Dressage saddles

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archie1

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riding a 16.3 warmblood with a huge stride. just starting intermediate novice dressage tests for BE (hope to move p to intermediate soon) but the whole thing is in sitting trot. in a GP saddle currently but wondering if a decent second hand dressage saddke will help my position. have spent loads of time practising and sitting straight as dislocated my kneecap a while ago which made me ride wonky for a bit (rode the next day, bad idea!). its just so hard to sit in deep especially if i have to do a medium trot. will keep practising as i am but does anyone ride in a dressage saddle and has it worked for them??
 
In a word, yes! If you are used to riding in a GP I would look for a flatter seat dressage saddle though rather than one that forces you into a very deep position.

I'm surprised you have to do sitting trot at Intermediate though, have BE not followed BD in allowing rising trot at this level now?
 
To be able to sit the tro on a big moving horse you are aiming to get a deep seat and a long leg. Very good riders can do this any saddles (my instructor is amazing - I have seen her ride in crappy wintec GPs and she still has this incredibly deep seat and long still leg) but others (like me) sometimes need a bit of help.

Obviously if you ride in a dressage saddle you will get some assistance from the seat being deeper, the stirrup bars being set further back and the knee rolls. But it depends on the individual.

For example, out of curiosity I tried an isabelle werth on my horse (never mind that the tree doesnt fit). The stirrup bars were too extreme for me and my leg was forced back, tipping me forwards. The seat was like a bucket and I felt like I was glued in. Lots of people swear by this saddle but I (and my horse) hated it.

I now ride him in his SC dressage and he goes really well in it. The seat isnt as deep but I find I can sit his very bouncy trot and my leg is still in a good position without it being forced unnaturally back. But lots of people say that they dont get enough support from the SC dressage.

So, it is really just a matter of what suits you and your horse. You should call a saddle fitter to come out and bring you a range - that way you can try them out and see if it makes a difference to your riding.
 
no BE want sitting trot. also have to do shoulder in and extended walk between markers. luckily can ride in a snaffle as a double bridle would be way too much to cope with. thanks for info on saddles. the problem we have is that huge shoulders push the GP back slightly too far, whichever make. his is made to measure as the only way of fitting but his jumping sits better on him. does the dressage saddle free the shoulders more??
 
[ QUOTE ]
out of curiosity I tried an isabelle werth on my horse (never mind that the tree doesnt fit). The stirrup bars were too extreme for me and my leg was forced back, tipping me forwards. The seat was like a bucket and I felt like I was glued in. Lots of people swear by this saddle but I (and my horse) hated it.

...

So, it is really just a matter of what suits you and your horse. You should call a saddle fitter to come out and bring you a range - that way you can try them out and see if it makes a difference to your riding.

[/ QUOTE ]

I had the same problem with the Isabell Werth- I loved it but when my saddler came out to fit it for me he said it was really tipping me forward and that i needed to try a range of saddles (and that it didn't fit horse well either)
I tried about 8 -10 different saddle out across a huge range of styles/seats/knee rolls etc. We got there in the end and it's made a big difference
smile.gif

happy saddle trying
smile.gif
 
yes, it will make a big difference (does to most riders imho), but as said above, you need to try quite a few, especially if you've never ridden in one before, to find out what suits your position and style of riding. narrow twist, wider twist, verydeep seat or shallower, big blocks or smaller, position of stirrup bars and length of flaps all make a difference to the feel.
 
Dressage saddles have a straighter cut, so of course there will be more freedom for the shoulder to move.

To be honest (and dont take this the wrong way) from the sound of your post you dont really know anything about dressage saddles, so the best thing for you to do is call a saddler out and try one.

You will then have a better idea if you need to make the investment. By no means do you have to buy an expensive saddle - my old dressage instructor rode her big moving 17.2hh warmblood in a Thorowgood synthetic winning loads at prelim until she eventually won a custom made jaguar.
 
Try a treeless dressage saddle. It sounds as if your horse is moving your GP around and making it difficult for you to stay in balance. If he's also getting bruised shoulders from the treepoints, he will tighten up his topline and will be difficult to sit on anyway.
The Solution treeless dressage saddle will flex with his movement and allow him to move with more elasticity and you to stay softer.
 
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