Dressage saddles

[wattamus]

Ok really stupid question but can you hack and do occasional jumping in a dressage saddle. I've heard some say no and others say yes (I've seen films of people jumping up to 1m20 in a dressage saddle!). Totally curious question as I'm looking for a cheap saddle (good quality but without a mahoosive price tag ) and i keep finding loads of dressage saddles, the idea would be to use it for a bit of schooling, mainly hacking and the odd occasional jump (no more than 85cm) would this be detrimental to the horse's back?
Sorry if i sound like a complete idiot but you don't know unless you ask!

 

[flying solo]

It's not the size of the jump that means I can't use my dressage saddle for jumping, I just can't get I to a position! I hack and do everything else in my dressage saddle but when I get the poles out I need a gp saddle or else I'm all over the place! (well worse that usual haha)

 

[wattamus]

haha you can't be worse than me! I'm so out of practice it's unreal Thanks for the reply

 

[Naryafluffy]

It would probably depend on the dressage saddle and how straight it was cut, I couldn't get away with jumping in my dressage saddle because it forces my thigh straight and doesn't allow enough bend in the knee (mines did come with an massive price tag so probably to be expected).
I would think (notice I'm using think and thinking isn't really my strong point) that the higher end dressage saddles (amerigo, albion etc) probably aren't going to be a good idea to try and jump in as with the price tag new they basically force the rider into the correct position, you want to bend your knee you end up with rub marks on the inside of them (tried riding with my stirrups too short the other month because I was being a lazy cow, found this out the hard way)!!!!

 

[sbloom]

It's about your personal preference as a rider and the style of the dressage saddle. The shallower the seat, the more forward the cut and/or the smaller or more moveable the blocks, the more likely you are to be able to jump small fences in it. If i was fitting from new of course I'd recommend a GP, but some dressage saddles might work for you. Can you not get a fitter out with a selection so you can see how easy it is to jump in any models that may fit your horse?

As for hacking - definitely. They often spread weight much better than, say, a close contact jumping and many endurance saddles ae based on dressage saddles, as well as the odd endurance rider preferring to ride in a pure dressage saddle!