My grandsons (3 and 5) are showing a decided interest in riding. Whoo-ee! Time to indoctrinate them!!
At present they are just being led around on my saint of a mare, but I hope to progress to the lunge or a round pen when they are ready. They are riding in my dressage saddle which isn’t very comfortable for them, and I would like to get something that gives them a bit more confidence and support. I am not interested in spending a lot of money at this point. I have been looking at treeless saddles and bareback pads with pommel and cantle as well as stirrups. Does anyone have suggestions about what has worked for them? Thanks!
check Wintec children’s saddles… new are about $190 to $250 and will last decades
These are synthetic saddles that can withstand an unbelievable amount of abuse
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Bareback pads WITHOUT stirrups are a safer choice because bareback pads can turn, go under the horse quite easily. Without stirrups the kid falls free, no chance of foot hanging up in a stirrup to get dragged. The surcingle type girth of pad is not as likely to stay tight, especially the webbing types.
Kid putting more weight in one stirrup can start the whole bareback pad sliding sideways. Seen it happen, though we caught the kid (not mine!) before got bad. I had just said the pad was unsafe with stirrups!
You could make your own ‘bareback’ pad with a western saddle pad/blanket, western girth and Latigo strap. The latigo strap is fastened to one ring of the western girth, then cinched up snugly over the western pad, around the horse, with loose latigo end buckled into other ring of western cinch. Girth is easily tightened again as needed during the child’s ride, to keep pad in place on the horse’s back. Kid can grasp the latigo if they need to hold something. Or put an old stirrup leather around horse’s neck for kid to grab.
My kids used the homemade bareback pad as they started riding. Goes on and off quickly, easily. I did not have any invested money because we had all those items in the tack room.
Nice to see peacock stirrups so foot can’t get hung up. Wearing shoes, you want to check soles for wear. Worn shoe soles are way more slippery, even with stirrup pads for grip. Having good shoe soles help keep feet in place on the stirrups.
Another vote for the small kids Wintec saddles.
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A youth western saddle is what my kids used. We had a western pony saddle for the pony and then when I bought a small horse we went with the youth saddle.
I preferred something with usable stirrups for stability ( bareback pad won’t give that).
Most boys are going to want to ride western as they get a bit older and can tell the difference.
With such small children as OP has (3 and 5), I would be leading the equine because most kids that size/age do not have the strength to hold themselves on the horse. They have VERY short legs, making child top heavy if they get off center.
At those ages their legs often did not fall below the western pad edge! Certainly the 3yr old did not hold on well enough to stay seated during a horse shaking herself! I needed to be beside horse to grab her during a shake. The 5yr old had just enough grip and strength to hold on during a shake if prepared. But I did not want to take a chance of him falling if surprised, so I walked beside until he was stronger, his legs could reach past the pad edge for a better grip. With longer legs, more strength, he was moved to his childs western saddle with stirrups at their shortest setting.
The homemade bareback pad was a good starter for the very young kids. They had short attention spans, pad was easy on, easy off, for short rides. Both kept on being riders as they aged, had good horse skills in all their riding situations.
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Thanks all- I’m in Canada, and the Wintec saddles are around $350. I’m concerned about fit, and don’t want to faff around with the changeable gullets. I am looking at treeless options so I don’t have to worry about horse’s comfort.
The grandkids are on the leadline, smaller with parent holding a leg. they are definitely not ready for independent riding. I wanted something comfortable and safe to make rides enjoyable. If they are keen to continue, I’ll definitely get a proper kids’ saddle.
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https://www.statelinetack.com/item/wintec-kids-saddle/SLT900606%20BLK/?&srccode=GPSLT&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiOy1BhDCARIsADGvQnDpugIf2fD72NbNthJntEBOYLHfRUzzjWtK8I_JsKJn7urNwZ7hGMEaArbFEALw_wcB
I think this is what Clanter meant. No gullet to change.
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our horses used for schooling small children also worked from voice commands, the child was told to talk to the horse
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The Shires pad-saddle is awesome for really littles, but if you need something a little bigger, Decathlon has a treeless leadline saddle that actually puts kids in a better position than a lot of leadline saddles, and actually allows them to learn to ride more correctly until they’re ready to transition into a “real” saddle. It’s surprisingly stable, and I’ve seen a few programs actually use them for kids learning to jump on ponies that are hard to fit trees saddles to, and they don’t seem to budge. They’re also cheap, even in Canadian funds.
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Thank you for the recommendation! I had seen the Decathlon saddle, but couldn’t find any reviews. It looks just what I’m after.
This is very cool to learn about because there is no way I’m going to find a treed saddle that works for my donkey. And I’m not sure if a pony for the kid will ever be in the budget. 
With the state of my herd he’s going to be going from donkey to full size horse if he wants to keep riding.
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I have no connection to this product at all, but something called the Inky Dinky Saddle keeps popping up on my Facebook. Might be worth looking into!
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I’d recommend that or the prestige pony saddle. It’s got great blocks and holds it’s resale value.
Again - I’ll vote for the Wintec. I had one for my Grandkids. My Coach had one for her kids. There is no gullet to change.
They are just a great little saddle for small kids. And, as mentioned - great re-sale value.
The InkyDinky is very expensive and not readily available here in Canada.
I have the pony Prestige dressage saddle and it is a wonderful saddle. Mine is 10+years old. But- is not suitable for small lead-line kids. It is a 16" saddle and I ride in it myself.
Hi all- update to finish my saga. I bought the Decathlon leadline saddle and am very pleased. It’s treeless but with nice foam “panels” that create a gullet and provide good spinal and wither clearance. It fits securely on an ordinary saddle pad without slipping and seems sturdy. The saddle has blocks fore and aft to keep the legs in a good position, nylon stirrup leathers and proper stirrups and long billets. The seat is non-slip with a good pommel with a long grab strap, high cantle. It’s secure without being restrictive. Mare seems happy with it, 3.5 yr old grand son feels much happier than in my saddle and 5.5 year old is raring to go! That being said, they are both on the leadline altho the older one may be ready to ride in the round pen soon with me just walking beside. It won’t fit the older boy for much longer but is perfect for the younger one. The saddle cost me about C $200 and uses an ordinary girth. Recommend! I’m keeping my eye out for a used Wintec kids saddle for the next step if the boys want to keep riding.
