Saddle sizes-es! =D

[saddlebreds_and_buses]

I have a question about huntseat and saddleseat. I'm looking at getting new hunt seat saddle. the one I have was given to me by an old school bus driver ( not the same one that gave me a whole show suit =) ) It's a 16 or 17 inch, and it's always been too small for me.

The thing with me is, I'm skinny- barely 130 pounds and 5"5. I don't carry any of my weight in my legs- it's all farther up. I ride in a 21 cutback, but now my trainer just moved me to a 22 because my legs are soo long. From my natural waist (like where my show jods sit) to my foot is 46 inches.. LOL!

So I'm thinking a 19" hunt seat right? I'm not sure if I'm going to get another close contact, or get a jumping/ eventing saddle. I've looked at the all purpose ones- they don't seem to bad. I totally want something with knee rolls this time. I haven't been able to make it to our tack shop, and i'm looking at them on the net.

btw, for any of you western riders- in my qh stlye wp saddle I ride a 16 and maybe a half?? Lol I just got that saddle last may and I can't even remember!!! lol

[Renae]

Generally you will ride hunt seat in a saddle 4" smaller than you saddle seat saddle. A 19" hunt seat saddle is a large mans saddle, the majority of average sized women ride hunt seat in a 17" or 17 1/2". If you have long thighs you can get hunt seat saddles with longer or more forward flaps instead of going into a larger seat size. Best to go to a tack shop with a huge inventory of new and used saddles and sit in as many as possible.

These are the types of saddles I would guess at you fitting into well http://www.doversaddlery.com/the-bdh-long-flap-saddle/p/X1-15222/cn/357/ or http://www.doversaddlery.com/pessoa-a-o-long-flap-saddle/p/X1-15338/cn/357/ and from Dover you can try a test ride saddle.

[rider]

I agree completely with finding a saddle that has more forward flaps. You'll want to look at close contact saddles--not all-purpose for that kind of fit. When you ride hunt seat, you should be right in the middle of the seat. Drop your stirrups and wiggle around a bit and see where you naturally end up. You then should be able to put a few fingers behind your bottom (the old books used to say your whole palm). You may be thinking that in huntseat he rider sits back near the cantle like saddleseat. Also, your stirrup length isn't really any diferent between the two seats, it's just that in huntseat we sit much more over our heels so the stirrups will feel shorter.

[Tack Collector]

The VSS Stubben Siegfried, Loreley (that's an oldie, lol), Imperator are APs with a forward flap and not too deep of a seat.

The cm tree size is a length, centimeters, btw. It's distance from tree point along the ttrr over to the oposite tree point. It's not width of opening between the points or a tree points angle or anything truly useful, lol. 32cm in current Stubben is not as wide as an old 32 cm Stubben. And 32 cm in some other brands might be huge. There's no standard. Get angle of horses' withers and then measure angle of the tree points.

With close contacts, they are about as individual as dressage saddles as far as how they fit and whether you like them. I found I had problems with the twist and / or the seat being too narrow in many models. If you always ride with a shorter stirrup for jumping a narrow twist may not bother you. But for flatwork, a too-narrow twist is like straddling a fence rail. You have to try the cc saddles with stirrups and irons on them, and with the saddle tilted at the same angle that it will be at on the horse.

CCs I like, and I need a wider twist:
currect and older Crosby Prix des Nations (I love the current one w/ the wide soft seat)
Crosby California Prix des Nations
Northrun Ashland I (haven't tried a II)
Thornhill 24k (mine is older and has "2001" on it)
Deuett Allegro (but those saddles are wide, and some riders HATE the twist width in those)
Stubben Artus & the Edelweiss CS
old German-made Courbette Stylist (I?) with the flat seat and plain flaps
Collegiate Connesieur (sp?) but the flaps are not very forward

Ones I could tolerate but need short stirrup:
Collegiate convertible Diplma, Alumni, and Wintec 500 cc, all on same tree
Collegiate Laureate

The AP I absolutely can't stand:
Collegiate Sr. Event. It's all cantle and no place to sit.

(See what I get for moving to QH & Paint Land??)

[stpatrick]

I have a Hermes saddle that is close contact and the knee rolls are thin. It rides as close to a saddleseat saddle as anything I tried when I bought it. It wasn't new but it was in close to perfect condition. The newer Hermes don't ride the same as the older ones. I never could ride with thick knee rolls and high backs. For some reason it threw me forward and then made my heels dig in to the side of my horse. Good luck...

[saddlebreds_and_buses]

thanks. see i used to ride with a friend who had a saddle that fit me, but I was a little girl then. So I sat in t eh middle, and I learned hunt seat and western wayyy before I ever came to saddleseat. It's just been so long I've been riding in a saddle that you have NO choice but to sit back on the back and you knees BARELY fit on the flap. I was looking at some of the saddles that have the extra long and foward flaps, but I think I really need to sit in one, and there is much english here. I go personally to KY ( fennells usually) to get any new saddle seat tack.

[SmartAlex]

Sit in as many as you can. They all feel very different. I bought a hunt saddle this summer, and it took me MONTHS of trial and error. I know you read this... http://trot.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2303
I am about 5'9" with long thighs. I figured maybe a 17" or 17 1/2" but although the seats felt good, the flaps weren't long enough. I wanted an all purpose and didn't want a really forward flap. I ended up with an 18" Stubben Seigfreid VSD DL. I love it. Each time I ride in it, I love it more. (and no, I haven't dropped my stirrups a notch yet, but I'm thinking about it)

[creekislandfarm]

Would the Western saddle size be the same as the Huntseat then?

[Paddy's Girl]

Would the Western saddle size be the same as the Huntseat then?

Unfortunately, still a different scale! Westerns are usually 15, 15 1/2 and 16.

I have a 22 barnsby cutback, an 18 stubben Wotan english, and a 16 circle Y western...and they are all right for me!

[Renae]

And it depends on what kind of western saddle for what kind of riding, too. You may ride in one size barrel racing saddle, a bigger size western pleasure saddle, and a bigger size cutting saddle.