Best saddles for bad backs?

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newbie_nix

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OK so I know there will be no definitive answer to this because there are lots of variables to consider but I would be interested in hearing from those of you who have back issues (rider's back not the horse, although this is of course important too ;)) as to what kind of saddle you find most comfortable to ride in.

My situation is I am in my late 30s, return to riding type lady. Although I have ridden on and off since the age of 7, I am pretty novice, pleasure rider/happy hacker type. I enjoy hacking and pootling around the farm here and don’t do much jumping (if I do, its pretty small stuff – too chicken!)

I had a sports injury over a decade ago and had lower back problems ever since (including a herniated disc) which meant i couldn’t ride for many years but in recent times it has been heaps better. I started riding regularly again a couple of years ago, have moved to NZ from UK and recently bought a lovely stock horse that I have been having fun riding over the fields and hills on our property.

I have been riding in an old Pearce East (NZ stockman’s saddle, similar to the Aussie stock saddles) which is great but I find puts my legs further forward than I am used to.

On the one hand I love it because it feels so secure and he is still settling in so can be a bit joggy / whirly at times (but doesn’t buck or rear , he is a total gent in all other ways).

With the Pearce and my feet further forward I feel very safe (neck strap helps too!) especially when he gets excited cantering up hills (which he loves to do) but I have occasional lower back issues caused not only by the old injury I mention above but also I have a very long flat spine and the position I end up in on the Pearce seems to be aggravating this. Probably because when I lean forward, or go into the half seat when cantering up hills, due to the more forward leg there is more pressure on my lower spine.

I am wondering if a regular GP or a different style might be better but I don’t always feel as secure in GPs over rougher terrain (perhaps one with decent knee rolls?) I have a new Tekna GP for my other horse which was comfortable when I rode in it on the flat but he is recovering from an injury so haven’t been able to test it fully and I’m not confident it fits my stock horse.

I don’t have a huge amount of experience of different saddle types so has anyone got any good advice please? To summarise I am looking for the more secure feel of a stock saddle when riding up and down hills but which ideally puts a little less pressure on my spine if possible, by perhaps encouraging the legs to be more below the body than forward. Any suggestions very welcome! I am only guessing as to what might be ‘wrong’ and I have my saddle fitter coming in a few weeks anyway but want to do a bit of research before he comes.

Also I know I am in NZ now and some of the saddle brands are different but we do get some UK/European tack out here (albeit it tends to be expensive) and in any case I will be returning to the UK to visit family in a few months so I might be able to take a saddle back with me.

Anyway over to you lovely HHO folks – what saddles do you find to be the most comfortable for hacking / trekking/ endurance type riding?

Thanks in advance and sorry for the essay!
 
If you like the seat of the stock what about a western? I've been dithering for myself long term as I find a stock comfy but definitely a bit more chair like when in it - the western is slightly straighter in the leg and a bit more upright... Both very safe feeling in the seat though which is important to me as I'm a total wuss...

I have tried a dressage saddle and found that stable too... I do ride with a long leg though and being older/less confident I can feel a little 'perched' on an English GP saddle... I do plonk myself very square in the pelvis but do tend to drop into an inwards arch in my my back which can pretty bit sore after a bit... Too many years of competition level gymnastics as a youngster I think... :o

Just my own (very limited in experience) thoughts and not sure if I've explained them very well... :)
 
Ladydragon said:
If you like the seat of the stock what about a western? I've been dithering for myself long term as I find a stock comfy but definitely a bit more chair like when in it - the western is slightly straighter in the leg and a bit more upright... Both very safe feeling in the seat though which is important to me as I'm a total wuss...

I have tried a dressage saddle and found that stable too... I do ride with a long leg though and being older/less confident I can feel a little 'perched' on an English GP saddle... I do plonk myself very square in the pelvis but do tend to drop into an inwards arch in my my back which can pretty bit sore after a bit... Too many years of competition level gymnastics as a youngster I think... :o

Just my own (very limited in experience) thoughts and not sure if I've explained them very well... :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply Ladydragon :D mine was caused by too much rugby, gymnastics sounds much more ladylike LOL

I have tried riding western a few times and although I felt secure (I am such a wuss too these days - I no longer bounce when I come off!) it was still a little too much of the chair thing going on - I feel better with my legs more underneath myself and also prefer to ride a bit longer. I have short legs and a long back so I like to wrap them down as far as they go otherwise I feel top heavy. Also the westerns I tried were soooo heavy! My friend had one she reckoned weighed 3 stone! I would prefer something a bit lighter for both our sakes. But then it might have been just that the ones I have tried were heavier than normal. I felt a bit disconnected from the horse riding western style but could be I would just need to get used to a different style of riding, I have only ridden western a couple of times. Wouldn't completely rule it out though so thanks for the suggestion, it seems to be becoming increasingly popular around here so I might go for a couple of western lessons (better still a western trail ride incorporating hills) and see how I go.

I had a dressage saddle for my other boy (an Isabell Werth wintec) and the leg position and back felt good but it was unstable due to having been badly re-stuffed in the past (was secondhand)and started to pinch my boy so I no longer use it. I have been toying with the idea of going back to a dressage but not sure if it will be grippy enough for hillwork....

I am wondering if a good deep seat GP with squidgy knee rolls might be the answer... but I wouldn't even know where to start brandwise.
 
Too be honest if you only have occasional back problems now I would think that would be acceptable as most of us do! You may be better off doing a few exercises off the horse.
I have a back problem similar to yours and my back too is straight. I find my back often tells me it wants relief by bending forward, but in fact if I put my hands in the small of my back and curve it backwards as far as I can every time it aches, this improves it dramatically!!!! My physio taught me this and I am very impressed!!
Hope that helps, certainly won't hurt to try it a few time :D
 
soulfull said:
Too be honest if you only have occasional back problems now I would think that would be acceptable as most of us do! You may be better off doing a few exercises off the horse.
I have a back problem similar to yours and my back too is straight. I find my back often tells me it wants relief by bending forward, but in fact if I put my hands in the small of my back and curve it backwards as far as I can every time it aches, this improves it dramatically!!!! My physio taught me this and I am very impressed!!
Hope that helps, certainly won't hurt to try it a few time :D
Click to expand...

Thanks , it does indeed help :) i do this exercise regularly as well and also piriformis stretches as some of my back problems are caused by a stiff piriformis muscle. I also use a powerplate for massages (and exercise). Before I ride go for a brisk walk to warm everything up then stretch, then make sure i am in a good neutral spine position before I get on. Then stretch and warm down afterwards. If I didn't do this I think i would really struggle. How times have changed from when i was a little girl and could vault on a pony and ride for hours with no ill effects!

I am convinced it is the leg position of the stock saddle that is making my back worse than it should be, prior to this i was taking lessons every week in an English GP saddle, even jumping and doing very small X country courses and had no significant back issues. Tired back, yes, but aching like this, no and its been pretty much every time I have ridden in the stock saddle.
 
As a fitter of ReactorPanels I can say that for some people with back issues it is a real transformation. There are several models, you woul dneed to buy from abroad though (contact the owner Carmi in the States) but you could choose between regular GP/VSD type models, or the endurance models which all have large surface mounted knee blocks a bit like a stock saddle but they align you shoulder-hip-heel.

It is the combination of flexible panels and the shock absorbing discs between those and the saddle that help with back pain.

I have also heard that Thinline pads (actual saddle pads) can help, but I've never even seen one in the flesh.
 
I would be looking into your back - if you see a physio - get them to check out your psoas muscle, this may be the cause for you!
 
Albion K2 GPs have decent knee rolls. I have a degenerative disease in my lower spine and have no problems in my Albion, even when my mare is really striding out, enjoying herself. I do find that saddles with a flatter seat and hardly any knee roll cause me some problems.

Hope you manage to find something that helps.
 
I rode a fair few flighty horses, and one of them actually made me pop a vertebrate out of alignment, and after that, i have had no end of problems with my back! I have got an american stock saddle, and it is brilliant! it is just so comfortable and since riding with that saddle, my back has been so much better!! :D
 
Hi I registered just so I could reply. I love Pearce saddles, they are all handmade and all made to fit a horse first and the rider second they are all made to fit a rider who is riding correctly, if you are not perfectly straight and correct they are not comfortable. If you are, its like riding in a cloud of fluffy angels with beer. I remember the saddler refusing to apologise for what he called morons with money.

These saddles are up there alongside Stubbens and Pessoas. What you have is a stock saddle these are made with a different postion to what you are trying to achieve, stock riding is with more leg forward and very deep in the saddle. I dont know if Barry Pierce is still alive but his shop is still open in Gisborne, you can find this in the phone book.

There is a GP which was made under the Pearce label, stocks were under Pearce East and a mixture of both are under Pearce Robinson or Robinson. They generally do not need to be fitted and come in one gullet size, these saddles fit naturally to a horse, they have a high pommel and cantle and have a very deep seat. The transferance from rider to horse is very sensitive and it makes a lot of the saddle out there feel like planks of wood.

If you can find a Pearce GP grab it, they are worth their weight in gold.

hope it helps
 
After a lifetime of riding in all sorts and like you, with a lower back pain, the saddle I wouldn't change from now is a Hawk Event saddle. Very very comfortable and seem to fit a lot of horses. When I started back riding recently I was worried my back would give me problems as it had been so long. Horse was in a generic GP, nice in its own right but didn't suit my back; it was my back that was sore not my bottom and after so many years out of the saddle it should have been the other way around lol! Changed horse over to my Hawk and the relief was instant. No more back ache and I can ride for as long as I want with no problems at all. I'd suggest when you come back that you try to ride in one (and any others people suggest) and see which suits you best. However, saying that if you were to buy one I'm sure you wouldn't have any trouble selling it on as they are so popular and comfortable for both you and the horse.
http://www.saddler.co.uk/shop.html?cr=256&pr=1&pdesc=jeffries_falcon_original_hawk_event_saddle
 
My favorite saddle for my back pain was a flair converted Fieldhouse. It ended up leaking and and causing the horse problems though.

I've ordered a Reator Panel and am ridiculously over excited about it. :o :D
 
I have broken my back and am one very senestive to saddles they must suit me.
I find western saddles very uncomfortable , to wide in the seat.
I was in agony within two circles when I tried a treeless saddle.
I know now want types and brands suit .
But I would never ever buy without trying.
 
Are you unconsciously fighting against the position that the stock saddle is putting you in? I speak from bitter experience, as I spent several weeks in NZ in pain, and blaming the stock saddle I was in for hours each day. It wasn't til someone told me to relax and let the saddle tell me where to sit that I realised I was fighting to hold a dressagey position, in a saddle which was designed to put me in a very different position. Once I accepted that I wasn't going to be doing flying changes, and it was ok to have my legs further forward, the back pain went away.
 
Ooh thanks all for the replies to what is now a rather old post, some really good advice there. Yep Auslander its possible I was fighting the stock saddle position. But even if I relax, legs forward just doesn't seem to suit my back. I do have a rather weird back though!

We will probably sell the old Pearce saddle at some point. I love the look of it and I know many people think they are great but we really didn't get on with it and I need to be practical (perhaps we are morons lol - so be it). My saddle fitter felt it didn't do our horses any favours either.

Since this post our saddle fitter sorted me and my husband out with Tekna GPs with moveable knee blocks. Not very expensive but we ended up needing 3 new saddles so had to look for something cost effective. As GPs go they do the job and I have had few back problems riding in them.

I did have a lesson in a lovely Trainer saddle which felt divine but sadly with multiple horses to kit out, one like that would have been beyond our budget. Anyway thanks all for the replies, I hope this thread has been useful for others with bad backs. I would also add that since this post I have managed to lose a bit of weight (was never enormous, was a size 16-18 UK, now a 14 and heading towards a 12) and have improved my fitness and core strength. Every little helps......;)
 
To Be honest we use the ThinLine pads on all our horses. Love them and most are shimmable (not really a true word). Really do help the horse and rider alike. They are available in the UK now too. Nothing worse than back pain. Takes the fun out of riding.
T

sbloom said:
As a fitter of ReactorPanels I can say that for some people with back issues it is a real transformation. There are several models, you woul dneed to buy from abroad though (contact the owner Carmi in the States) but you could choose between regular GP/VSD type models, or the endurance models which all have large surface mounted knee blocks a bit like a stock saddle but they align you shoulder-hip-heel.

It is the combination of flexible panels and the shock absorbing discs between those and the saddle that help with back pain.

I have also heard that Thinline pads (actual saddle pads) can help, but I've never even seen one in the flesh.
Click to expand...
 
newbie_nix said:
OK so I know there will be no definitive answer to this because there are lots of variables to consider but I would be interested in hearing from those of you who have back issues (rider's back not the horse, although this is of course important too ;)) as to what kind of saddle you find most comfortable to ride in.

My situation is I am in my late 30s, return to riding type lady. Although I have ridden on and off since the age of 7, I am pretty novice, pleasure rider/happy hacker type. I enjoy hacking and pootling around the farm here and don’t do much jumping (if I do, its pretty small stuff – too chicken!)

I had a sports injury over a decade ago and had lower back problems ever since (including a herniated disc) which meant i couldn’t ride for many years but in recent times it has been heaps better. I started riding regularly again a couple of years ago, have moved to NZ from UK and recently bought a lovely stock horse that I have been having fun riding over the fields and hills on our property.

I have been riding in an old Pearce East (NZ stockman’s saddle, similar to the Aussie stock saddles) which is great but I find puts my legs further forward than I am used to.

On the one hand I love it because it feels so secure and he is still settling in so can be a bit joggy / whirly at times (but doesn’t buck or rear , he is a total gent in all other ways).

With the Pearce and my feet further forward I feel very safe (neck strap helps too!) especially when he gets excited cantering up hills (which he loves to do) but I have occasional lower back issues caused not only by the old injury I mention above but also I have a very long flat spine and the position I end up in on the Pearce seems to be aggravating this. Probably because when I lean forward, or go into the half seat when cantering up hills, due to the more forward leg there is more pressure on my lower spine.

I am wondering if a regular GP or a different style might be better but I don’t always feel as secure in GPs over rougher terrain (perhaps one with decent knee rolls?) I have a new Tekna GP for my other horse which was comfortable when I rode in it on the flat but he is recovering from an injury so haven’t been able to test it fully and I’m not confident it fits my stock horse.

I don’t have a huge amount of experience of different saddle types so has anyone got any good advice please? To summarise I am looking for the more secure feel of a stock saddle when riding up and down hills but which ideally puts a little less pressure on my spine if possible, by perhaps encouraging the legs to be more below the body than forward. Any suggestions very welcome! I am only guessing as to what might be ‘wrong’ and I have my saddle fitter coming in a few weeks anyway but want to do a bit of research before he comes.

Also I know I am in NZ now and some of the saddle brands are different but we do get some UK/European tack out here (albeit it tends to be expensive) and in any case I will be returning to the UK to visit family in a few months so I might be able to take a saddle back with me.

Anyway over to you lovely HHO folks – what saddles do you find to be the most comfortable for hacking / trekking/ endurance type riding?

Thanks in advance and sorry for the essay!
Click to expand...

I have had many saddles, and I must say my field house is by far the most comfortable. Though that said it does depend a little on horses action too. My western is very comfortable too
 
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