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  Shipwrecked and Flat Out Zapped
Posts: 16390
   
Location: DUMPING CATS AND PIGS IN TEXAS :) | How do you know how big your saddle seat should be? Just sit in it and feel what's right or do you measure your butt? Just wondering lol. |
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Expert
Posts: 1477
Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | Martha Josey says that from your elbow to your fingers is how big it should be but I don't believe that. I think it's what feels good to you and what you like. Someone people like being squished in the saddle because it makes them feel secure. I personally don't. I feel better with a little room to move. When I sit down I don't want my legs touching the pomal. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Not a dumb question.
Every saddle maker has different seats, and each one fits differently.
I have a Lockhart 13.5 and an old Marlene eddleman circle y 14. The 14 seat actually feels smaller.
A lot of people say Pozzis fit a little bigger
You best bet is to try the seat size, Las Vegas is a great place for this |
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 Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | Personal preference. I prefer to ride a little bit larger seat and my saddle is a 15". I can ride a 14" seat and have but I prefer to be able to move around a little bit. Each saddle will sit and feel differently even if they measure the same. It's just all in how one is set up.
Edited by Herbie 2015-01-26 12:43 PM
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Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
Location: Oklahoma | TessBelle - 2015-01-26 12:39 PM Martha Josey says that from your elbow to your fingers is how big it should be but I don't believe that. I think it's what feels good to you and what you like. Someone people like being squished in the saddle because it makes them feel secure. I personally don't. I feel better with a little room to move. When I sit down I don't want my legs touching the pomal.
Exactly. I Martha's method one time when I was younger and now that I look back, I'm pretty sure that I was running in a saddle that was .05-1" too big. I've always thought that I was a 15", but it varies by the saddle. I can sit in a 14.5" Martin, but I want that extra space so I can sit further back in the saddle and not be as thrown forward so I opt for a 15" ... but I've got more than enough room in a 14.5" Double J.
You best bet is to get to a large dealer with a variety of brands and see what you like.
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Shipwrecked and Flat Out Zapped
Posts: 16390
Location: DUMPING CATS AND PIGS IN TEXAS :) | Herbie - 2015-01-26 12:42 PM
Personal preference. I prefer to ride a little bit larger seat and my saddle is a 15". I can ride a 14" seat and have but I prefer to be able to move around a little bit. Each saddle will sit and feel differently even if they measure the same. It's just all in how one is set up.
Oh, lordy. If you're riding a 15, then I need a 17 lol. Greeaaatttt!
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Shipwrecked and Flat Out Zapped
Posts: 16390
Location: DUMPING CATS AND PIGS IN TEXAS :) | Longneck - 2015-01-26 12:44 PM TessBelle - 2015-01-26 12:39 PM Martha Josey says that from your elbow to your fingers is how big it should be but I don't believe that. I think it's what feels good to you and what you like. Someone people like being squished in the saddle because it makes them feel secure. I personally don't. I feel better with a little room to move. When I sit down I don't want my legs touching the pomal. Exactly. I Martha's method one time when I was younger and now that I look back, I'm pretty sure that I was running in a saddle that was .05-1" too big. I've always thought that I was a 15", but it varies by the saddle. I can sit in a 14.5" Martin, but I want that extra space so I can sit further back in the saddle and not be as thrown forward so I opt for a 15" ... but I've got more than enough room in a 14.5" Double J.
You best bet is to get to a large dealer with a variety of brands and see what you like.
I happen to believe that your Crown C will fit me perfectly :) |
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 Expert
Posts: 1261
| I think if it feels good you ha e room in front of your thigh and your butt fits all the way down in the seat you're good. I see so many people wedged in with their butt squished over the back of the saddle and no thigh room! You can not be in the proper position that way at all and it can't be comfortable! On the other hand you see little stick girls with huge saddles but to me that's personal preference if you can be in the right position in a big saddle and you like it go for it. Personally I need help from my saddle so I would not prefer to try and ride in a bigger seated saddle! |
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 Expert
Posts: 2457
| LRQHS - 2015-01-26 12:50 PM Longneck - 2015-01-26 12:44 PM TessBelle - 2015-01-26 12:39 PM Martha Josey says that from your elbow to your fingers is how big it should be but I don't believe that. I think it's what feels good to you and what you like. Someone people like being squished in the saddle because it makes them feel secure. I personally don't. I feel better with a little room to move. When I sit down I don't want my legs touching the pomal. Exactly. I Martha's method one time when I was younger and now that I look back, I'm pretty sure that I was running in a saddle that was .05-1" too big. I've always thought that I was a 15", but it varies by the saddle. I can sit in a 14.5" Martin, but I want that extra space so I can sit further back in the saddle and not be as thrown forward so I opt for a 15" ... but I've got more than enough room in a 14.5" Double J.
You best bet is to get to a large dealer with a variety of brands and see what you like.
Hold onto your pennies woman!! I may just jump in there and snag that saddle before you do !
On the original topic - ya gotta sit in 'em. Each maker tends to craft their saddles differently with larger/smaller thigh space, large booty space, higher/lower cantle, higher/lower horns ... all these can change how that saddle feels for you! (and the horse) Some tend to sit you back on your booty more, some up on your hip bones more ... |
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 Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
Location: Opelousas, LA | I like to have some room to move so I like at least two fingers between my thigh and the swells, a little bigger is better than too small because too small throws me forward.
I am most comfortable in a 15-15.5.
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 Expert
Posts: 1561
Location: Texas | Lol. I went and got my ruler. And measured from my elbow to where my pinkie met my Palm. 14 to 14.5. But what if you have a big ole butt. Lol |
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Veteran
Posts: 276
| Yeeeeaaaaaahhhh. I think that might work for some, but I measured mine... 16.5! (I have monkey arms!), uh I have always rode a 14. My rope saddle is even a 14. I would fly out the back! |
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Shipwrecked and Flat Out Zapped
Posts: 16390
Location: DUMPING CATS AND PIGS IN TEXAS :) | Yeah, I think my arm and butt aren't communicating properly lol. |
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Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
Location: Oklahoma | LRQHS - 2015-01-26 3:09 PM Yeah, I think my arm and butt aren't communicating properly lol.
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | Does not compute.  |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1162
Location: White Mountains of AZ | LRQHS - 2015-01-26 10:31 AM
How do you know how big your saddle seat should be? Just sit in it and feel what's right or do you measure your butt? Just wondering lol.
I like to have 2 finger length between my thighs and the pommel.. |
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Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | LRQHS - 2015-01-26 12:50 PM Herbie - 2015-01-26 12:42 PM Personal preference. I prefer to ride a little bit larger seat and my saddle is a 15". I can ride a 14" seat and have but I prefer to be able to move around a little bit. Each saddle will sit and feel differently even if they measure the same. It's just all in how one is set up. Oh, lordy. If you're riding a 15, then I need a 17 lol. Greeaaatttt!
Well I happen to know where there is a used Ricky Green cutting saddle that someone is going to sell that is a 15.5. It's pretty used, but still rides and fits a horse great!  |
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Shipwrecked and Flat Out Zapped
Posts: 16390
Location: DUMPING CATS AND PIGS IN TEXAS :) | Herbie - 2015-01-26 4:04 PM LRQHS - 2015-01-26 12:50 PM Herbie - 2015-01-26 12:42 PM Personal preference. I prefer to ride a little bit larger seat and my saddle is a 15". I can ride a 14" seat and have but I prefer to be able to move around a little bit. Each saddle will sit and feel differently even if they measure the same. It's just all in how one is set up. Oh, lordy. If you're riding a 15, then I need a 17 lol. Greeaaatttt!
Wut??? Tell me more. I mean tell Bryan more lol. |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | I saw a 16" Jeff Smith barrel saddle on a cutting tree this morning. |
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 A Lady with Fight
Posts: 2701
Location: NC | I have a 16 inch pro rider with a 4 inch cantle. I kept sliding back and getting behind in it. So I picked up a heck of a deal on a Circle Y NBHA saddle that's also a 16. It feels more secure without feeling tiny. I still have room to move without sliding all over the place. It keeps me up and forward instead of letting me get behind.
I think every saddle is a little different. The high cantles make a difference for sure. And how square/round the swell is. |
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Shipwrecked and Flat Out Zapped
Posts: 16390
Location: DUMPING CATS AND PIGS IN TEXAS :) | I'm just going to go ahead and say that I don't know Ricky Greene or Jeff Gordon..... |
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 Experienced Mouse Trapper
Posts: 3106
Location: North Dakota | Well, I'll be ****ed, all this time I thought I didn't have any motivation and was destined to be fat all my life and here my elbow and fingers knew all along how big my butt should be.... |
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Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | LRQHS - 2015-01-26 4:11 PM Herbie - 2015-01-26 4:04 PM LRQHS - 2015-01-26 12:50 PM Herbie - 2015-01-26 12:42 PM Personal preference. I prefer to ride a little bit larger seat and my saddle is a 15". I can ride a 14" seat and have but I prefer to be able to move around a little bit. Each saddle will sit and feel differently even if they measure the same. It's just all in how one is set up. Oh, lordy. If you're riding a 15, then I need a 17 lol. Greeaaatttt!
It's mom's. Great riding saddle, just pretty used. Will ride very similarly to the saddle of mine you rode when you were here. Mine is a Jeff Smith cutter but made to be single skirted like a barrel saddle. |
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Shipwrecked and Flat Out Zapped
Posts: 16390
Location: DUMPING CATS AND PIGS IN TEXAS :) | Herbie - 2015-01-26 4:19 PM LRQHS - 2015-01-26 4:11 PM Herbie - 2015-01-26 4:04 PM LRQHS - 2015-01-26 12:50 PM Herbie - 2015-01-26 12:42 PM Personal preference. I prefer to ride a little bit larger seat and my saddle is a 15". I can ride a 14" seat and have but I prefer to be able to move around a little bit. Each saddle will sit and feel differently even if they measure the same. It's just all in how one is set up. Oh, lordy. If you're riding a 15, then I need a 17 lol. Greeaaatttt!
You have my attention lol. How many cats for that saddle? |
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Shipwrecked and Flat Out Zapped
Posts: 16390
Location: DUMPING CATS AND PIGS IN TEXAS :) | Tell your Mom, $45o and this box of cats..
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Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | LRQHS - 2015-01-26 4:23 PM Tell your Mom, $45o and this box of cats..
Edited by Herbie 2015-01-26 4:51 PM
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Shipwrecked and Flat Out Zapped
Posts: 16390
Location: DUMPING CATS AND PIGS IN TEXAS :) | Herbie - 2015-01-26 4:50 PM LRQHS - 2015-01-26 4:23 PM Tell your Mom, $45o and this box of cats..
but...they look soooo sweet..... |
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 Total Germophobe
Posts: 6443
Location: Montana | It is really personal preference. I had a 15" Circle Y that was way too big and a 15" Circle Y that felt like a 14.5", so years make a little bit of difference. I ride in a 14" Courts most of the time, and it fits great for trails, but I get my feet behind when racing. I also have a 14" Double J and have only tried it while on a stool because it has been so d*** snowy and muddy to try it on my horses, so I don't know how it rides, but on the stool I love the feel of it.
If you Google it, they make supposed calculators online that tells you what size seat you should have...mine was off by at least .5" to 1" too big. |
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 I Don't Brag
Posts: 6960
| My butt fits in a 15" but my arms do not....and I have learned that I gotta go with my arms. I found this out the hard way when I kept getting dashboarded by a mare that I acquired last summer. Could not figure out WHY. First the saddle didn't fit her, so I switched to another saddle with a smaller gullet and added a built up pad, which helped, but did not cure the problem. A calf roper I haul with finally saw the problem. He told me that I was already hunching down when she set to turn....No I did not! I ride to the first barrel, dropped my outside rein, dropped my hand to the saddle horn to lock myself in for the turn......and by golly, I was pulling myself down because there was no room to lock my arm in, so found myself pulling myself down. Well, DANG! That roper had nailed in on the head! Saddle fit my butt, so I never noticed.
I know another girl who is taller than me but rides in a 13". If it works for her, who am I to say she needs a bigger saddle? Go with what works. If you are not comfortable or riding efficiently, then try something else. For me, it is a flatter seat, lower cantle and room for my gorilla arms. |
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 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | I was always told 4 fingers from your "lady biz" to the pommel. I like a little more room than that since i got thunder thighs. they need somewhere to go! |
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Expert
Posts: 1611
| Herbie - 2015-01-26 5:19 PM
LRQHS - 2015-01-26 4:11 PM Herbie - 2015-01-26 4:04 PM LRQHS - 2015-01-26 12:50 PM Herbie - 2015-01-26 12:42 PM Personal preference. I prefer to ride a little bit larger seat and my saddle is a 15". I can ride a 14" seat and have but I prefer to be able to move around a little bit. Each saddle will sit and feel differently even if they measure the same. It's just all in how one is set up. Oh, lordy. If you're riding a 15, then I need a 17 lol. Greeaaatttt!
I think a pic is needed of the saddle you have...I just want to see it. I prefer a low back saddle and love the big cutting saddles. I sat in a performance saddle (the company) that had a low back and was similar to a cutting saddle. I'm thinking I might go that direction in the spring with my tax money instead of hoarding another mike green to my collection. Tell me of this cutting saddle maker you speak of.... |
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Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | I will attach a picture of my Jeff Smith. I have two that are exactly alike. Prior to getting these I was riding a Joey Jemison cutter and the Ricky Green cutter. I wanted something that looked like a barrel saddle but rode like a cutter since my horses are small and the cutting saddles just seemed to swallow them, so Jeff built these for me. Love the way they ride and having a bit more front end in a saddle makes all the difference in the world for me.
The trick to the cutting saddles is finding one with an in skirt rigging and a small enough seat.
Edited by Herbie 2015-01-27 10:36 AM
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Expert
Posts: 1611
| Herbie - 2015-01-27 11:28 AM
I will attach a picture of my Jeff Smith. I have two that are exactly alike. Prior to getting these I was riding a Joey Jemison cutter and the Ricky Green cutter. I wanted something that looked like a barrel saddle but rode like a cutter since my horses are small and the cutting saddles just seemed to swallow them, so Jeff built these for me. Love the way they ride and having a bit more front end in a saddle makes all the difference in the world for me.
Gah I remember you posting these before! I LOVE them.... |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 554
| LRQHS - 2015-01-26 3:09 PM
Yeah, I think my arm and butt aren't communicating properly lol.
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Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | astreakinchic - 2015-01-27 10:35 AM Herbie - 2015-01-27 11:28 AM I will attach a picture of my Jeff Smith. I have two that are exactly alike. Prior to getting these I was riding a Joey Jemison cutter and the Ricky Green cutter. I wanted something that looked like a barrel saddle but rode like a cutter since my horses are small and the cutting saddles just seemed to swallow them, so Jeff built these for me. Love the way they ride and having a bit more front end in a saddle makes all the difference in the world for me. Gah I remember you posting these before! I LOVE them....
Thanks! Here are a couple of other pictures on a different horse. I am glad I had them built....i've ridden nearly every barrel saddle on the market and couldn't find what I was looking for. I knew what it was but nothing rode like the old cutters. This was my answer to that problem.
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