok for me. I am going to my local saddler's today to enquire about the stock they carry and which make might suit his shape.
 
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