How
do I choose a saddle type?
Hello
Friends,
I wish I had
all day to write. There have been so many questions
concerning which type of saddle is best. I am
attempting to give you a quality synopsis. At the
rate of writing I have available, it may take a
while to finish. I usually like to have my grammar
checked and words correct, before they hit the
Internet, but, perhaps I can answer some of your
questions now, rather than waiting for the
entire article. Come often for updates. Thanks and
God Bless, Chuck
Saddle
Types
No
matter which type, better saddles allow better
riding. Better riding is achieved by the higher
quality of the materials and the more time-consuming
craftsmanship that are used to make your riding
accomplishments workable. For instance, an
experienced rider knows that by shifting the bones
of your seat, and using slight leg aids, your horse
can be signaled to turn, or slow, or speed before
applying pressures from the bit. A more supple
leather, or a thinner leather will allow closer
contact to enable a better “feel” for your
horse.
More
supple leathers or thinner leathers do not
necessarily mean weaker leathers, or they might.
Know your saddle expectations, and buy accordingly.
Light weight, close contact saddles are not designed
to save on the costs of wood and leather.
Nor are they designed to impress a beginning
instructor who sees advanced riders using them in an
arena. The fibers should be the best to hold under
stress, while allowing you to better feel your
horse. As you continue riding, and develop more
skills of balance and method, this contact becomes
more important. Sometimes, a beginner finds it
better to use equipment that will not signal a
well-trained horse so easily. All kinds of contact,
while learning to balance in the seat is confusing
to the advanced horse.
The
strongest leathers, (smaller proportion of a hide
and costing more) are cut from the prime areas of
the shoulders. As a saddler, you can make any
leather more supple by lots of labor in hand rubbing
PH balanced conditioners, (adds life to the leather,
but costs more) into the fibers of those leathers.
Or you can use a select thinner leather from that
shoulder area that will actually have more strength
than thicker leathers from the side. Or, you can use
less expensive, stretchy, belly leathers (the more
you oil these, the further they stretch out of
shape, but they are soft). Or you can chemically
wash out the life of the leather, just like acid
washing jeans. Supple, or close contact designs can
be desired for easier riding. Close contact is only
one important aspect of choosing a saddle. The
advantages and disadvantages of this one feature is
why it is good to read and compare articles like
this one!
When
determining the saddle that is best for you, or your
student, or your new spouse, remember that as skill
levels increase, and desires to try new riding
styles increase, the needs of the equipment may
change. Changes may mean that you need more than one
type of saddle for the same horse. A golf enthusiast
certainly uses more than one club. You will enjoy
the art and the entertainment of horsemanship more
fully, with the proper equipment. Make choices on
immediate needs. Buy the best that you can afford.
It seems like more riders tend to collect saddles,
rather than trade them. Even so, the trade in
allowances of better saddles are much more than
cheaper ones. As dealers, the percentage of profit
built into the sales price lessens as the price of
the saddle increases, (unless you account for
special peculiarities, such as paying extra for pink
leather with purple polky-dots). When well cared
for, over time, this profit margin is often the only
depreciation a saddle receives. Certain handmade
saddles have a tendency to become more valuable than
the initial cost, between the ages of five to twelve
years down the road. Or, when a famous saddler dies.
Handmade saddles and chaps are an art form. Proper
care and maintenance will ensure your investment.
And so will insurance. Normally you need a
“rider” for specialized cameras, electronics,
and horse equipment.
...And
now, some of the saddle types:
Barrel
Racers make good lightweight saddles for pleasure
riding, as well as for eventing in a variety of
games. A rather high back and deep seat are two of
the more prominent features of this saddle type.
This seat is developed to keep a rider in the pocket
on take-off and sudden stops. Staying in the pocket
means to remain secure in the deepest part of the
saddle seat. A deeper seat helps you to maintain
control of your balance and therefore helping the
horse to move fluently. This seat design can provide
comfort in supporting the lower back of the rider.
For many women and men who have a back issue, a deep
seat is more comfortable.
The
stirrup leathers are usually thinned and strong in
order to allow a rider much freedom in the motion of
the legs. Whereas a track racing saddle is designed
for the ultimate speed, the rider sits on top of the
back of his mount. These Western games have twists
and turns. Many times the race is won on those
tricky movements. So a secure seat can be as
important as ultimate speed.
Barrel
racers have been known to lean into the prominent
horn to keep from being jostled forward on a stop or
start. Even good riders sometimes find a horse that
has a lot of power. Younger and beginning gymkhana
riders will appreciate having a saddle designed to
help them stabilize their arm. A rawhide braided
horn is used to help grip as well as for good looks.
(Yes, we should all be discouraged from depending on
a horn for hanging onto the horse. – That is
another article.)
If
you prefer a more than a modicum of security, you
can choose a model that has suede covered jockey and
seat, or a fully rough-out one-piece seat and
jockey. In either of the suede or rough-out
finishes, your pants tend to stick to the knappy
fibers of the leather for grip. Suede covered almost
always means padded. The one-piece rough-out design
will not be padded, allowing you to have an
excellent feel of the horse. You sit closer to your
horse. One piece “hard” seats are made to allow
your weight to be distributed over the entire saddle
block area of your body. This is from the inside of
one knee, through the entire crotch, and continuing
on to the other knee. No seams at the jockeys and
the security of rough-side-out top grain leathers
allow some fancy staying power.
Padded
jockeys that are covered with suede gained
popularity in the late 60’s and early seventies.
As rider’s skills got better in general, the rider
would progress to a saddle without the extra padding
in the jockey. This padding works like knee rolls on
an English saddle. It is comfortable to hold into.
But, as the need for being closer to the feel of the
horse develops, most riders will forgo that padding.
Today, one of the most popular designs is to have a
padded suede seat with rough-out fenders and
jockeys. For “tender tushes”, this combination
combines grip with contact.
Barrel
racers often have a swept-back front end. This
design is to give you some security into which you
can sink the front of your thigh (Southerners would
say “sink your thigh into”, but this is a
hanging preposition and an embarrassment to
“cultured” cowboys). When turning close to
barrels or poles, and if you need to “lift” an
inside leg, the outside swept fork is handy for
stabilizing your body.
In pleasure riding, the swept-back forks can
support against the decline of a steep hill. This
alleviates the need to grab the saddle with your
hand. As rider skills develop, most racers prefer to
have a front end that is more straight. As balance
is acquired, there is less need for the supports to
help hold you.
However, as I have gotten some older, I think
about reusing some of these features. That ground
seems to have gotten harder in the past ten years.
The
skirts of a game saddle may be rounded or squared.
It can be argued that a squared skirt is somewhat
more stable than the rounded skirt models. However,
the rounded skirts are designed for the least
interference with the movement of your horse. On a
short-coupled animal, rounding the skirts can
prevent some interference in the flank area. Most
barrel racers are cut shorter in the skirts width,
than other pleasure saddle types. Seldom will either
the round or square skirt interfere with the
movement of your equine.
More
soon
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