Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

rides2far@xxxxxxxx wrote:

On Sat, 12 Aug 2006 08:32:27 -0700 (PDT) Chris Paus
writes: I just love my Wintec lead line saddle for little kids. I start all
kids in it. There's a great hand grab place if they feel off kilter.

That's the one I was trying to think of.

 

It might work for endurance for a light child. It's got a rubber tree and is really flexible. I wish they made adult saddles like that!.

> If a kid comes off  an English saddle and gets hung up, the stirrup
leather will slide off the bar.

Check those bars. I've had them rust shut, then once I forced it open and
thought that was a good idea to leave it open, the stirrup leather would
come off if they leaned too far forward going over a jump. (picture Boyd
falling off on Cougar Rock on the National Geographic video)

 

Oh yea, there's caveat's to everything!

Seriously check the strength of the rigging. (cardboard! The MAJORITY of the people making these saddles have NEVER seen them on a horse's back. They often live in the industrial neighborhood near the factories. They go by a pattern and sell them. To them, if two tacks hold that rigging on the tree, it looks good.

 

No kidding! Kid's pony saddles and adult saddles. I just cringe when I see the crap that is being sold as saddlery.

I have pretty strong feelings about rigging since I was in a wreck when I was 17 and the rigging on my Argentine English saddle popped when my horse was leaving the starting gates on a brush track. The saddle went under the horse after about 1/2 mile and I was dragged a little (English safety stirrups did not come loose)  Fortunatley, the rigging gave. It was tacked to the tree.

 

There are Argentine saddles and then there are Argentine saddles. Like everything else, there's well made ones and crappy ones. I had one that was put together so well, it simply couldn't be destroyed, and I tried!

 They're forced to tip toe. Do them a favor and get them some Easy Rides.

 

good point.

If you need to use a western saddle there's stuff you can do to improve
it. I think Darolyn took the western fenders off Ci Ci's saddle and hung
English stirrup leathers, then put on a fleece cover.

 

That's what I did with my own endurance saddle.

 

If the edges of the tree dig in I'd use a thick felt pad. My personal
research (put a rock on the floor under a pad and stood on it barefoot)
says a felt pad helps more than foam or wool to protect against something
with sharp edges.

 

I dunno. If the edges of the tree dig in, no amount of padding is going to fix a bad fit.

Kids saddles are usually made to tie a knot in the cinch by your knee.
The Quick Cinch would fix that. (it's a girth with a billet & buckle...billet goes up from the girth, through the ring and back down to the buckle on girth)

 

Never thought of that, thanks!

Add rings to attach waterbottle holders. Kids need access to their own
water

 

Yes! And my grandson likes having his own cantle pack too.

Competing with other kids erases the fear & whining instinct and they
have fun.

 

Yeah, I've noticed that grandson doesn't whine when competing with other people, even other adults. But when he's with grandma, it's "oh, we're going to slow, we're going to fast, my back hurts, my tummy hurts. waaaaaaa."

 

chris

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