Soooo I got a new 3 year old Clydesdale pony and am starting her under saddle. I’m very knowledgable about English saddle fit but I’m using a borrowed western saddle to start her. My dressage saddle is getting reflocked and fit to her and will be ready in a month. I’ve done Internet searches on how to fit a Western saddle and it SEEMS like it’s a decent fit. Wither clearance, no bridging, level from front to back. I can fit a whole hand under the front panels of the saddle so perhaps even though it sits level and has plenty of wither clearance it’s too wide? Anyways, I’ve backed her 3 times in it and I constantly feel like the saddle and I are gonna topple off with every step. I have a non-slip girth done safely and I’ve never in my life felt so unstable on a horse! I have a good balanced seat and it takes everything I have to keep the saddle and I upright! Something is clearly wrong! So, it tips side to side and if I pull on it hard from the ground it slides right down around her side! So…too wide? Too narrow? Is this normal for Western saddles?! LOL I don’t want to keep riding her in it if it’s not fitting correctly but I have no idea which direction to head in finding a replacement. Any ideas? Starting a baby is nerewracking enough without having to worry about toppling off at the walk! LOL
Your saddle is too wide. Try to borrow one with semi quarter bars as they are slightly narrower.
What kind of pad are you using? I agree with the semi bars on the saddle instead of a full bar, especially on a youngster…
Thank you! Semi quarter bars…got it! Thank you! I would like to have one for trail riding anyways so I’ll hunt around to borrow one with semi-Qh bars.
As far as pads I tried 3 different ones wondering if that was it. First was s standard thick western pad. Then tried one of those blanket type pads you fold over. Then threw on my English poly pad to see if that helped. Same problem with all 3.
