crotch punisher saddles

[RodeoQueen]

Yes, I suppose i would really like to hear from riders who’ve bought a Scheelse and kept the saddle through the raising of a young horse.

I bought my Hunt seat saddle for my 3 yr old and it still fits him today as a 9 yr old.

I suppose it also depends upon the actual horse and how it changes through growth.

I just hate the idea of spending $6K on a saddle - in fact, it’s beyond my budget. But maybe i’ll be able to locate a used one.

Where are the best places to find used saddles?

PS i don’t mean to start a war or anything but WHAT is a Rollkurmanic???

[3s1]

You can think about spending $6000 now for a saddle that can be adjusted to change with your horse (because he will!) or spend $2000 every couple of years or so. MOST SADDLES CANNOT BE TRULY ADJUSTED - they can be reflocked (which takes care of the panel), but the gullet is another story. The word “adjustable” is being thrown around very irresponsibly by many saddle manufacturers, misleading the riding public. There is adjustable and there is reflockable, and the two are not the same. Even the saddles with ‘self-adjustable’ gullet plates can only be adjusted to widen the upside-down V; when they really need to be adjusted in an upside-down U. True adjustments can only be made by qualified saddle fitters.

[alicen]

Spyder, thanks for your serendipitous ( is there such a word?) post. I did the pelvic floor test last night, tested wide, chose 6 wide twist used saddles today to try out and not a crotch punisher amongst them. In fact, no matter how I altered my position, it was going to be ok. This is good to know because, believe me, there have been times when I have suffered in the past. Is this test standard saddle fitting knowledge?

[Valentina_32926]

@arabiansrock;5132276

Stubben
haven’t met one I can sit in yet.

Had an older (70’s?? but made in Ireland) Stubben jumping saddle which was VERY comfortable, so I didn’t have this same experience.

[Velvet]

@Valentina_32926;5151084

Had an older (70’s?? but made in Ireland) Stubben jumping saddle which was VERY comfortable, so I didn’t have this same experience.

Um, when was a Stubben saddle ever made in Ireland?

[Grasshopper]

@Somantu;5133521

My personal crotch (and seatbone) punishers:

Bates Isabelle
Amerigo Vega
Schleese JES

I find comfort in a County, Kieffer and Niedersüss.

See, this is why you need to try saddles to see what works for YOU. I’m pretty much the opposite–the Amerigo Vega was a dream for me to ride in, while I had to fight my County Competitor. Paying a saddle fitter (assuming you can find a good one to come to you) to come out and try a bunch of different saddles and get some idea of what works could easily end up being less than paying shipping back and forth for a bunch.

That said, I think it’s classic saddlery that explains the crotch/rise issue, so might be helpful to check out their website and maybe talk with the owner. Here is a link: http://www.classicsaddlery.com/saddles/saddlesclassic.htm
but it appears the explanation they used to have re pelvic floor is not working at the moment.

[Trevelyan96]

Absolutely the worst I’ve ever sat in are the Wintec Pro, and Isabellas, both the Wintec and Bates version.

I also don’t do very well in Stubbens.

I tried the Ideal Susannah, which was very comfortable. I ended up with a used Frank Baines Elegance, which horse and I both love, love love, yet found the Frank Baines Reflex to be quite uncomfortable.

I also love my County Drespi, which is a really good choice for a petite rider, as it has short flaps which are also adjustable from dressage to jumping position. You can often find them used in smaller seat sizes pretty inexpensively, yet my daughter is miserable in it unless she adjusts the flaps to the forward jumping position and she’s built very similar to me.

Is there a saddle fitter anywhere near your area or one you can do a telephone consultation with? The good ones can often tell you a model to look into if they know what saddles you’ve found comfortable in the past.

I feel your pain OP, its very hard to find a dressage saddle that’s a good fit for a petite rider and horse. I’d gladly send you my Drespri to try, but its the only one we have that fits DD’s horse. And it has a 16" seat!

[leilatigress]

DD with no butt, long thighs, and calves rides the best in a Stubben circa 1970. I prefer bareback but when trying to look like a proper dressage queen the Wintec pro does just fine for me when I take those horrid knee blocks out. I have lotsa butt, long thighs and short calves and tend to keep my leg too far forward but that saddle tends to help.
Punishers for me so far have been:
Stubben (after 1980)
Country
Bates Isabelle (I haven’t tried the Wintec)

[alibi_18]

OMG, I just sat on a Bates Isabelle recently and this thing just hurt like hell! What is wrong with this saddle?!? (I know I know all about the positionning, my conformation and so on…but still…) Couldn’t sit, couldn’t canter…ouch ouch ouch! I felt it was too deep, twist too narrow, padding for the knee too big, felt stuck in such a bad position…couldn’t and just dismounted…lol…Here my friend, have your horse back…Thanks but no thanks! LOL

[Spyder]

[QUOTE=alicen;5148068]
Spyder, thanks for your serendipitous ( is there such a word?) post. I did the pelvic floor test last night, tested wide, chose 6 wide twist used saddles today to try out and not a crotch punisher amongst them. In fact, no matter how I altered my position, it was going to be ok. This is good to know because, believe me, there have been times when I have suffered in the past. Is this test standard saddle fitting knowledge?[/QUOTE]

Apparently not. I don’t think that I have seen it addressed on any threads on BBs or on saddle fitting sites. Weird. I read it in a magazine somewhere about 15 years ago and it worked for me.

As I recall there the article also said about 35% of women need wide twists but I have no idea how they decided that number. (Lies, damn lies and statistics?)

[katarine]

I love my beat up old Kieffer. Love love love it. Rode in a fab custom made very posh saddle Saturday(sorry I didn’t check the make, I was catch riding the horse) …but it was simply too small for me. Perhaps some of the crotch smashing is from rider’s trying to squeeze into a too small seat. I had nowhere to be when it came time to canter, my instructor was pleased with my position, the photos affirm my position was good- but bam bam bam I had no room to live in that thing LOL

[Waterwitch]

@Beasmom;5134934

Horsefaerie and Spyder – thanks to both of you for the tips on saddle fitting for the rider! This is sooo helpful.

Ditto this and alicen’s post. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had this conversation with various saddle fit “experts” and not ONE of them has ever given me this very very important “twist” tip. Thanks to you guys I now have a saddle that fits my horse…AND ME. Life is good.

[3s1]

[QUOTE=arabiansrock;5132960]
I was thinking airbag near bladder to prevent issues for those of us who have had kids, might help us to sit better in saddle at sitting trot without having to worry about having the p__s bounced out of you![/QUOTE]

You should try the Schleese - they have a patented crotch comfort system, which they have been perfecting over the years. The saddles have changed continually and immensely over the years - I used to find them uncomfortable, but after 2003 there’s been a huge improvement as they take female anatomy very much into consideration.

The problem is that if you are riding on your pubic bone (which hurts) , then you will be irritating your urethra, which means that you may not be able to void properly, which means that your bladder retains urine, which can lead to bladder infections, kidney pain, lower back pain, etc.

[Emy]

The “Anky Salinero” was the worst I have ever sat in and I have ridden in alot of hard Stubbens. When I was an apprentice I would fight with the other working student over who had to ride the horse it belonged, to every day. It was awful but after some massive groaning the client did eventually purchase another saddle.

[hut-ho78]

This string is so very helpful. Y’all are amazing. Thank you.

[Reddfox]

I can easily ride up to 8 horses a day in an Albion - specifically the SL/style or the SLK.
Schleese on the other hand? I can’t even get through 5 minutes - they kill me.

[CanteringCarrot]

Ah, a good ol’ fashioned zombie thread.

FWIW I sat in a Kent & Masters once (cannot recall the model) and it felt like riding the letter A. So that was interesting!

[hut-ho78]

I like an old Textan general purpose, Stubben Romanus, Schleese Liberty, and Dover Circuit DX. I realized recently the Old Stubbens hard as rock seats are comfortable to me because of the marvelous spring tree. The narrow twists can go where no saddle should ever go and I like the flatter saddles, maybe because they stay off the tailbone. I have loved reading everyone’s saddle input - opinions, experiences, and knowledge which vastly exceeds mine. I also used to wonder at the saddle hunts and thought, get one as close as you can and invest in lessons. I’ve learned the hard way some horses are harder to fit than others. Customer service and good saddle fitters that can figure out both the rider and the horse bring so much added value and can make a trying experience actually enjoyable. I keep repeating this but reading all the different saddle posts, not just this one is so helpful. Thank you again.

[Moogles]

My experience so far is that saddles that are built to clear large withered horses can have a bit of a “nip” feeling because of the steep rise the tree has to accommodate. I could be wrong that it is the tree shape itself, but that is what it feel like to me.

Just got my Custom Everest R. Had tried it with no issue at all, but once it got fit to my horse it killed me! Being slightly off balance was all it took. It’s getting better, but balance of the saddle once fit to your horse can have a big effect to “crotch killing” feeling, at least for me.

[Edre]

:lol: A zombie thread that I am very pleased to have read!

My two cents:

I will never on my life touch a Stübben. I hate them with a fiery passion, and none of them that I have ever sat in work well for me. Kieffer saddles also get an honorable mention but other posts do diligence on explaining that one.

My surprising entrant to this competition and not touched on in a post yet (so this is probably just “I’m weird”) is the Devoucoux Makila Lab. Something about the configuration of that saddle does not work for me so even when it “fits” correctly riding in it is the single least pleasant experience I’ve ever had in a saddle, and that takes into account some completely a n c i e n t pancakes that should’ve been put to rest long, long ago. Before I was born, most likely.