Sorry in advance for being dumb, saddle weight limits?

I

igglepop

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Having been looking at saddles, i was wondering if there is a weight limit for a saddle. I know a horse can only take a certain amount of weight, do saddles have different limits. I have seen some treeless saddles have them but never a normal saddle.
 
If your belly don't flop over the front and your arse don't flop over the back of the saddle, the saddle isn't too long for the horse's back, you should be OK.
 
Normal ones don't as such, although I imagine excessive weight would wreck it before a lighter rider. Really you're limited by bum size though, if you're 10stone, whether you are 4' & wide or 6'3 & thin you aren't going to ride comfortably in a 14" saddle. Really if a saddle fits you your weight shouldn't be an issue. Only exception is possibly really cheap synthetic ones, I've seen them lose shape quickly with lightweight kids so maybe they would have a short life with a heavy adult. I'm sure pony pads do too but that's more to do with even weight spreading than the saddle.
 
I specialise in fitting natives and cobs and fit an awful lot of adults on ponies, so face this all the time - it's a question well worth asking. Of course there aren't absolute weight limits - how well you ride, how tall you are, and where you carry your weight will all have an influence, plus also saddle design - the larger the panels (and not all horse can take wide or long panels, and the wider the gullet the less room there is for panels!) the lower the pounds per square inch.

In a debate on another board I think I plumped for about 5'3 and 8 stone for a 15", 5'5" and 9 stone for 16", 5'6 and 10 stone for 16.5" and 5'8 and 11 stone for 17" but that is a really rough guide. One thing that may need to be done for a heavier rider is to lift the back of the cantle. A heavier and espeically taller rider is likely to sit near the back of the saddle and squash the cantle down meaning the weight is no longer spread evenly by the tree. If the larger rider is the only rider then a deeper rear gusset should sort it, if there is also a small rider (perhaps a parent exercising a child's pony) then a rear riser is the way to go, I only use Mattes Correction pads.

Hope that helps.
 
I have a friend who was considering changing her dressage saddle from flocking to 'flair' so she contacted flair direct and they say the weight limit of a saddle with flair is about 16st or it might be 16 and a half I cant remember which, but i defo know the 16 stone was mentioned.

apparently 'cair' (which is what i have in my bates saddle) is a higher.
 
It is also the rider's build. Apparently I have long thigh bones, so although I don't have a big bottom I need a 171/2 inch saddle.
 
Sbloom, have you stated 'ideal' weights there or your idea of max weights? As if that's max weights you've seriously got to go and join the 'I'm one stone, am I too far for my 17hh WB' brigade :D

What kind of saddle would a 14st man ride in? 20 inch?! (I only ask as I have to ride in a 17.5 as my horse is occassionally ridden by a gentleman, but now I feel even at my 12st weight im pushing it...and I have tonnes of room in the saddle, to the point of feeling a bit 'wafty' in it IYSWIM)
 
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