Saddle fit for the person

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Saddle fit for the person; aka does my phat @ss fit?
Topic Started: Oct 24 2009, 11:02 PM (128 Views)
the mommy	Oct 24 2009, 11:02 PM Post #1
Crazy single mother, small business owner and full time college student Posts: 242 Group: Members Member #4,443 Joined: July 25, 2008	Pleasantly surprised when my test ride on a friend's commission horse came out with decent photos. So now I ask the question that has been NAGGING me for ages: Do I really need a 19"? The saddle you see me in the picture below is a basic Thoroughgood synthetic, but presently the only thing that fits. I am shopping for a TC but previous employer who SWEARS by them says I need a 19" because I have no hope of an 18" fitting. Now this can just be a TC thing, which I full well believe it is. But if I wanted to get say a Collegiate or any other on sale item, can I get make do with an 18" or do I have to try for the ever ellusive 18.5" and 19"? P.S. Don't mind the fat lady who ate the rider and assumed her form.



jn4jenny	Oct 25 2009, 01:39 AM Post #2
Magical Leopluridon Posts: 875 Group: Members Member #893 Joined: March 18, 2007	You won't like this answer, but...it depends. In very general terms, yes, that saddle in the picture is too small for you. Your lovely behind (and I'm being serious here, you have a great bod, delightfully shapely!) is being "pushed" by the cantle so that you're sitting almost on top of the pommel. You're ahead of the saddle's balance point, and even worse, you have almost no room to maneuver your pelvis (crucial for certain dressage moves). Now here's where we get to "depends". Much of that "too smallness" has to do with the high, unforgiving cantle of that particular dressage saddle. If you could find something with a more open, lower, permissive cantle, you might get away with an 18". A cheap example would be the Stubben Tristan: http://www.allsaddles.com/media/stubben/tristan_special_havana.jpg An expensive example would be an Amerigo: http://www.mmtackshop.com/amclcodr.html Such models are few and far between. But they're out there. Now in the Close Contact world, you might have a better go of it. Those saddles are, in general, very shallow. Tad Coffins tend to run VERY small so I agree with your previous employer, you'd need a 19" in that particular brand. But other brands? You'd have to play around with it. One thing to watch no matter WHAT brand you try is how long the saddle is on your horse. That's not a small horse, but it's relatively short-backed and the back of that saddle is already creeping up on the back of his last sprung rib on his rib cage. Be sure any new saddle doesn't hang off the rib cage's support area (which ends at the 18th thoracic vertebrae), which would press on the horse's loins and cause muscle problems down the line. PS--18.5" and 19" saddles are not as rare as you think.



Kikki	Oct 25 2009, 10:21 PM Post #3
Off visiting Candy Cave, be right back. Posts: 1,081 Group: Members Member #403 Joined: January 17, 2007	First off, you are being entirely too harsh on yourself! Now,on to the saddle - I know nothing of dressage saddles in terms of how various brands run, but I had to go up an entire inch when I bought my TC close contact. They run SMALL. And 19"s are quite common, as Jen said - I have been looking at LOTS of websites with used saddles and I see a TON of them (probably as many as any other size) and in quite nice brands such as TC, Butet, CWD, etc. And if you are self conscious about your figure, buy a saddle that really fits you well - a properly fitting saddle is very slimming! I learned this one by personal experience



naters	Oct 26 2009, 11:27 AM Post #4
Is the meadow on fire? Posts: 1,679 Group: Members Member #86 Joined: January 6, 2007	TCs do run small! Also, especially in a CC saddle, it has more to do about hip to knee length, rather than big-buttness. Oh, and your but is NOT big. MY but is huge, but I still ride in a big because my leg length is huge too.



OpticalIllusion	Oct 27 2009, 07:32 AM Post #5
Guiding your way to Candy Mountain, since 1873. Posts: 2,705 Group: Members Member #702 Joined: February 1, 2007	My experience with TC's are that they do run exceptionally smaller. My friend has an TC Equilibrium and I have a Collegiate Equilibrium. Both are labeled the same size. I can barely fit in hers.



vxf111	Oct 27 2009, 07:49 AM Post #6
You're BANNED! Posts: 4,033 Group: Members Member #325 Joined: January 10, 2007	Tad Coffin saddles run at least a half size, close to a size too small. I ride in a 17.5 in just about every saddle brand I've tried. I was CRAMMED into the 17.5 demo Tad I have. They do run small. It's not you, it's them



the mommy	Nov 3 2009, 06:04 PM Post #7
Crazy single mother, small business owner and full time college student Posts: 242 Group: Members Member #4,443 Joined: July 25, 2008	Love all the supporting information! If ANY of you see a 19" TC send it my way! I want to get one of my mares ready for Ocala.



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