It depends on the brands for me...
My current English saddle is a 17(Thornhill), but I just put a new saddle on layaway and it's an 18(Toulouse).
As for western, I don't own one yet, but I've put one on layaway as well...It's a Tucker and I want to say a 17". I sat in a couple others that ranged from 16-17.
My butt obviously doesn't want to pick a shape and stay there LOL
I ride mostly my Billy Cook which is a 16". My Circle Y is also 16".
I do have a Collegiate Dressage that is 17" and a Crosby that I believe is a 16.5". I haven't ridden in either of these saddles in years.
I have a 17.5" dressage and 17" jumping saddle, but could go at least a half inch, possibly a full inch, smaller in each. It's just what I happened to be able to find when I was shopping for saddles.
I prefer a 16 for a dressage saddle, but when I came to sell it.. Pain in the rear! Now I am riding others horses, I tend to be in a 17/17.5 which feel a bit roomy. I had an 18 GP as my dad and I shared... Horrid!
So many people say the saddle must fit the horse, but must fit the rider too.
Out of curiosity, why do western saddles measure up smaller?
Western saddles are measured from the back of the horn straight back to the cantle, while English saddles are measured from the button off to the side back to the center of the cantle- more of a diagonal measurement. This leads to usually a 2" difference between your English and WEstern seat size from what I have heard, and this seems to have run true to me. I'm seeing several folks who have 16.5-17" English saddles (same as me) and 16" western saddles- I took a 16" western to try on one occasion and was swimming in it!! Wish I wasn't though, it was super comfy...
In my AP english saddle I'm at an 18-19"
In my western saddle I'm in an 18-19"
Have no clue on dressage saddle when I find one and test it I'll know which seat is most comfy (though honestly with my luck it'll be the uncommon size of 18-19")
It can vary slightly based on the brand and make of the saddle but I haven't really noticed a difference between my western and english sizes, both of mine right now are 19" I do believe.
The saddles I ride in now are a 16.5 English and a 16 western. I could probably get away with going an inch smaller in both but I like a little wiggle room.
For western (equitation style seat) I can use 15"-16". WP riders don't mind if the seat is big. :wink: My work saddle is a 15.5", it's what I prefer.
For english (close contact) 16.5" is the right size for me, but my current saddle is a 17". I'd like a smaller seat but it fits my horse so I can live with it.
my beval close contact is a 15,
and both my western saddles are 15. i like the room in the western saddles, especially since i use a fluffy seat cushion thing for long trails.
I ride in a 16 inch western now, but I used to ride in a 15inch that I loved, but too wide for horse
I think it really depends on the individual saddle. I noticed someone said they tried a western and they had a hand width in front of them - I thought this was kind of "standard" like you're meant to have space between you and the horn/swell? When I bought my saddle I was asked what size fender I wanted, so just because a fender is too long doesn't mean the saddle is too big, just you need a shorter fender.
I think that was me haha. I know that you don't want to be pressed right up into the front of the saddle, but there was just so much space up front and I felt like my feet were miles away. If I do get a western saddle my budget will be pretty small for the right used saddle, so I can't really afford to go looking for new matching fenders if they're too long :/
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