Dressage saddle and thigh rolls

[Billyandme]

Probably a bit of a numpty question but I have bought a 2nd hand dressage saddle for my part loan horse. It fits both of us well but in canter I am slipping about alot. He has a big canter. I normally ride in a VSD which has thigh rolls and although I still slip, not quite so much. I would love a a Kent and Masters dressage saddle which I have tried him in but can't afford one. I see you can buy the Kent and Masters thigh blocks separately. Would that work.

 

[Red-1]

I had a saddler sew Velcro to where a thigh roll would be, and bought a pair to attach. Cost about £50 all in.

 

[sbloom]

What is the saddle you are riding in? Does it have no block? A fixed block underneath or on top? Or on velcro? Separate thigh blocks will only work in the last instance, it needs to have velcro on the saddle. And using a big block to stop you sliding is far from ideal, it may be the saddle really doesn't fit you (pretty much as important as the horse), eg it could be too big or it has stirrup bars in the wrong place...and you will almost certainly want to work on your stability and core with a good rider conditioning programme and some good ridden biomechanics sessions, if at all possible.

Some practitioners of these, but not many, can advise a little on the saddle and let you know if they think it's part of the cause. I should state a warning though, one top biomex coaches in the UK advised a customer they needed a bigger saddle as they were sitting on the back of it when in fact they needed a smaller one (not my customer but one of a fellow fitter who knows her onions). Some fitters are good at knowing what the rider needs, others less so.