The Different Types of Pony Saddle

An article from Best Pony Saddle UK

For general pony riding the English Saddle is the saddle most often used. It has a spring tree as a foundation and is well padded for the comfort of both pony and rider. This type of saddle allows the pony to move without restraint so it can jump, gallop or perform dressage.

The most important designs of English Saddle are:

The All Purpose English Saddle. This saddle is useful as a general pupose saddle for dressage, jumping, hacking and showing.

The Jumping Saddle is the best for show jumping, and also for fox-hunting and cross country classes. The main variation between this and the all-purpose saddle is in the forward cut flap design to make it possible to use shorter stirrups that position the legs correctly for jumping. The flap also has added knee rolls to support the knees.

The Dressage Saddle is designed for working on the flat, so is designed with a much straighter cut flap than either the jumping or all purpose saddle, with the seat designed to be deeper and further forward, giving the rider a straight posture and leg position. For dressage the rider requires finer control so this saddle is designed with a reduced amount of padding to ensure closer contact with the horse. Longer girth straps are used with a dressage saddle as they are attached much closer to the pony's elbow.

The Showing Saddle is for use in showing, where the judges need uninterrupted views of the pony's conformation, therefore it is small and light. This saddle has little padding without knee rolls and gives little support to the rider.

The Western Saddle was designed to be a working saddle, giving both security and comfort to the men herding cattle in the US, often working for many hours at a time on uneven terrain. An addition to the English saddle is the horn located at the front of the saddle used for securing a rope fastened to a cow or other animal.

This type of pony saddle usually has fancy decoration, including tooled leather and silver plates, often individually designed for each rider. It is made with a bigger tree than would be used for an English saddle and there is no padding between the tree and the skirt so a saddle blanket is needed to make the saddle comfy for the pony.It is used with a cinch, in place of a girth, the cinch being fixed to the saddle with a flat leather or nylon strap (the latigo). A major difference is that the stirrups do not come off easily if the rider falls as they are permanently secured to the saddle.

The main kinds of Western Saddle are:

The Barrel Racing Saddle which is used in the sport of barrel racing, where quick turns and high-speed gallops are necessary. This is a lightweight saddle with a flatter seat and the cantle and pommel made higher, giving the rider a more secure seat.

The Endurance Saddle is a lightweight, saddle with a larger tree to distribute the rider's weight over a larger area and is intended for long rides over uneven terrain.

The Show Saddle is a fancier decorated saddle, with bigger areas of tooling and silver decorations and a deeper seat

The Treeless Saddle. Instead of the saddle having a rigid tree as a foundation the treless saddle has a fibreglass pommel and cantle to provide a firm base. This saddle is very helpful if you have a pony with a very broad back that doesn't suit a standard saddle.