Why is the saddle so far back in saddleseat eq? I’ve always been fascinated by saddleseat and gaited horses, but won’t that damage the horse’s back?
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Thank you for starting this thread.
I am recovering from falling off a horse. It has been almost three months since I was in the saddle and I finally got back on a horse today! To save my lower back I am not riding Forward Seat right now, besides I lost all the muscle strength needed to ride the FS.
So I am doing a modified chair seat (ala “Ride American” by Louis Taylor) with my weight over the 13th to 15th vertebrae instead of the 10th to 12th vertebrae. I am feeling so guilty about this! My only comfort is that this is the way people rode horses for thousands of years before the Forward Seat was invented by Caprilli.
As for feeling guilt about riding in a saddle seat saddle many decades ago a guy who ran a tack store for decades was asked what was the most comfortable saddle for a horse (Little Joe’s Saddlery in Richmond, Va.). He said it was the saddle seat saddle because the cushioning panels were longer and wider than other English saddles and spread the rider’s weight over a bigger area of the horse’s back.
I personally have never ridden in a saddle seat saddle and have none that I can try out around me. Right now I am using the Total Saddle Fit Western Squish pad to try and spread my weight on the horse’s back better (this pad is sort of stiff.)
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As a new member you’ve made 5 posts, 4 of which are leaning into trying to stir up strong emotions or controversy. While I get that this is a common tactic kids use to stir up engagement on Instagram or TikTok, it’s not really the culture of COTH.
If you are genuinely interested in saddleseat there is a great search feature on COTH. Additionally, there are dozens of very active Facebook groups where you can learn more about the discipline and local options available.
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Yeah, I see what you mean.
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