My suggestion is the same as TB in Color - look at the “youth” saddles. Daughter of my old, now late, trainer was slightly taller and very slight. So the normal “adult” saddles were too large for her. She took their homebred to the Eventing Advanced level back in the Long Format days riding in a Stubben Rex. She used that saddle for Speed and Endurance and SJ until she was advised to get a “close contact” saddle for SJ.
Thanks all for the suggestions. I have also come to the conclusion that I should look seriously at junior/youth saddles.
I ride a children’s jumper, wear kid-size breeches, buy kid size shoes, and ride in a kiddy saddle already so… the writing is on the wall. Apparently neither my brain nor my body grew much in the past 15 years!
There definitely not so many options in youth saddles, especially dressage lines, but that may make things much easier. And the hunt continues…
While you may not want a totally custom saddle for the mare, I’d make sure it’s a very good fit. There are so many options these days, for the mare, you should be able to find something used. With your measurements though, I’m not sure… As a horse owner, saddle fit is part of any lease agreement. Ill fitting saddle means get one that fits or don’t lease my horse. Wanted to throw that out there for all the ‘don’t do this for a leased horse’ sentiment.
As a mare owner - no reason to give an Opinionated Mare any extra reason to voice her Displeasure 
[QUOTE=goodmorning;8049846]
While you may not want a totally custom saddle for the mare, I’d make sure it’s a very good fit. There are so many options these days, for the mare, you should be able to find something used. With your measurements though, I’m not sure… As a horse owner, saddle fit is part of any lease agreement. Ill fitting saddle means get one that fits or don’t lease my horse. Wanted to throw that out there for all the ‘don’t do this for a leased horse’ sentiment.
As a mare owner - no reason to give an Opinionated Mare any extra reason to voice her Displeasure ;)[/QUOTE]
To be fair, nobody told her to ride in an ill fitting saddle. People just said not to waste money on a custom saddle for a lease horse. You can get a good fit without going custom.
I won a very large bet, and ended up with two Stackhouse saddles.
Best purchase EVER. They fit my horse. They fit me. They put me in the right place–and as an aging adult ammie, I can use all the help I can get!
Expensive? Yes. If I didn’t win the bet, I probably would have got the custom jumping saddle, because I spend more time there, and I was able to find dressage saddles that fit easier than jumping saddles. But your mileage may vary.
Ahhh, Kairoshorses… Stackhouse would be my dream. Specifically, TWO Stackhouses. That is totally awesome.
However, I am not a betting woman, so I will be stuck with buying used! I’m pretty sure one Stackhouse far exceeds my saddle budget.
I found a Stubben Portos youth demo at a local tack shop, so maybe will give that a whirl this weekend. It isn’t a dressage saddle (which is much harder to find and fit, IMHO), but if Opinionated Mare (thanks Goodmorning for that!) is happier at the canter in any saddle, then I’ll take it!! BM’s tack is not ill-fitting… its that it could be better. I’m sure it works much better for BM, but she’s taller and heavier than I am - as in, she’s a normal grown-up size :lol:
Thanks to all for your collective wisdom!
I’m also quite petite and have a couple of suggestions. For dressage saddles, my favorite is the Albion SLK or Ultima with the narrow seat option and a short flap. They run small in the seat and the platinum tree heads can be swapped out if you switch to another horse. Someone in our barn has a narrow seat short flap one that she is looking to sell in a MW tree, it’s almost the twin of my saddle. The Prestige saddles in a 16 inch are also a good option, and the trees have some adjustability. I particularly liked the Prestige 2000D, but it fit my TBs better since the twist gets wide in the wider widths. I also quite like the Bates Innova dressage saddle, and the size zero works well for petite riders and it also has adjustable gullets. My picky Prelim level Connemara/TB mare has decided she likes the Bates Innova better than her expensive custom saddle and the also expensive Reactor panel, go figure! For jumping, the Bates 15 3/4 caprilli might be an option, or a 16 inch if you can find one. I avoid custom saddles unless there is no other option, after having about a 50% success rate on the custom saddles I’ve had made over the years. I would only buy one now with a guarantee that I can return it if it doesn’t work.
[QUOTE=Thoroughbred in Color;8048195]
The Stubben Juventus saddles might be worth a look. They are technically a “youth” saddle, but they also fit us small adults well.
Saddle fit is more about femur length than butt size, but a deep 17" dressage seat will fit smaller than a shallow 17". My dressage saddle (Kieffer Lech Profi) is a medium deep seat with short flaps, and at 17" it is a bit big, but since it fits everywhere else I can deal with the slightly big seat…[/QUOTE]
I was just thinking, a “juvenile” or youth model saddle might work for OP, since she is tiny anyway, and it sounds like the problem is more finding something that fits her than fits the horse. There are some nice dressage saddles for “youth” out there. Kids grow, so it’s not that hard to find youth saddles used, and they are usually quite a bit less expensive than “adult” saddles of the same brand.
I will, um, strenuously disagree about seat size and femur length and butt size. I am about the same height as OP, have a short femur, but am quite a bit heavier without being really fat and have some serious junk in the trunk … and really, really need an 18 inch seat … no WAY would a youth saddle ever fit me even though by the seat size “rule of thumb” I should be riding in a 16 or 16 1/2 inch seat!
Actually, a lot of the standard “rules of thumb” for saddle fitting just do not apply to short adult riders…
Well, for those interested in this saga (and thank you all for your thoughtful advice! seriously!)
The Portos was an ok fit in the tack shop and meh when I put it on pony (with regards to fit for me…looked a-ok on her.) How that happened, I have no idea, but the flaps seemed almost too short once it was on OpinionatedMare. Good enough that I would pick up a used one for the right price, but not so fabulous that I had to have it. I wonder if its just because the new leather was so stiff that it looked short - they kind of stuck out sideways!
I ventured on eBay for the first time, and bought what was marketed as a 16in Prestige youth dressage saddle… it actually ended up being an older but barely used Prestige AP saddle with a pretty deep seat when I pulled it out of the box (a long and kind of not-good story, but whatever.) That so far has fit both of us better than anything else in the barn, and for what I spent it wasn’t worth the trouble of sending it back.
Despite not being a perfect fit for either of us, Opinionated Mare seemed much more relaxed and cantered nicely, and it was very reasonable to pop over a few logs in the field. I guess it buys me more time to shop around. I was hoping to find a used youth dressage saddle, but they are not as common as I thought. (I, like quietann, thought they would be dime a dozen because people outgrow them, but that has not been my observation so far.)
Vali - I am sending you a PM about your barn mate’s saddle!!
And Quietann - I 100% agree… the “rules of thumb” for saddle fitting don’t really seem to work for petite riders. Based on measuring my femur, I should be looking at at 16.5 or bigger seat, but in action, I fit my 5 year old in a friend’s 16.5in Childeric saddle with me and still had room!
I admit that I am slightly traumatized by the stories of ill-fitting custom saddles. I’m too much of a cheapskate to go there, I think!!
Thanks all!!
Being in the middle of a custom saddle nightmare, my best advice would be to find a saddle fitter that is accessible and that you trust and respect. Then get what that person finds fits you and your horse (you, obviously, have to feel good about it too). If they are worth their weight, they can help you find something in your price range that works. I have learned this the hard way.
