That’s one of the things I love about my Big Horn synthetic saddle! Cordura fenders, which aren’t stiff! They turn easily.
I used to ride in a synthetic King Series saddle. Its fenders were horribly stiff and, unlike leather ones, could not be oiled.
Even with my saddle’s cordura fenders, I still store it with a walking stick through the stirrups to keep them turned to riding position.
Hay
Thanks again everyone. Diamond Jake: I am getting the little turny things for the stirrups. (Great seeing you last weekend!)
Also, Galloping Grape, I read about you not selling saddles to people who haven’t gotten their horse yet. I applaud stores who really take care of their customers and their customers’ horses, especially when you might loose a sale. You’re really thinking about them and their horses. It’s all in their best interests and you’re saving them alot of heart ache in the long run that comes from an ill-fitting saddle.
And that is the difference between shopping local for a saddle and being surprised when you order off of ebay or a catalog.
The local store I’m using, Whinnies & Knickers in Newburgh, NY, has the same standards and is thinking of me and my well-fare and the horse’s over her sale. I’m really touched that she is taking the time on her day off to come to my farm to fit my horse perfectly with gas prices as they are.
Please check out my web site and if there is anything we can help you with, please let me know: www.horsehollowpress.com
Best wishes and many sales! JUNE
Why do they call the store Whinnies and Knickers? Do they sell knickers? I don’t quite get what knickers have to do with whinnies. (Surely they don’t sell whinnies! Neigh!)
Hay
You’d love Whinnies & Knickers…I think it’s a pun on Nickering and the old fashined pants people wore…knickers…She does sell riding jeans…She’s more of a western store.
Well, I guess breeches do look kinda like knickers … 
I have to agree with Diamond Jake. When I read your post I wondered why you would be switching to western due to an ankle injury. Dont get me wrong, the preturned stirrups are wonderful but talking from experience with both a fractured ankle (and multiple other leg injuries) and riding both seats–it would be a rare western saddle that would leave your leg and ankle more free than english leathers. If you have an English saddle that you really like, I would recommend sticking with it and maybe using a pair of the wider stirrups, like the EZ rides, for more foot support. JMHO
Having severely damaged both lower legs at different times, my ankles are sensitive to anything over 1/2 hour in the saddle. I rarely ride a western, which I grew up with, for that reason. And I have the turnouts. They are a considerable help, however. I don’t ride English, not my thing is all. I ride an Aussie. My legs demand it.
Hay again
Thanks for all your responses. I’m getting western not so much for the ankle which is totally healed now but more for the security. I haven’t ridden since April due to this injury and want something that is going to really make me stick to get my confidence back. (I have a youngish horse.)
I also feel like my response time has slowed. This really worries me the most not so much my ankle. I know this will pick up with more exercise and more riding but until then…
Whether a western saddles does or does not 1. make me stick, 2. help me feel more secure with regards to my slower response times, is not the situation BUT if I perceive it to make me stick better then so be it.
I had been thinking about changing to western anyway as all I do these days is trail ride and used to be pretty butt sore. In the past year prior to breaking the ankle, I was riding bareback but I have to say I am so looking forward to this cushy seat the tack store’s saddle is going to provide me.
I guess I also want out of the English world too?!? Maybe that’s part of it…Maybe that’s most of it.
One thing I DON’T like about western saddles is their reputation for helping a rider “stick.” Sometimes it’s a better idea to bail out at need. But as for making a rider feel more secure, they do that for me, and as I get older my response time gets slower. My body still remembers what to do, but various parts of it often hurt when called upon to react–and I don’t want to get in a situation that calls for quick reactions and, when my body reacts, it suddenly has a twinge of pain that interferes with the reaction. My muscles and joints know what to do but if they hurt when doing it, they’re gonna tense up and not be able to do it, or at least stay so tense that more situations could arise.
I want a saddle that feels more or less like a recliner–not so much to recline in, but to have the mechanics of the saddle take over some of the work that, in an English saddle, my joints and muscles, etc., have to do for themselves.
I also like the way the western fenders (the flexible cordura ones on my saddle) add to the feeling of secure support.
The other night I came across a spare pair of English stirrups given me by a friend a few years ago. I looked at them and suddenly realized I may never go back to riding in an English saddle again–by choice. My nice wide padded western stirrups are so much more comfortable, as are the western fenders, etc.
The only thing I don’t like about western saddles is the horn!
:winkgrin: That’s why there are endurance saddles and aussies!!
So far as the “stick” goes… here’s a few tidbits.
saddles with NO tooling are more slick that saddles with tooling.
western / endurance saddles can come with suede seat or a padded seat with stitching… (more grip)
Saddles with tooling may give more grip BUT they will also chaff your upper leg more.
While there are English saddles with deep seats, I believe it’s the pommel area that provides as much security as anything. they are more likely to prevent a forward fall when a horse stops suddenly. It’s also easier to grip the cantle of a western saddle when the terrain is dicey. Grabbing the cantle will help keep you over the horse FAR more than grabbing the horn.
just a comment- I’ve ridden many many years and fallen off more times than I would like to recall. In all those falls there was only ONE where it was better to bail out than to have stayed on. I would have rode through all the rest if I could have. :lol
I like my western saddle for the security. I can relax more easily with a hand on the pommel of the western.
What worries me is people who treat their saddle horses like pack horses and can’t be seen behind all the gear they tied on!
I can understand the security thing! I’ve just started taking the NSH out on the trails and while he’s a very good 4yo - he’s big, very athletic, and 2 years of showing halter didn’t do much to calm him down. :lol: The 3’ fences between the trail and street? We’ve gone over them sideways twice now. Logically I know I stick with him just as well in the dressage saddle as western, but I just feel better western.
If the western fenders do bother your ankles, it’s fairly easy to take them off and put english leathers on. Looks silly, but I have leathers and the EZ ride stirrups on my cordura endurance saddle and it’s really helped me ride longer without pain.
Hay again
Re: Cat on Lap said: What worries me is people who treat their saddle horses like pack horses and can’t be seen behind all the gear they tied on!
I was laughing so hard at this, my friend says those riders look like Gypsy caravans! Arh, arh!:lol:
I just need a place to put my lipstick…
Well, and I have at times been glad to have my saddle’s horn to hang water bottles on, and a halter, and a friend’s lunge line …
But definitely NOT the hem of my jacket when posting or dismounting! (At least so far I haven’t joined the bra-hooked-on-horn club. 
)
If you get a Western saddle and still don’t feel secure, add bucking rolls. They help a LOT.
What are bucking rolls?
[QUOTE=Wellspotted;3441427]
What are bucking rolls?[/QUOTE]
The rolls themselves…
http://buysaddles.com/catalog/Bucking_Rolls-62-1.html
On a saddle…
http://www.corrientesaddleco.com/Corriente%20Wade%20Saddle.htm
Another one…
http://www.flealess.org/sharpsaddlery/horse_saddles/wade_tree.html
They go on slick fork or A fork saddles to the side and slightly back of where the swells extend out to on a “regular” saddle…no real way to put them on an association style tree gracefully, which rules out most of the pleasure/trail/endurance saddles out there.
Thanks!
They look kind of like poleys on an Australian saddle.
What’s an association-style tree?
[QUOTE=Wellspotted;3441940]
Thanks!
What’s an association-style tree?[/QUOTE]
The “regular” western tree with swells like this-
http://www.bufordsaddle.com/bighorn/saddles.htm
…as opposed to a slick fork or A frame saddle with very minimal/no swells…which is why bucking rolls are made for those saddles. 
Association is an older term, they may be using something else now. But it’s what I’m used to calling them.
I use mine on an association tree. They look fine and make me feel really secure. They might not be as graceful looking as when applied to a slickfork, but hey, to me they are fine and I like having them.
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