Flap length

[SoundAndFury]

TLDR: How noticeable would I expect a ~1" difference in flap length to be?

I have an older dressage saddle that my horse tolerates but it is a bit too narrow for him, so I’ve been looking online at my options. My jump saddle is a Black Country Quantum that fits him well, so I’ve been looking at Black Country Eloquence and Vinici models online (my budget dictates used). I have found two Vinicis that look promising - they are very similar, but one has a serge panel (which appeals to me, they sound great) and has a 16.25" flap. The other does not have serge panels, but has a 15" flap.

That made me realize I should think not only about horse fit, but about me too. I’m 5’3" and am all torso - my legs are pretty short for my height. I ride in children’s leathers on my jump saddle. I looked at my current dressage saddle, and it has a 15" flap, which goes down to the middle of my calf - it hits right at the bottom of my calf muscle.

Initially, I was leaning towards the one with serge panels, but I don’t know how much of a difference that 1.25 inch in the flap will make…I’m starting to think I should stick with the shorter flap. And short flaps don’t seem to be very common (otherwise I would be more inclined to choose neither and bide my time). Any opinions?

[CobJockey]

Fellow children’s-leathers-on-my-jump-saddle shortie here (5’1 with the world’s shortest torso, opposite of you!), if your 15" hits the bottom of your calf, an extra 1.25" will put it approaching your ankle bone, and for me, that would be too long. I test rode over 50 saddles over the last year trying to find my latest one, and I learned I actually love a REALLY short flap - ended up with a used 17" Dressage saddle that has a 13" flap measured from the bottom of the stirrup bar. I like feeling more horse body under my leg and less leather, partially because of where my stubby legs hit my round pony.

Everyone is going to tell you something different because it really comes down to personal preference. If you can try either of these with the option to return them, or if you can try a similar length flap before pulling the trigger, that would be ideal.

[NO-CTRL]

Another shorty (5’0 with short legs!) here.
To me, that’s a pretty big difference - i used to ride in a Hennig with 16" flaps - i made it work but they weren’t ideal. I purchased an Equipe with the short flap option (15") and find that much more comfortable, i can get my leg on my pony much easier now. Ideally, if i were to order another, i’d get the “pony flaps” which are another inch shorter again (14").

[add_leg]

Another short one (5’1") here! I tried 11 saddles last year before finding mine and I, too, found I needed a shorter flap. I ended up with a Black Country Equinox which is marketed as a trail/endurance saddle, but built with a dressage stirrup bar and seat and it’s PERFECT. The flap actually measures just over 13" if I recall and I swear, my riding changed overnight in that saddle. I’d previously only been able to find 15" flaps and while they were fine, they still felt like a lot of saddle under my leg. The Equinox is also a monoflap, and has a half block, which I love, but may be hit/miss for others. If you can find one, they’re often less expensive than the other BCs because people don’t think of them as “dressage” saddles.
Happy to share photos/video of mine if it piques your interest. I RAVE about mine because I love it so much, but I found it entirely by accident.

[SoundAndFury]

Thanks fellow shorties! I agree it comes down to individual preference, but you’ve been really helpful. Unfortunately mid-pandemic it’s even harder than usual to try different saddles…not impossible but I’m not seeing friends who I could normally borrow their saddles or hop on their horse to see how it feels. I suspect I’ll fall on the end of the spectrum where a flap that is too long would bother me, and hearing that it can be noticeable makes me think that I should do my best to stick with a shorter flap.

@add leg - I actually noticed an Equinox online and read a bit about it. I’ll go back and read more - it caught my eye, but one thing I read mentioned that it was built for wide horses. I’ll research more but if that’s the case it might not be the best fit for my horse (OTTB). Feel free to send me some pics etc - I am curious about it!

[outerbanks77]

I ride in a BC Vinici, and I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum with 16" being barely long enough. However, with the monoflap design with the billets over the top, the flap is not very noticeable. So, for this particular saddle, I think a longer flap won’t be as big of a deal as with a regular flap saddle. At one point I had a Barnsby with like 19" flaps and just ugh. I do not understand why shorter people tolerate riding in saddles where the flap is almost down to their mid-calf.

Also, I trialed an Equinox once, and it sits similar to the Vinici. The big difference, at least for the one I trialed, is that the Equinox does not have full panels (i.e. a strip of padding down the front part of the flap). This was not a problem on my big horse, but on my small horse, I had nowhere to put my knee (again, ridiculous long femurs here). So if you have a horse that is wide relative to your conformation, the Equinox could be a great choice. If your horse already feels narrow, the Vinici will give you a little more to “hold on to” with your knee area.

[add_leg]

@SoundAndFury

Thanks fellow shorties! I agree it comes down to individual preference, but you’ve been really helpful. Unfortunately mid-pandemic it’s even harder than usual to try different saddles…not impossible but I’m not seeing friends who I could normally borrow their saddles or hop on their horse to see how it feels. I suspect I’ll fall on the end of the spectrum where a flap that is too long would bother me, and hearing that it can be noticeable makes me think that I should do my best to stick with a shorter flap.

@add leg - I actually noticed an Equinox online and read a bit about it. I’ll go back and read more - it caught my eye, but one thing I read mentioned that it was built for wide horses. I’ll research more but if that’s the case it might not be the best fit for my horse (OTTB). Feel free to send me some pics etc - I am curious about it!

I strangely don’t have any good photos of it on my horse, but I’ll try to grab some this week. Mine is a MW and I can tell you it fit my Saddlebred who was a med-wide with a gigantic shoulder and it fits my new guy who is an itty bitty QH (measures as a pony, a true M tree) with some flocking adjustment and a half pad. I wouldn’t say either were super narrow guys, but they both have withers and definitely aren’t round/wide things. A M would probably fit my new guy a bit better, but it’s not a big deal since adjusting it and I always ride with an Invictus half pad anyways.

I don’t like a long full block like the Vinici has so I can totally see outerbanks’s point. I’m proportionally maybe a little longer in the femur (I have a torso that’s like 2"), I ride in a 2A or 2AA flap in my jump saddle, but I don’t have any issues.

[outerbanks77]

@add leg

I don’t like a long full block like the Vinici has so I can totally see outerbanks’s point. I’m proportionally maybe a little longer in the femur (I have a torso that’s like 2"), I ride in a 2A or 2AA flap in my jump saddle, but I don’t have any issues.

Oh yeah… I had my Vinici built with short blocks that end just above my knee (and a 1.5" forward flap). I had one with the long block before and it was really hard to keep my knee from popping over.

So with the regular shaped long block on the Vinici, it might ride a little oddly if your leg is not proportional to the flap. Forgot to factor that in since I’ve been riding in the short block for five years now.

[SoundAndFury]

Thanks again to everyone who commented! You made me think about where the knee “pocket” would be - I remember when I got my Quantum (which if I recall correctly also has a short flap), my trainer commented that my knee nestled right into the ‘sweet spot’ and showed me how if I had a longer leg the flap would not fit me well. I’m imagining that the geometry of a shorter flap will work well for me.

@outerbanks77

…Also, I trialed an Equinox once, and it sits similar to the Vinici. The big difference, at least for the one I trialed, is that the Equinox does not have full panels (i.e. a strip of padding down the front part of the flap). This was not a problem on my big horse, but on my small horse, I had nowhere to put my knee (again, ridiculous long femurs here). So if you have a horse that is wide relative to your conformation, the Equinox could be a great choice. If your horse already feels narrow, the Vinici will give you a little more to “hold on to” with your knee area.

The Equinox intrigues me…but I decided to take the leap and take the shorter flap Vinici on trial. My horse is relatively slab-sided, and I do think I’d prefer having a full panel. And it doesn’t look like there are many used Equinoxes for sale at the moment. Ideally I’d ride in all the saddles I’m interested in to see what I like, but realistically that’s not going to happen right now. The Vinici seems to have everything I need (right seat size, right tree width, gussets, shorter flap, in my budget) and I decided I’d be kicking myself if I didn’t at least try it. Fingers crossed it works as well as it looks like it might.

[GraceLikeRain]

Best of luck! I’m 5’1 so really prefer a shorter flap but at this stage, I’m looking at used saddles. My mare was a tricky enough fit that essentially I went with the first and only saddle that fit her even though the flap is 16". I’d definitely order a shorter flap given an opportunity. I got to try a 13" flap saddle and it was magical. I imagine it is how those super leggy riders feel in most saddles.

[Mallard]

Another shorty here…4’11"
16" would be way too long for me.
I have a Prestige ‘Lucky’ which is their pony saddle. I got short flaps which are 14.5". Small velcro knee rolls. It is perfect. I have custom Gary Mundy leathers.
I had a Schleese JES Elite for my 14.2 pony and the flaps on it were very short…probably 15"/ That saddle was discontinued, but I think you can find them used.