First of all DD is riding in a CWD not because she is privilege brat but because i sold my devocoux after my horse died to buy it for her. She needed a saddle with more blocks, more depth because the large pony she was riding jumped her loose. (don’t even go there.) Secondly, we FREE lease the pony so no, I cannot afford $400 for a second saddle for this pony. THIRD, you are basing your assumptions on the ill fitting saddle by one question asked, never having seen the pony go, never having seen the saddle etc. The pony is OBESE. The chances of the saddle fitting better when the pony loses weight and gets fit are good. You have all also assumed that this is a saintly packing pony who puts up with DD’s ill fitting saddle and tolerates her (unspoken - bad) riding. It is amazing to me how the horse world has become a place where we are all experts and our answer to a question is either buy custom, buy new, get a chiropractor etc. In a perfect world, things like cruppers or draw reins, or any aid didn’t exist because we would all have perfectly fitting tack on perfectly shaped horses, on perfectly manicured farms.
[QUOTE=myalter1;7424269]
First of all DD is riding in a CWD not because she is privilege brat but because i sold my devocoux after my horse died to buy it for her. She needed a saddle with more blocks, more depth because the large pony she was riding jumped her loose. (don’t even go there.) Secondly, we FREE lease the pony so no, I cannot afford $400 for a second saddle for this pony. THIRD, you are basing your assumptions on the ill fitting saddle by one question asked, never having seen the pony go, never having seen the saddle etc. The pony is OBESE. The chances of the saddle fitting better when the pony loses weight and gets fit are good. You have all also assumed that this is a saintly packing pony who puts up with DD’s ill fitting saddle and tolerates her (unspoken - bad) riding. It is amazing to me how the horse world has become a place where we are all experts and our answer to a question is either buy custom, buy new, get a chiropractor etc. In a perfect world, things like cruppers or draw reins, or any aid didn’t exist because we would all have perfectly fitting tack on perfectly shaped horses, on perfectly manicured farms.[/QUOTE]
I certainly did not mean to imply that your DD was in any way a bad/poor rider.
You stated the saddle needed to be re-set after each jump line - when I read that, I was actually more concerned about your DD than the pony.
If pony is truly that OBESE, I would never be jumping it, the weight would come off over a couple months of ground & in hand work, bare back riding (if pony is suitable, or with a bareback pad), etc.
When pony shape is more reflective of healthy, fit pony, then it’s soon enough to sort out saddle fit & jumping.
Bottom line is that even “free” ponies deserve someone that is willing to invest in keeping that pony sound & pain free.
That you are a step up from where pony came from is great, but doesn’t mean that pony is any less deserving of being ridden in a decent fitting (not perfect) saddle.
CWD may not necessarily equal privilege, but even a used CWD will cost the equivalent of a few lesser quality but decent saddles that might’ve allowed a much broader range of fit for a variety of ponies.
Having chosen the CWD - which does seem to fit a range of ponies - why is it such a hardship to choose to NOT work with a pony for whom the saddle is a poor fit, or to fit-up the pony through some other means than riding in a saddle that is a poor fit 
ETA I forgot the first words that I meant to start this post off with
I’m very sorry if I’ve personally offended - that was never my intent 
What about a for-girth?
Geez. Don’t google that^.
Flame suit on
I ride ponies. I understand their strength, conformation and overall sturdyness.
I also understand the reality that out of all the horses being ridden worldwide, about 0.5% of those even come close to having correctly fitting gear. Wouldn’t an ideal world be nice? It’s easy to say “saddle fit, saddle fit, saddle fit”, but lets be honest here, as a child/adolecent/teen/even adult, most of you likely didn’t start out with a correctly fitting saddle. Heck, most lesson barns I’ve seen don’t have a single custom, properly fitted saddle. Their pumped full of standard HDR’s - if they’re even that lucky.
I also agree with such a tiny, and as stated “light and balanced” rider, especially one who is riding four other ponies (so not likely riding this one much more than 3-4 times a week) - that this rider/saddle combo is doing very little damage to this ponies back, especially if the pony isn’t showing/telling signs of pain or discomfort. Certainly nothing that couldn’t be remedied by a monthly chiro visit.
Instead of a full on mutiny, lets try to help the poster here. I have an inkling she’s not the John Wayne Gacy of the horse world.
Vent over - flame suit off
As for help/ideas, if the non-slip pad isn’t doing much, the neoprene girth likely won’t either. Is she too much of a princess that the right crupper won’t set her off? Have you had anyone hand walk/lunge her with one on? Also, a half pad could help a little here, and shouldn’t compromise your ridder position a all.
Good luck. Ponies are so much fun, but can be a pain!
Thank you mscho. I appreciate your voice of reason. For the record, the saddle doesn’t have to be reset after every line… rather after a course of jumps. WE have had this pony since the beginning of january and have jumped 12 jumps.(to see if she would stop or be naughty) No lie. We are not out there showing or even LESSONING on the pony. She is not fit enough to do a 1/2 hr private lesson, let alone anything more than that. the non slip pad has helped DRAMATICALLY on the flat… it’s only after some jumps that the saddle starts to move.
[QUOTE=DARQHORSE;7424444]
What about a for-girth?[/QUOTE]
spelled fore girth if you don’t want scary google hits!
as I mentioned privately 
using a non slip girth, the farthest back billets and also buying the rug mats will help tremendously, as will her getting fit. We had a section A pony last year who literally had no withers, and was incredibly fat, and yes, the saddle had to be reset often, until she lost weight, then it was better. But always with non slip girth and pad. And to those not familiar, the very grippiest non slip pad is a simple throw rug pad, the kind you’d put under your bathroom rugs etc. Get a big one and cut it into strips to fit under the saddle. Super inexpensive and I found a lot grippier than the “non-slip pads” you’d find at the tack store… they tend to get slippery when wet/sweat.
Specialist saddles for native ponies with no wither and wide backs http://www.thenativeponysaddlecompany.com/?gclid=CLqRzsenxLwCFUjItAodQBsAvQ
