Bums and saddles

[Kenzo]

Right are you ready for another silly Kenzo post....I've not done one for a while and I think all you peeps are ready for your next dose....you see I've been thinking (yeah dangerous I know).

This may come across as a strange post, well a stupid question/observation but how many of us are riding in saddles that are too big or two small for us....or it that not the case?

Ok so we all know you get a saddle to fit the horse, just as importantly we also check the saddle is comfortable and the right size for us and our length of leg etc etc, usually 8 times out of 10 it probably is because most of us take into consideration our size, weight and have a horse more or less the right size/type to accommodate us, therefore the seat size is pretty much the size the horse requires anyway...all with me so far?

But after all these years of riding, I've only just started to notice something, when watching other people ride or even photos for that matter, I'm drawn to their...*coughs*... derrière region.

No don't panic, I don't have a bottom fetish honestly

, it's because there seems to be no consistency in the how the rider's bottom fits in the seat of the saddle, I have noticed that a lot of riders completely fill the seat (and I don't just been those with a larger bottom either) where there bottom is shoved right up the back of the cantle and well kinda hanging over the sides yet they look more supported in the saddle, but on the other side of the scale there are many others that seem to have this huge space at the back and front but seem to ride nearer the pommel and don't fill the seat, where then there seems to be more movement in the saddle when riding.....are you still with me folks?

I was always told that you should be able to fit your hand (if you place it flat behind your bottom sloping upwards) and should be say 4 inches with a bit of room so your not crushed up to the back of the seat but is this not the case? or is it because some people have deeper seats that make it look like they are more snugly in the saddle?, or is it because some of us have skinny bums but larger thighs while others have more padding on the bottom but slimmer thighs?

Surely it must effect our horses way of going and backs as well as our riding and over all seat/position in the saddle if the seat of the saddle is either too small or too large, or should it not effect a good rider?

If it does not effect a good rider with a good natural seat etc then is there a particular preference, do you have preference?

Or am I thinking into this a bit too much, just wondered if I'm not alone in thinking this and other peoples views on it all.

 

[Linz75]

I too have noticed this at some shows...

 

[Scribbles]

My saddler always asks about rider height/size (S/M/L), as I thought that's what the 15/16/17/18 referred to?

 

[jumpthemoon]

Hmmm yes I've noticed this too

However, I like to have a hands width in front and behind me when in the saddle. I find this works best

 

[CrazyMare]

Don't forget to take into account the shape of the seat - i.e. a deeper seat on a dressage saddle vs the flat seat of a jumping saddle.

I can ride in a 17" dressage saddle, and it look completely different to a 17" jumping saddle, yet both are comfortable to ride in, and I stay effective.

 

[Woody78]

Interessting, this entered my head (after the obvious observation) when I looked at that piccy of Oli T the other day. He looked quite 'snug' in that saddle, or was it just the way he was, ahem, sitting?

 

[golddustsara]

I have seen some pretty tiny peeps in large saddles to accommodate the horse but equally I'm tall and riding my connie in a 16.5. I think people seem to fit more to the horse than to themselves these days, especially if said horse is difficult to fit.

 

[Kenzo]

[ QUOTE ]
Don't forget to take into account the shape of the seat - i.e. a deeper seat on a dressage saddle vs the flat seat of a jumping saddle.

I can ride in a 17" dressage saddle, and it look completely different to a 17" jumping saddle, yet both are comfortable to ride in, and I stay effective.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh yes I agree in this case, I just mean in general, say if everyone had the same type of saddle, I'm still sure you'd see a quite a difference if you see what I mean, good point though.

 

[Kenzo]

[ QUOTE ]
Hmmm yes I've noticed this too

However, I like to have a hands width in front and behind me when in the saddle. I find this works best

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes thats pretty much what I would of thought but yet you see so many that look a bit too big in the saddle, so then it got me thinking have I been 'lost' in my saddles all this time.

I know with different makes you'll get the odd bit of difference but how much difference if both saddles are the same size and sort?

 

[bex1984]

ooo ooo me! me! Have just changed my saddle because I realised that my 16.5" straight cut saddle was doing me no favours as it just didn't fit me, and my knee was sticking off the front and when things went wrong when we were jumping I kept coming off! I also realised I couldn't actually get my legs on Murphy's sides properly (major problem when one has the laziest pony in the world)

I now have a 17" saddle, with knee and thigh rolls, and it makes a massive difference. It puts me in a much better position, I didn't come off when Murphy jumped 2ft 9 from an almost complete standstill, and I can get my legs on. jumpthemoon sent me 2 pics a while ago which shows the difference perfectly but I can't get them on here, grrr!

 

[Kenzo]

[ QUOTE ]
ooo ooo me! me! Have just changed my saddle because I realised that my 16.5" straight cut saddle was doing me no favours as it just didn't fit me, and my knee was sticking off the front and when things went wrong when we were jumping I kept coming off! I also realised I couldn't actually get my legs on Murphy's sides properly (major problem when one has the laziest pony in the world)

I now have a 17" saddle, with knee and thigh rolls, and it makes a massive difference. It puts me in a much better position, I didn't come off when Murphy jumped 2ft 9 from an almost complete standstill, and I can get my legs on. jumpthemoon sent me 2 pics a while ago which shows the difference perfectly but I can't get them on here, grrr!

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you have just given a good example of what I'm getting at, well not getting at but wondering if I'm the only person that ...well wonders about it (if that makes sense)

 

[bex1984]

argh if I only I could get the pics on here for you, they'd illustrate your point well I think .... grrrr!

 

[Festive_Felicitations]

I have noticed the same, and have ridden in all sorts of saddles and I have to admit that when buying one the fit for me is as important as the fit for the horse!

But then comfort and fit vary for everyone. A friend of mine is a similar build and loves her DR saddle and raves about how comforatble it is, I think I have sat on volcanic rocks that were more comfortable.... It might help explain why you see so much variation in the defintion of 'fit'.

From past experiences I could not ride in a saddle that was too small (16.5 in or less), but I can adapt to larder saddles.

PS very interesting post. You know what I am going to be doing next time I go to a comp now....=)

 

[Faro]

Now here's a chicken and egg situation.

Is it the saddle causing the rider to ride in a certain way, or is it the rider's natural posture/tendencies?

If a rider's bum is stuck out behind them, then they're quite likely to be hollow backed too. Whereas with the bum tucked neatly underneath the rider is more likely to have a straighter back or perhaps more of a forward curve. (Try it for yourself on the seat you're sitting on and you should easily feel the difference).

So it's a case of deciding whether it's the saddle throwing the rider into that position - or if the saddle's okay and it's perhaps the rider who needs working on?

Hope I'm making sense!

 

[MontyandZoom]

My arse looks massive on Zoomy. She is too small for me (heightwise) I ride her in a 17inch jumping saddle but the saddle fits her but not me. I don't think she could have a bigger saddle since she is quite short-backed. I don't think I look too bad in the dressage though.

dressage:

Jumping:
http://e-pix.co.uk/pk/pic.php?id=97948

ETS - scrap that, my arse is MAHOOSIVE in both! Poor pony, I'm suprised she hasn't got a broken back.

 

[Kenzo]

I don't think your bottom looks massive on that saddle, I'm referring too ones which are lets say more 'seat filling' may be more of a polite way of putting it.

But I'm glad you posted the photo and your opinions on how you fit your saddle, personally I think you look fine and look very comfortable

but then that's just from where I'm standing....or sitting should I say.

Does anyone else mind posting pics of what they look like?, in particular ones of saddles that are they feel perhaps are too big/ too small for the riders and how you feel in that saddle, just purely out of interest and for learning purposes.

Or a photo showing a classic example of a perfectly fitted saddle on both horse and rider?

Many thanks

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

[ QUOTE ]
ETS - scrap that, my arse is MAHOOSIVE in both! Poor pony, I'm suprised she hasn't got a broken back.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you think your arse is MAHOOSIVE I'm not posting piccy's of mine

!!! My neice took a really unflattering piccy of me riding my coblet - not easy to decide who had the biggest arse....but at least my arse fits in her saddle!! It had to made to measure and saddler took a long time to explain how and why a saddle should fit a rider and that so many people just went for a 17/17.5 inch without knowing whether it fitted them or not.

 

[MontyandZoom]

I haven't actually got a piccy of me riding Monty in a saddle!!! How awful is that....

I think my mum fits the saddle really well whereas I find it a bit too bit. But then again its the only saddle I've sat in where my gangly legs don't stick out over the saddle when jumping.

I'm just gonna have to win the lottery and get a made-to-measure for both ponies!

 

[jesterfaerie]

First of all I would like to say shut up to montyandzoom! Your bum is not massive it is tiny!

My current saddle is 17.5 but I went to try one a few weeks ago and the saddler put me in a 17 and although the style was different from my current one (show vs gp) I felt much more secure and I do think the seat size helped.

 

[wildpoppywild]

my bum squiges (sp) out of poppys saddle but not so much on abby

 

[rubyrumba]

I used to ride lots of different horses at work and my biggest problem is i have long legs and the top of my boots always seem to catch the bottom of the saddle flaps, that is reallllly annoying! There is more room in some of the saddles though and obviously less room in others!!

 

[abracadabra]

my saddles are 17 inch but i also ride in my OHs 18inch, was at saddles today and tried loads, and i was surprised to find that actually a 16inch is the size that gives me a hands width front and back, i did think i might suit a 16.5 but im smaller than i imagined

i had 17 inch saddles because they fit the horse

 

[Ziggy_]

I currently have a 17" saddle on my 16.2hh mare, and it is a perfect fit for me. It gives me so much stability and has helped me survive some very sticky situations.

Unfortunately this is the only side on pic I have, and my massive coat is getting in the way so you can't really see - but there's about four inches of space behind me.

This is my friend who is a few inches taller and a stone or two heavier than me, in my saddle. She has slim legs and this saddle fits her fairly well too.

Since riding in this saddle, I really notice when I sit in other saddles that don't fit me. My friends' mare wore a 17.5" and I couldn't ride in it all - my bum slid all over the place and my knees were nowhere near where they should have been leaving my legs totally unsupported. My taller friend also found it on the large side, even though it was fitted to her; I guess she was kind of between sizes. Don't have any pics of that one unfortunately.

Likewise, I've ridden in a 16.5" and I feel a bit squashed and uncomfortable although visually, there isn't a huge difference. Here's a pic of me in the 16.5 on a 14.3hh Welshie - please ignore my v.dodgy position

I feel like there isn't enough space between the back of my a*se and the cantle - and the pommel rises too steeply in front so I almost feel tilted backwards.

I've also ridden dinky ponies in 15'' and 16'' saddles, and my butt actually spills over the back. It feels terrible and looks just as bad

Personally I feel a huge huge difference when I ride on a saddle that doesn't fit me. Having one the right size makes things so much more comfortable and really helps you stay in balance as well. There seem to be a huge number of people riding in saddle that clearly don't fit them and TBH I don't understand it - OK maybe the horse can't take a bigger saddle or some other valid reason but surely it must have some negative effect on their riding? I know it does on mine.

 

[soph21]

I fit in a 15/16 '' best. I did have a 17'' but I move about a lot as theres too much space lol!