child pony saddle help

[kspauldi]

Hi,
I have a 7 year old son who just outgrew his 12" leadline saddle. Seriously one week all was fine and now he can’t even fit in the saddle. So now I’m looking for a saddle for him. I was looking at some used Pessoa’s saw a Beval that wasn’t horribly priced.

Can anyone share any words of wisdom in finding a decent children’s saddle (he doesn’t need an Antares :))? Favorite places for a used saddle? The kids saddles seem really really expensive… Is it reasonable to find something for less than $700?

We tried a couple new saddles in our Dover store and the flap on most of the 15" saddles was borderline too long. Hopefully he’ll keep growing but right now a 14" probably would be a better fit. If anyone has a 14" that is looking for a home let me know.

Thanks,
Kristin

[poltroon]

At this age, there aren’t a lot of choices, so eBay is a great option. When my daughter was that age, kids’ saddles came up pretty regularly. Both the Pessoa and the Beval are nice saddles and would work great. Resale seems pretty easy.

I ended up getting a 15" Stubben Rex for my daughter. She wasn’t doing the A-circuit so all she needed was a functional saddle that fit her and the pony, and it served her very well. It’s not the in-look though if you’re planning to show.

[Mayaty02]

usually you can find 14 and 15" saddles on the used market quite often. Pessoa and Beval being the more common brands. Either is food, I never spent more than $500 in that size range for saddles (now that my daughter is almost 13 we’ve made up for that with Antares, Devoucoux and CWD!).

Ebay is a good place and also go on the Just Ponies, Kids and Equipment page of FB.

[Dewey]

Stubben Rex is a well-made little saddle and it is very comfortable. They come up quite regularly on ebay. They last forever. I still have my childhood Rex, and it is still going strong.

The Stubben Edelweiss Jr. is a close-contact saddle similar to the Pessoa and Beval pony saddles mentioned above. All these saddles would be great choices, and the nice thing is, they are very easy to sell on as other parents are constantly looking for these sizes.

Collegiate makes a close-contact child’s saddle. There’s an almost-new one on ebay right now.

Personally, I would skip the 14" and go right to the 15" so you won’t be replacing it again in a year.

[Bent_Hickory]

[QUOTE=kspauldi;8309685]
Can anyone share any words of wisdom in finding a decent children’s saddle (he doesn’t need an Antares :))? Favorite places for a used saddle? The kids saddles seem really really expensive… Is it reasonable to find something for less than $700?[/QUOTE]

The great thing about these pony saddles is that you can resell them for about what you paid for them - in some cases, a few bucks more. I’ve had good success with Beval Juniors and we’ve had a 13", a 14" and a 15" as the girls have grown. Saddles are a bit like shoes, too small is no good but neither is too big.

[BITSA]

My dauhgter was 7 too when she needed a saddle, we found a great used Beval, she’s 9 and it will still work for at least another year. It was older (they don’t make than model anymore), but in great shape. I’d look on eBay and at any local cosignment shops or on Just Ponies or English Tack Trader FB page (you can do an ISO “in search of”), or some reputable resellers like iselltack.com. Because most kids that age don’t wear out the saddle, they can last a long time, and usually can be resold for a pretty comparable price to what you paid.

There are a couple of 15" Beval’s on eBay asking $650, OBO. I paid $450 or $500 for my daughter’s, just as a ballpark.

And a nice little Pessoa on English Tack Trader for $550

https://www.facebook.com/groups/EnglishTackTrader/permalink/955255404540896/