So a friend and I had been talking about my itch to try riding aside… apparently the itch is contagious! She went ahead and purchased a great C&W saddle with a medium wide tree and it seems to fit both our horses pretty nicely (they both have good wither and well sprung ribs). Yesterday she let me pick it up to borrow for a few days so I saddled up my little mare and off we went. I thought I had the girth tight but holy cow… I had to keep tightening as we went! When I got on I sat astride first and the stirrup length felt pretty comparable to what I usually have when I ride astride, is this correct? When I started trotting I felt totally off balance if I tried to post, but maybe that’s because I was trying to use the stirrup? I’m a show Hunter, and would ride Hunt seat aside if I keep with it and show. Am I supposed to post or just sit? My mare isn’t really the daisy cutter type, so I was a bit bouncy on her, and she was a bit WTF about the trotting thing. Walking though, she was totally fine with both legs on the left side. I’m dragging DH to the barn with me tonight, so he should get pictures! I’m so excited to finally try this out! And if the saddle really does fit well then my friend says we can both use it, she’d only show in flat classes, I’d like to learn to jump. She has an instructor coming out later this month so I’ll haul my mare up for a lesson too. Sorry for the rambly post… I feel like a little kid, I’m so excited. 
My advise is to join the Yahoo SideSaddle group (if there is such a thing), because I know “back in the day” some horses were especially trained for ss. You couldnt’ just get on any horse and ride them (efficently) with a SS.
And ladies always carried a whip for giving aids on the off side.
Beyond that, I know very little about SS…but it sounds like fun!
http://www.americansidesaddleassociation.org/articles/soyouwanttoridesidesaddle.htm
side saddle is so much fun! enjoy!
I share your excitement. I just put a wither tracing in the mail to SidesaddleRider to see if a saddle I’m hoping to purchase will fit my horse. I’ve wanted to ride aside since I tried it once about 25 years ago, and am finally seriously shopping for one.
There are a couple of good sidesaddle blogs I follow that might interest you. I’ve learned quite a bit from other people’s experiences and enthusiasm.
And I can add yet another link …
… which I hope will be helpful …
http://georgialadiesaside.com/
And as Kyzteke said, horses used to be trained for sidesaddle riding. According to the director (producer?) of The Irish R.M. TV series, they still do need to be.
I read somewhere that at one time ladies’ horses did not trot but were trained to go in a very slow canter that matched the gentlemen’s trotting horses but did not bounce their riders.
And of course there were the ladies’ gaited horses and mules … :yes:
I wouldn’t say that horses need to be specially trained to ride sidesaddle. They just have to be broke, quiet and preferably fairly sensitive to your aids (aka not painfully lazy). Otherwise, most horses take to sidesaddle with no more than a bat of their eye.
Some tidbits that might be of help:
Just do a little bit at a time to start off with, you’ll find that you use a lot of different muscles and might be pretty sore after the first few rides.
Think of pulling that right shoulder back while you ride to help yourself ride squarely.
Your hips should be square just like riding astride and you’ll feel like you’ve got a lot more weight on your right seat bone.
You shouldn’t be putting any weight in your stirrup, your foot simply rests there. I don’t think you need to post the trot while riding sidesaddle but if you’re going to show, you have to choose whether you are going to sit the entire time or post. To post, you pretty much just roll/shift your weight forward onto your right thigh, your butt doesn’t actually come off the saddle at all.
Your left leg shouldn’t be “gripping” the leaping horn all the time. If you are, you’re “cheating”.
Oy vey… the jumping sidesaddle! Something I haven’t quite figured out just yet and usually end up VERY sore the next day. From what I’ve been told, it’s easier if you have a horse with a nice smooth jump. The rounder the jump, the harder it’s going to be on your back. Therefore if you can get your horse to leave a bit longer, it will make for a smoother arc. Your bum also doesn’t come off of the saddle at all over the fence. You “simply” (easier said that done) fold forward and hold that fold until your horse as fully landed. This is where I have trouble, my mare jumps very round and it’s hard to stay forward and not get “snapped” back. I’d hold off on the jumping for awhile until you’re really secure and have a good strong right leg!
It’s super fun though and we most definitely want to see pictures!!!
Well, here are some pictures: http://twospookymaynards.blogspot.com/2010/11/photographic-proof.html
My little mare has been tremendously patient with me and is taking to this quite well. She’s coming back into work on a slow rehab schedule, so thankfully for me we only do about 5 minutes of trotting a day anyway. The other 25-30 minutes is walking. Panache does tend to be on the hotter side of things, so the trot sets are short. We did work up to a full lap of the ring tonight though. Jumping in any way shape or form is strictly verbotten until at least April, and I wouldn’t dream of attempting it aside until she’s fully legged back up. So some time in the next year we’ll venture to try… by then hopefully I’ll be strong. No joke about the different muscles! Is it also rough on the left side of one’s back or is that me sitting wrong? Thanks! This is a blast 
- Make sure your right toe is DOWN. Think about pressing it into your mare’s shoulder.
- Make sure your reins are long enough. You want to have your hands resting on either side of your right knee. If you reins are not, you may be leaning forward to try to give your mare her head/neck, and therefore twisting your back and shoulders.
- Unless you are going to be showing dressage aside, do not post. It is worthwhile to know how to do it, but for USEF/VHSA/hunter shows, NO posting. Sit the trot.
- Check the measurement of the saddle versus your measurement. From the picture taken from the rear, the seat looks like it may be too short for your thigh length.
- I would not recommend riding in jeans/full chaps. The jeans are very hard on the vintage leather of the saddle, and you can easily scrape the leather with the zipper on the chaps. Britches and tall boots, or britches with half chaps, if you have the chaps with a cover over the zipper.
- Do not put a lot of weight in your left stirrup. It is not like astride, where you want to jam your heel down. With a sidesaddle, just rest your foot in the stirrup and keep your foot level.
Edited to add: No, a horse does not need to be “specially trained” to go aside; they just need to be trained. 
I recommend a horse that is sensible, knows how to responsively W-T-C (and jump if that is what you want to do), steers, and has brakes.
This is so cool, and something I’m dying to try. In fact I was going to ask the woman I was galloping steeple chase horses to help me this summer, but I ws to preggo to ride. Side saddle is something I absolutely would love to do! Maybe this spring I’ll try it.
You guys look great, keep taking pictures as you progress!
Let me know… it’s not like you aren’t right down the road.
My wife and 2 daughters always do the Christmas hunt meets side saddle.
Good for them! 
I usually do our Opening Meet and big Christmas Meet sidesaddle, but unfortunately I do not have a ss hunt horse in the barn at the moment (my fancy hunt horse jumps too damn well for the ss, and the comfy jumper isn’t a made enough hunt horse yet. Sigh). 
See, that’s what I love about fox hunters. They still find it fun (not to mention proper) to get all gussied up just to chase through the mud and the briars!
There is usually a sidesaddle clinic in NJ in the late summer/early fall. Check with the Liberty Network, a great group of aside riders. http://www.libertysidesaddle.org/ They usually have Roger Philpot come over from England to teach some classes. LOADS of fun. I miss going but my Tennessee Walker’s back is too short for my sidesaddle and my husband’s TB is not quite quiet enough yet.
Thank you Devon! It is amazing how much is opposite what’s been drilled into my head regarding riding show Hunters astride vs. staying in place in a side saddle. The toe point and no weight in the stirrup are the two hardest! If you don’t mind I’ll respond to your comments with some questions since I definitely do want to learn how to do this well, I’ve been totally bitten by the SS bug!
#1&6: Roger that, the friend who lent me the saddle also said the same things and I tried to repeat those to myself constantly. They are obviously things to work on since muscle memory is so different for riding astride.
#2: Rein length is such a fine line with Panache, especially right now. At the moment she’s rehabbing from a suspensory so isn’t getting a regular turnout (run around like a maniac) time. Instead she gets about eight hours in a 24x24 lame horse paddock… we go back to regular turnout when she’s cantering under saddle, as per vet instruction. Add on top she’s a spicy ride normally, and very hot in the winter, and loves to find monsters at night. So yeah, I’ll admit, I do keep the reins kind of short. DH managed to snap that photo at the perfect time and I was slipping reins a tiny bit to let her stretch. What can I say? I love riding my sports car! lol I see that my hands look a little too high, right?
#3: She has lots of suspension in her trot, and it takes a lot of work to get her back fit and soft enough to sit comfortably. I alternated sitting and posting in the SS because a) I don’t want to punish her back too much, and b) my legs couldn’t keep posting forever. Is this ok to do for schooling? And thanks for clarifying posting versus sitting for show purposes, I couldn’t find a definitive source on the subject.
#4: This is a friend’s saddle that I thought would fit me ok, but you’re right, I didn’t feel like my upper leg fit correctly. I’m cursed with a freakishly long femur and have a hard time fitting in any saddle! So that’s definitely something I’ll make very important when I do begin my own search. I believe this saddle is a 22x13, will it be hard to find something longer?
#5: sigh, I love chaps and jeans, and wanted the security while trying something so new (and foreign), but point taken and I’d been thinking that anyway. Even though you ride Hunters, do you use full seat breeches? My tall boots do have a zipper, but they’re covered, so shouldn’t be an issue I think. I’ve heard that one can put vetwrap around the leaping head to also help with grip… is this safe for the leather?
Thank you so much everyone for the kind words! I am very much looking forward to buying my own saddle, especially now that I know I’m hooked. My coach says I’m crazy, and I probably am, but I love it!
Yes, you can alternate with the posting, just be sure you are only rolling forward onto your right thigh, and not actually posting like astride where you are coming up and off the saddle. With horses with a lot of suspsension, I have found it a lot easier to warm them up astride first and get their back softer, and then put the sidesaddle on. If she is just coming back from an injury, you aren’t riding her long, so are fine to just do what you are doing.
You will come to find that cantering is MUCH preferable to trotting in the sidesaddle. And only on about 2% of all horses will you actually enjoy trotting aside, LOL. If you ever go to Upperville to watch the sidesaddle division, you will notice that the judges just LOVE to have the riders trot AROUND and AROUND that big ring, and hence will also notice some ladies sneak in a few steps of posting trot on the end by the in gate or behind a tree, or they will allow their smile to slip a bit on the ends and throw a grimace to their trainer/family to show their annoyance at trotting for so long!
You can find 22.5-23" saddles. Also, the different makes (or years of makes) of saddles have seats that fit very differently. A 22" Owen, which has a flatter seat, will ride longer than a 22" Whippy, for instance, and “newer” (1930s-1950s) saddles typically have flatter seats than the older saddles.
Yes, I often ride in full seat breeches. It just gives you a bit more “stick,” especially if the saddle does not have a doeskin seat. Your zippered tall boots will be fine; just make sure they are not too tall (spanish tops) to allow you to easily bend your right leg around the upper pommel/head.
Yes, you can put vetwrap around the upper head as a temporary “queen” to pad it up if it is set too far to the left for your thigh. I don’t know anyone who has put vetwrap on the leaping head. Vetwrap won’t damage the leather at all.
I would recommend you get a well qualified teacher to help you master the fine points of sidesaddle riding. It is too easy to get into bad position and let it develope into bad habits. (No pun there).
It is essential that the saddle fit you and the horse properly. Sidesaddle is very comfortable and secure but you need to know how and why the finer points of riding one are there. You might have to get a “Queens” pad for the top horn.
It might be good to try to ride without the stirrup so you learn not to depend on it. It is just a footrest for your left foot.
Posting in sidesaddle is not the same as posting in an astride saddle. You roll forward on your right thigh when the right leg of the horse raises for the right diagonal. Then you relax and roll back on the raising of the horse’s left leg. It should be very subtle. Do not stand in the left stirrup and then slam down on the horse. It jerks the saddle to the left when you put the weight in the stirrup. Then when you sit down, it turns the saddle back to the right. The horse will not like that.
Most horses do not take exception to the sidesaddle. They just figure you are doing something new and go with it.
Do check your horse’s back for dry spots.
It is a fun adventure and most women who try sidesaddle are infected with a disease that so far there is no known cure. Sidesaddle is contageous especially amongst young women.
Have a great time and keep us posted on your progress.
Regards,
sadlmakr
Probably should have mentioned that it’s a Champion and Wilton saddle. Sounds like Owen might be a good saddle to look for or a longer Whippy or C&W? My friend’s instructor came with several saddles last month for her first lesson and will be coming down this later this month so I’ll try to sit on a couple. My tall boots do have the Spanish tops, sounds like I may need to pick up a pair of half chaps. Although I’ve hear of people wearing a tall boot on their left and short boot on their right. Thoughts? My bad on the vetwrap spot… still learning what’s what.
[QUOTE=JumpWithPanache;5226637]
#2: Rein length is such a fine line with Panache, especially right now. At the moment she’s rehabbing from a suspensory so isn’t getting a regular turnout (run around like a maniac) time. Instead she gets about eight hours in a 24x24 lame horse paddock… we go back to regular turnout when she’s cantering under saddle, as per vet instruction. Add on top she’s a spicy ride normally, and very hot in the winter, and loves to find monsters at night. So yeah, I’ll admit, I do keep the reins kind of short. DH managed to snap that photo at the perfect time and I was slipping reins a tiny bit to let her stretch. What can I say? I love riding my sports car! lol I see that my hands look a little too high, right? [/QUOTE]
I think maybe Devon mentioned your rein length because in the photos it looks like you are tipping forward. If your reins are too short, people tend to tip forward to compensate. Try to sit up tall (imagine a string pulling through your spine all the way through the top of your helmet) and pull that right shoulder back. The tipping forward can make you back quite sore, but I think it’s just a matter of building up your muscles. As for your hands, literally keep them GLUED to either side of your knee unless you need to move them to steer or adjust your reins, then put them back.
[QUOTE=JumpWithPanache;5226637]
#3: She has lots of suspension in her trot, and it takes a lot of work to get her back fit and soft enough to sit comfortably. I alternated sitting and posting in the SS because a) I don’t want to punish her back too much, and b) my legs couldn’t keep posting forever. Is this ok to do for schooling? And thanks for clarifying posting versus sitting for show purposes, I couldn’t find a definitive source on the subject.[/QUOTE]
My mare is the same way, she’s quite hard to sit the trot astride nevermind aside! I was told to think of pushing your hips forward with each stride to absorb that bounce. Trotting is tougher than cantering IMHO and takes a lot more muscle to sit quietly and pretty. If you feel like you’re tired take a break and don’t push yourself too far. The posting is good to help build up your muslces but I find that if I’m tired I tend to compensate and not do it properly and end up much more sore than if I’d just sat the trot the whole time. I tend to keep my posting to just a little bit every ride.
[QUOTE=JumpWithPanache;5226637]
#4: This is a friend’s saddle that I thought would fit me ok, but you’re right, I didn’t feel like my upper leg fit correctly. I’m cursed with a freakishly long femur and have a hard time fitting in any saddle! So that’s definitely something I’ll make very important when I do begin my own search. I believe this saddle is a 22x13, will it be hard to find something longer?[/QUOTE]
I think the bigger saddles are harder to find, 22 is fairly long already but it’s definitely not unheard of to find bigger ones. I saw one at a local saddler’s shop that had to have been probably 23 or 24, it was VERY long. Different makes of saddles fit differently as well depending on the pommel placement and such, so it might be worth trying out a few types before you decide which one is for you.
I personally don’t think it looks too small for you though, it might be nearly there but as long as your butt isn’t hanging off the end, you’re ok!
Vetwrap won’t hurt your saddle. I had to make a “queen” for my upright head so my leg would sit centered better and I used vetwrap to hold it on. Not a big deal.
Does your saddle have a doeskin (suede-ish) seat or a smooth seat? I really like riding in full seats on a saddle with a smooth seat and I usually ride with a tall boot on my left leg and a paddock boot on the right so I don’t scratch the saddle. Plus my tall boots are too tall to ride with one on my right leg. I tried that once and it wasn’t comfortable at all, the back of the boot dug into the back of my knee the whole time.
(didn’t mean to post the same things Sidesaddlerider and Saddlemkr did, I was replying and didn’t see their replies first! lol)
Thank you so much everyone! All the stories and suggestions are great. It drizzled and rained yesterday afternoon so I wasn’t going to risk my friend’s saddle. I’ll be out today though and will keep in mind all the tips. Thanks!
