Try several saddles and BRANDS, I've found a wide variation is brands when trying to fit students. Most really good tack shops have used saddles if not try http://www.charlottes-saddlery.com/ and they with a deposit can send you saddles to try, I think they call it practice ride? A good all purpose saddle shouldn't be hard to find in her size. I doubt the 15" was too big. Your daughter sounds like a 16" might be too big, unless she's got a booty. When she sits in the lowest part of the seat upright(pelvis tipped slightly forward)you should be able to fit your hand between where her rear touches the saddle and the top edge of the seat. If your pinky hangs off go up about a half inch. I rode in a 16" Hermes all the way until I was 18 and my booty grew. The leg flaps are a whole different ball game. When her leg is in perfect position and I don't mean long and straight(think more two-point), there should be about two fingers between the front of her knee and the edge of the flap. If this seems to small she may need a longer or more forward flap. Usually this only happens in the really tall riders. The toughest part is to fit your horse. If the saddle fits the rider and not the horse both will hate riding, the horse will act up and your daughter will think all horses are nasty. Fit the horse first then the rider. No amount of saddle pad can fix a poorly fit saddle! If your saddle fits the horse see if they make other models suitable for her. Happy hunting!
Edited by huntseat 2007-01-19 1:06 PM
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