Either one of those is sad to contemplate, especially if your dentist thinks she’s younger than advertised.
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I know. I feel bad for her. She’s an opinionated thing so I get the desire to snuff that if your goal is to flip her but she’s young, she’s allowed to have feelings, and things take as long as they take with babies. No need to rush.
Makes sense too why she has giant splint bumps on both front legs - they were working the snot out of her I think.
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Saddles sliding forward. Anyone care to educate me? I’ve been meaning to move the dressage saddle’s front billet to the point ring and see how it goes, but all three of my saddles do it (dressage, jump, western). I’ve been playing around with shims in my pro-lite pad as well with little-to-no luck.
From googling, this appears to be a pretty common pony-with-forward-girth-groove problem, has anyone had luck resolving it? I have different shaped girths on order but haven’t spent the big bucks on the TSF mega-anatomical one before I try some cheaper options first.
I tried a few different girth types after Charlie got girth galls shortly after I got him. Part of it was saddle fit (no sliding like in your case), but I have a TSF dressage girth and western cinch and am really happy with the design.
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Since she’s just a baby it seems, is she butt high? That will do it combined with narrower shoulders and a half pad to add bulk.
Might be worth teaching her to accept a crupper.
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I was thinking about that, but her reactions to ropes by her bum made me shudder lol. She’d get used to it eventually I’m sure. I’ve never used a crupper, any tips?
Today was a rainy day, everything is slick so I brought the big exercise ball into the dry lot with her at liberty. She thought about running (her reaction when i introduced this at liberty a few weeks ago was sheer terror - she flunked that test lol), but turned to face. Good girl. Took a few minutes (compounded by fresh hay I put out) before she came to touch it. Good girl, treat. We then proceeded to engage in a game of chase with me kicking the ball riiiight before she could touch it so she had to pursue. It was a blast for us both honestly - I think she’d be fun on cows for how she could cut when it would hit a divot and switch directions.
And that’s all for the day, Grundy. Good girl for being brave. It’s fun to watch them work it out, and a million times fun to watch them remember the previous lessons.
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Does she really have a wither yet? I can’t really tell in her pics. They often kinda don’t at this age? Nothing to really anchor the saddle. My little mare is juuuuuust starting to get one, and she’s four.
Something that resolves with time, if so. She just needs some growing up!
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She had one before I put weight on her. 
but you are correct. It’s not outright mutton but it’s not real big either. I just don’t feel comfortable even doing a quickie wtc if I’m going to end up on her shoulders - thats a valid reason to hump up. I guess I could just wing it bareback, easier to organize the dismount if there’s nothing in the way.
I do enjoy playing “soccer” with my youngster. He seeks out the ball and has learned a few ways to kick it/make it move.
My young horse is larger and has a little withers, but due to being butt high and just straight up fat behind the girth, his last saddle often went forward. I was using an Ovation Body form girth and it worked ok, but he was girthy with it and isn’t with any others. Anyho, I found a saddle that fits just right and the sliding forward issue went away. His last saddle fit well, but this one is a bit better/different.
Previously with another young horse I used a thin gel pad with some “stick” to it and a Professional’s Choice VenTech girth that has a bit of grip. I don’t like using sticky and grippy things, but it got us through him being a funky young horse shape.
Another thing is that if the saddle is too long, it will slide forward on most horses.
Anyway, all of that aside, it will resolve in time like Simkie said. There’s so much strengthening ground work (including the great handwalking that you already do) and posture work you can do without riding.
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All my saddles I’d argue are too long, but I’m not in a position to replace them. Plus I’m not sure how much shorter I can go and have them still fit me?
I’ll try the different shaped girths, and a point billet on the dressage saddle. Can’t hurt. I’m guessing the moving forward is contributing the the rubbing too, bunching up the skin that I carefully pull out from there. 
You might try an exercise saddle? They’re often pretty cheap to pick up and sometimes stay put on youngsters better than a “real” saddle. Not much there, but more than going bareback!
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I could take a look! I have a Barefoot bareback pad, too. Better than nothing. I’ll tell you what, though - 100% chance if me not sticking it if she porpoises, and 95% chance I goose her by accident and make it worse
I feel that! 
Not having tack that really fits my little mare well is definitely one reason I haven’t bothered getting on yet. No harm in waiting! I don’t bounce the way I used to, and there’s a lot to do from the ground. We’ll get there eventually, haha.
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I have been draping myself over her, but haven’t asked her to walk off with me like that because her facial expression is still “wtf”, though she stands nicely and lets me do it from both sides.
But yes, lots to do! Like get her ground driving without her blowing her top about the ropes on her bum.
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I have the neoprene TSF dressage girth and it works great on my pony with a tummy and forward girth groove. Easy to care for, and it comes in an 18".
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For the crupper, wrap it with memory foam and vet wrap or something to make it soft and won’t rub.
Then start doing tail stretches and massaging her tail bone, hind quarters then start touching her all over with the crupper. Then hold the crupper under her tail and rub it up and down the tail bone and hindquarters.
I like to attach to the surcingle with a quick release knot , usually shoe string loosely and start having her wear it while eating, then build up to all gaits ground driving. I usually spend a week or so getting them used to it but it’s a sensitive area so go slowly.
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I think you might need to try some other saddles. (Sorry!) Much more so than a crupper. I have a very similar shaped pony. He is a bit fluffy in his fat parts at the moment.
Is there a large used saddle shop in the area you could trailer her to? Try a couple/lot of saddles on?
We have one that mostly has Western tack a couple hours away, maybe there is something comparable with English tack in your neck of the woods. Otherwise…
A couple of suggestions, and these can be found used for very reasonable prices. Cheap for saddles prices, I should say.
Pre fluff, I had excellent luck with Berney Bros. 2 out of 3 fit him well. Jump/event saddles.
I liked the position a couple event saddles put me on him but they did not fit his back shape well enough. It was close though! (Dabs/Coffin)
Now, I am using this ancient Rossi Y Caruso saddle that is super wide and fits him well. They are old school and super cheap on eBay now, but well worth the investment of a couple hundred bucks. The tree is very pony friendly. As in, fit a ton of ponies other saddles didn’t when I had a pony based business.
I admittedly, have too many saddles. I can tell you from trying…too many saddles on my little red slug, those 2 somewhat obscure brands have been most successful.
She’s going to keep changing shape to some degree and you probably don’t want to become an exclusive bareback warrior, especially when she practices routines that belong at Sea World.
Here’s hoping an 85$ Rossi saddle is your temporary fix. My ancient Rossi beauty was 65$ 25+ years ago, worth every penny.
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Ugh.
I want to muster more words than that, but cannot.
Whatever she needs will have to wait a bit. I don’t have the mental bandwidth to go “saddle shopping” at this moment. I’ll start by having the fitter out. Maybe she’s got something that would work, or can suggest something.
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Agreed. It sounds like none of the saddles fit. There’s a reason I have 12? (I lost count) saddles for 5 horses… But most were ~$500 or less. Something with upswept panels is probably going to be a must.
It sounds like there is plenty of ground and in hand work to be done while a new saddle is worked out.
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