dressage saddles and leg position

kerilli

kerilli

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 April 2002
Messages
27,417
Location
Lovely Northamptonshire again!
Visit site
okay, i'm sitting here dreaming about what i want to buy for my new horse. i've had quite a few dressage saddles over the years, and only ever ridden in one (an old Lux Legend that belonged to a visiting horse) which seemed to let my leg hang in just the right position... every other saddle has felt as if my legs are in front of me, not under me, and it's an effort to push them where i want them. hope that makes sense. i'm tall with longish legs.
i've heard it's because the stirrup bars are too far forward on some. is this right, or am i just a bit rubbish?
so, the question is, which dressage saddles do you find comfiest, and which ones let your leg just hang in the right place? thankyou.
i'm desperate not to make another mistake, obviously!
 
I've only ridden in 2 dressage saddles that I remember the names of but I found the Albion my boss has is really comfy and holds me in the correct position but it is old now so I don't no which one it is. I really didn't like the Ideal Jessica though, it pushed my legs forward.
Not much help am I?
 
At Badminton last year I sat in the Sue Carson Harmony dressage saddle and felt as though I could go straight out and do Grand Prix! Best feel ever. Unfortunately I have to wait a while before I can have one fitted, but Im reasonably happy with my Albion K2. I also have long legs
grin.gif
I bought an Isobel Werth (Wintec) for the Shire which, again is very comfy and puts your legs in a good position.
 
My Wow has 2 dressage bars (on each side) and the mother of all knee rolls. There is no way that my legs are EVER going forward!
 
Yes, part of the issue is with where the stirrup bars are placed.

This is particularly evident in saddle makers that have always focussed on jumping saddles and perhaps added a dresssage line as an after thought. Stubben are a classic example of this. The stirrup bars on the dressage saddles are in the same place as on their jumping saddles. They then add a whacking great knee roll to the front and it knocks everything into a strange alignment.

If the stirrup bar is too far forwards, it drags the whole leg positioning, right from the very top, forwards. This doesnt provide the correct ear, hip, heel alignment to occur which in turn, prevents you from having your leg in the correct area to apply the aids.

Dressage saddles are a funny business and a lot of it depends how much influence you like from the saddle. The albion SLK for example, really locks you into place and holds you there. Some people love that and others hate it.

Ive been through a lot of dressage saddles and finally settled on the wow for a number of reasons.

The best thing to do is to try a lot of them and try and establish whether you like a more influential seat style, or prefer to be less locked in (a lot of this depends on your own riding and position to be fair).

Given you seem to be an eventing type, id take a look at the wow due to the interchangeable flaps. It would essentially give you an top end saddle for all three disciplines, without actually needing three seperate ones. It also gives two different stirrup bars allowing you to switch backwards and forwards for jumping and dressage.

ETS - I really dont like albions in general as i find them very uncomfortable. The SLK however, does place the rider in a good position. They do seem to have some issues with fit though... ive known so many people have endless problems with their SLKs its untrue.

The amerigos rubbed my thighs to shreds for some reasons and i found the stirrup bar on the jaguar slightly too far forward.

The worse of all in terms of comfort from my POV was the sue carson, but id never deal with that company again on matter of principle anyway
tongue.gif


The ideal jessicas always seem to get good thoughts but ive never used one personally.

Stubben - steer clear of due to the stirrup bar issue i mentioned above.

Prestige ive never tried although its less of a "lock you in place" type of saddle (but again, check the stirrup bars on these).

 
A few years ago I went to Horsesense in Solihull and tried about 10 different dressage saddles. I ended up with an Albion SLK Ultima - it just seemed to put me in a better position than all the others I tried (Ideal, Jaguar, can't remember the rest!)

I had no end of fitting problems with it though, and it rubbed huge bald patches on my horse's back, which the saddler explained away as the 'time of year'.

I then bought a second horse and went to Milners near Oakham to try some saddles, fully expecting that I would end up with another SLK for him.

But then I sat in a Passier, and it was a revelation! I have always had problems with my lower legs flapping around, but suddenly they were much, much stiller. I ended up with a 2nd hand Passier for the new boy (was just very lucky they had one in that suited).

I liked it so much better than the Albion, I ended up buying one for my older horse too, and sold the Albion on Ebay!

I had some fitting problems with the Passier too, but they were resolved very quickly (no silly excuses this time) and since then it has been great, and no bald patches, funnily enough!

I strongly suggest you try as many as you possibly can. We're all different and like to ride in different ways, and what feels great on one horse will feel awful on another.

Incidentally, I remember trying a Kieffer, and it had the most unbelievably dreadful effect on my lower legs, I thought I was about to take off!
 
A girl i used to livery with in the UK raved about her passier saddle. It was old but she absolutly refused to switch. It was actually quite funny as we had a saddler on the yard just before i left (albion gold approved retailer) and he was trying to persuade her to switch to an SLK.

Very reluctantly she agree'd to have a ride in it and she went absolutly mental about both the fit and how it sat her
tongue.gif


Ive never personally sat in a passier but she loved hers and id certainly value her opinion.
 
I adore my Barnsby. Its the Richard Davison model.......not sure if they still make them new as i got mine second hand (bargin at £300!!!!)

I have always had trouble with my lower legs not being underneath me..........ever since i have ridden in this, my legs are fab!!! They are in the correct place and are still.

Riding in this saddle has improved my position when riding in my jumping saddle!!

You do need watch where the stirrup bars are and i've found the bigger the knee blocks the better!!!
 
I have just googled the Richard Davision and can can still buy it new.........didn't realise it's over £1000 to buy new though.....makes mine seem even more of a bargin!!!!
 
Really I didn't think you could after Richard went to Thorogood - dunno what you paid but I paid £1450 I think - saw a medium one on ebay the other week for £500 and would have bought it if I'd got the money (mines a wide but you never know what it might fit!)
 
i paid £300 for mine, second hand but in v good condition!!!!

They are on various websites selling for about £1300 ish........may be left over stock or something.......i didn't think you good still buy them, but they were on a few different websites.

Mines a wide but my saddler adjusted it to fit my girly!!!
 
I do need it at as wide for my lad - just thought the medium might come in handy if another horse decided to move into our spare stables!

Sorry to hijack your post Kerilli
 
Saddle are SO personal, though! They all build to certain general specs and it either works for you or it doesn't.

Every old Passier fits me perfectly (given the proper size, of course) and the newer jumping saddles do too, although I did not liked the newest dressage saddle I sat in. But then I have a thing about the new fashion for jousting saddles.;) Every Keiffer I've ever sat in made me want to scream. A very short friend of mine loves her Amerigo but her leg slid all over in a Passier. A quite heavy friend and I both like the Isabells but I don't like her everyday Wintec standard model. Another very tall friend and I both like her Albion etc. etc. etc.

You have to sit on them and you have to try them on a horse. Even then, I've had saddles I loved generally but not on a particular horse.

I've heard the stirrup bar thing and I suspect there's something to it. That said, I find it quite easy to sit reasonably in the Stubbens but maybe that's because I, personally, ride with a bit more angulation in my knee that the average dressage rider.

It is so true the right saddle can make all the difference. I've seen so many people struggle with their riding only to find out they were really just fighting their tack.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top