I may be buying my daughter her first saddle this Christmas. She has one, but it's too big, it's cheap and is just a little trail saddle. She is 5 and will be really starting to learn how to ride (and I may let her do pee wee within the year...we will see), so I want to get something decent quality without breaking the bank. 

Recommendations on brands? Would be for a higher withered but rather wide horse. Said horse fits perfectly in LM's Nueva Tree so IDK if that helps with recommendations. 

I've been looking into Corriente Youth saddles, so I'd be especially interested if anyone has experience with those. 

And for the love...HOW do I figure out what size this girl needs? I don't know many people with youth saddles to try them out. I don't want her to outgrow it in a year, but I also don't want her swallowed by it.

My children have each had a Corriente saddle.  They are deep seated so the child is secure.  The saddles hold up well.  For the kids riding 3-5 times a week year round from younger than 2 years old to 6 years old, the saddles have held up well.  

Hands down Corriente! We had my 4 yr old little girl a custom built one for Christmas last year and it was the best investment ever for her! I can answer all your Corriente questions lol we got a high back 12.5 in seat with 10 in fenders tooled rough out.

Hands down a Corriente, they only not look great, built great BUT holds their value in a youth size and the resale on these are great.

Thanks y'all! Great to know they hold up and hold their value!

Anyone have issues with them fitting particular horses? 

Also, any suggestions on how to go about sizing my kid without tipping her off? Lol. She's newly 5 but on the growth chart is the size of a 6 year old or 7 year old. She's tall and solid. So I don't think she needs anything itty bitty but I don't want it to be entirely too big either. 

Here's the one on the website I've been looking at. It's a 12in https://www.corrientesaddleco.com/collections/youth-kids-saddles/products/csy-702-12-inch-corriente-youth-buckaroo-association

Edited to add, she does have a little brother we could always pass the saddle down to, but I don't want to have to replace in just a yr or two if I buy too small. 

My little girl is tall and skinny she is 4, we went with the 12.5 but with 10 in fenders .The 12.5 sit her good and deep now with lots of room to grow, if she out grows the fenders for $100 they can be replaced with the 12in fenders no problem. Wade helped me create and figure her size. Awesome guy!  here is another pic of her saddle

Did you say this has a pencil roll seat? I really like that!! 

We bought our granddaughter a little 9" ranch/buckaroo type Teskey saddle for Christmas when she was 3 yrs old.  She is now 7 and it is such a perfect saddle.  I love the way it keeps her up where she needs to be and doesn't let her slide back.  I just hate seeing kids trying to ride/run with saddles that are too big and they keep sliding back with every stride the horse makes.  She will be able to ride this saddle for a couple more years then it will go to the younger sister.  If you get a smaller seat and don't have anyone to hand it down to you wont have a hard time selling it.

This is the little 9" saddle

Yes it does and we love it!! Really sits her deep

Thank you! Teskeys was another brand I'd been eyeballing but haven't really priced them out yet. 

I'm going to have to ask around and see if anyone near me has a 10 or 12 in she can try to give me some ideas on fit. 

If she’s growing quick and you want to prolong the use of the saddle you could always size up and us a seat shrinker, we did that with my niece and it worked well.

I Didn't think about that....definitely an option! Martin Saddlery and Slone have some nice looking ones but I'm not sure if those would fit a youth saddle... 

If it would last her at least 2 yrs I could stomach it. I really think a 10 inch will be outgrown too soon. An 11in may be perfect. I can deal with 2 to 3 years of use. I really think a 12 in will be too big for quite some time. 

I may just call Corriente Monday and talk to them and see if they have suggestions on choosing a seat size for her. 

I bought my daughter the jr association saddle with the the pencil roll cantle, from teskeys. In a 12". I had bought a 10" showman and it was too small and I didn't like the seat or how it fit my horses So I resold it.  The teskeys is better. She's almost 5 and under 45 lbs. she's got an athletic build short legs. I use buddy stirrups on it, for her right now. She loves it. 

Thank you for this! That gives me a good comparison. My girl is right around 45 lbs and really leggy...  she's like 45 in tall and is turning 5 this month. My husband and I joke that we created amazon woman when we had her. Lol! So your 5 yr old fits ok in a 12 in with buddy stirrups? 

Haha 

yes she does. She loves it. Plus I feel like she can use it for several years. Hopefully!