In my online shopping, I came across this little saddle that looks like a great option for kids. The inky dinky saddle for kids.Has anyone used these or anyone wants to share their opinion on whether this would work well? I need a new saddle for my tiny 8 and 7-year-old. The current one is not wide enough for my round pony.
Opinions welcome…
Interesting, but I would say it is a bit limiting. I can see it might be good for tiny ones, but I would think that they would move past this kind of super support pretty soon. I don’t think that you can remover the “bumpers”, so after they move past the pony ride stage it could be a hindrance to actually developing balance. How well can your 7 yo ride? Both Thorogood and Wintec make good quality synthetic saddles and specialise in pony saddles for the round ones. Both brands are adjustable.
I can see this being useful for toddlers, or those with a disability or balance issue. But I think once a kid is beyond the leadline stage something with this amount of limitation would do more to hinder the development of riding skills than to help.
I already own a Wintec and Thorowgood. Wintec is the wrong fit completely and my oldest rides him in the 16.5" Thorowgood and it fits him great but too big for my littles.
My kids aren’t going to an A show, they just get on and ride for fun. No real goals other than a balanced seat. They have been in lunge lessons for 2 years and have a decent seat but don’t have a strong core yet. My 7 y/o like to go fast and hang off the side, it kills my nerves. They can w/t independently and stop from the seat and canter on a lunge line. My pony is nowhere near a saint and it might just help my nerves. They are under 45 lbs so not big kids at all.
My 3.5 yr old rides (walk and a little bit of trot) in a Wintec western saddle and a small synthetic lead line saddle. He prefers the western, sometimes uses the horn for balance, but definitdly doesn’t need bumpers like that.
I’m a big advocate of vaulting for kids. It teaches balance, body awareness, and teamwork…
I took my kids’ saddles away until they can w/t and steer on their own. Making you a crazy woman is part of it. Get a 15" that fits the pony, make sure they’ve got on a helmet, and turn them loose.
I think that at your kids’ ages, that saddle has far too much extra padding and would make them progress much more slowly as independent riders. I say just find a 15" saddle that fits the kids and the pony and hope for the best.
I strongly disapprove of putting a child, not strong enough in the core to sit up unaided, in a saddle like this.
Core and neck development are essential to ride alone. Otherwise one or two adults should have hands on the child to protect him/her from whiplash and or ‘shaken-baby’ type injuries. The speed at which a horse/pony changes direction can inflict grave damage on a toddler with out that child falling off.
I am also not keen on the ‘trapped in the saddle’ aspect of that rig, if the horse should fall
Look for a Thorowgood Pony Club saddle if your existing Thorowgood suits the pony, the 15" one is pretty tiny.
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