What size saddle

[Stenners]

What size saddles do you have for your little ponies around 11.2? My saddler suggested 14" (having not seen the pony) but I'm worried my daughter will grow out of that a bit quickly. She's just turned 5.

 

[Cowpony]

14" should fit a 5 year old rider for years. I'm 5ft tall and can fit in a 16" saddle easily

 

[sbloom]

You can only fit a saddle to the length available, however all saddles, even models within a brand and sometimes even on exactly the same tree (cantles can be added, reshaped etc) they have different amounts of space for the rider, and take up a different amount of space on the horse's back. Unless you have a saddle with a forward balance (very rare with pony saddles, especially British brands) then the saddle can't extend beyond the back rib. You need to have the pony seen in the flesh to really know, there's a guide here https://www.ahsaddles.com/post/2019/04/30/horse-shopping-saddle-length-part-1 (there's a part 2) but of course you'd not necessarily want to rely on sellers measuring the saddle correctly.

 

[YourValentine]

What sbloom said. Depends so much on the saddle.

I'm 6ft and my current saddle is 17in, but I've ridden in 17.2in saddles that are too small.

 

[Melody Grey]

My dinky 12 year old is still on a 14” saddle as his pony won’t take a saddle any longer than that and weight/ size wise he’s still good.

We changed to a saddle with a flatter seat when he needed more room, the first was more curvy.

 

[Wishfilly]

I'm an adult (albiet short-ish) and I ride easily in a 16" saddle as my pony won't take any longer. It's probably a smidge to small for me, but it doesn't bother me. I'd assume a 5yo would be fine in 14" saddle for years- they'll likely outgrow the pony sooner than the saddle!

 

[Barklands]

Really depends on the pony and the saddle, we have a reasonably short coupled 11.2 in a 14" and another 11.2 who is longer in the back in a 15" and still room to spare! Growing up I managed to ride ponies in a 15" saddle until I was a very leggy 16 year old (I am now 5'10") although I was very slim back then! So your daughter should have years left in a 14" I imagine!