How important are knee rolls to you?

[Lois Lame]

I have a albion dressage with fairly decent blocks, love it. Hack for miles in it, on a horse that has a very quick 180 degree spin, feel very safe in it

I wish I was brave enough to ride those sort of horses.

 

[Lois Lame]

I like blocks. Has to be in the right place though. I'd always sit in a saddle before I'd buy it. I'm gone so fussy.

But you've got to be fussy with a saddle. And a horse. And a husband. And a...

 

[MuddyMonster]

My preference is a small, moveable knee roll but absolutely no blocks with a flat cantle.

Pony does have a spin on him but prefer to feel I can move to keep in balance, than not.

I rode in a saddle with knee and thigh blocks once. I hated the feeling of being wedged in!

 

[catembi]

I like my giant blocks on my dressage saddle. Might be because I'm tiny & have a big horse so it's harder for me to 'wrap' my leg around because there is too much horse & not enough leg. OMG they have saved my bacon out hacking more than once!

I also totally love the block set-up on my jumping saddle which is the jumping version of my dr saddle. It puts me in the right position so my lower leg is stable, I feel secure and I can concentrate on completely ballsing up seeing a stride rather than worrying about my position

 

[SpeedyPony]

I would rather not have them, unless they're removable- I like the velcro blocks as they can be moved/swapped for the appropriate size to fit the rider and what you are doing. If they're fixed- absolutely not, nightmare!
That said, I do (now) like the blocks on the christ lamfelle pad, but that is the singular exception- you have to make yourself fit the pad, not the other way around, which I wouldn't accept from a saddle. They're also much softer than most saddle knee rolls.

 

[Gloi]

I hate modern saddles with deep seats and big blocks. I like a flatter seat and just enough knee roll for a bit of security going down steep hills.

 

[marmalade76]

I like them on a jump saddle. What I really dislike is slick, slidy saddles, there's an Albion in my tack room that belongs to my YO that I am free to use but it's as slick as an ice rink! Which is why I like suede which I know a lot of people don't.

 

[SheriffTruman]

For me, knee blocks never fit. My legs are too short, and even on an 16,5" saddle they are in the way. Thigh blocks are better, but I quickly removed mine anyway. I don't need them, and felt constricted with them. I ride in a Deuber El Campo, might be different in another saddle.

 

[Curly_Feather]

I hate the way they look, but if I had a younger, more prone-to-athletics horse to ride I would probably prefer them. I have a small bum and long thigh bones, so I have always been pretty much forced to buy the flatter options anyway.

 

[Goldenstar]

I hate blocks particularly on my dressage saddles where they are just in the way .
i just dont understand why they are necessary.
There are blocks on my jumping saddles happily well out of the way.
Iwas once sold a very blocked dressage saddle I actually think that saddle turned me away from dressage and onto other things I was young and impressionable and should have stood up for myself when the horse retired out went the saddle and as I had a young horse I bought a cheap ideal Jessica omg the difference I was transformed .
I learnt a lot from that .
If you are eight and half stone and riding a horse like glamourdale I see the attraction of huge blocks apart form that no I hate them.

 

[Widgeon]

I hate the way they look

Do you mean the new saddles with the massive built in blocks that look like someone's moulded a huuuge roll of Plasticine down the front of the knee flap? I agree they look awful.

 

[ycbm]

For me, knee blocks never fit. My legs are too short, and even on an 16,5" saddle they are in the way. Thigh blocks are better, but I quickly removed mine anyway. I don't need them, and felt constricted with them. I ride in a Deuber El Campo, might be different in another saddle.

This is a good point, they have to fit!

I was very lucky that my preferred flap on my preferred saddle had a block that might as well have been made to measure just for me, the way my thigh lay exactly into the angle of it. Then again, with 3 different positions for where the flap sits, that's much easier to achieve with a WOW than any other saddle.
.

 

[Slightlyconfused]

For me it depends on the horse and the block.

I like velcro blocks so I can move it to wear I want it. I also like different sizes depending on what I am doing/what saddle I am in.

I am hypermobile so sometimes a bigger block helps keep my hips from over doing things. Though I haven ridden in a thorn oad and that did wonders for my seat.

 

[teddy_]

Being 5ft nothing, lightweight and having a penchant for expressive warmbloods (my little Dutch mare in avatar) - blocks just make everything easier. I have no doubt they do mask rider weakness in some cases.

 

[Gloi]

But you've got to be fussy with a saddle. And a horse. And a husband. And a...

And cheese. Life's too short for plastic cheese.

 

[malwhit]

100% vital for me. Lots of popular endurance saddles are knee roll free so that ruled them all out. I had a western saddle once that I thought I'd worship. I rode on it twice before finding out that I am definitely knee roll dependent and will never go down that road again.

 

[Skib]

I learned to ride (and hack) in either an old fashioned GP or a Podhajsky training saddle which is very flat and open. I hacked my old share in one and asked if I could buy one for my current share. I was told, No, as other sharers might fall off. I am an ancient and ordinary rider and the horse is safe as houses.

 

[rara007]

My cobs saddle is a show saddle, so we have either none or basically none. For my ‘real’ horses I like medium blocks though! I don’t like them so restricting you can’t have a ‘ride short live long’ day though.

 

[humblepie]

Only really ridden with fairly minimal ones on my dressage saddle. Show saddle has none at all and used to ride previous horse in a very slight dressage most of the time, so again very minimal ones. So answer probably is not really important.

 

[Surbie]

I can't - it really, really hurts my hips not being able to move.

I wish I could, I don't have the best seat and tbh anything to help save me would be great but I've been in a lot of pain in any I've tried. (not moveable though so perhaps that's the issue)

 

[ihatework]

I find it’s very dependant on the horse, its conformation and way of moving, plus the design of the saddle and the placement of the blocks.

I’d generally veer towards some block provided it doesn’t completely pin me in!

 

[Jacksie]

Thanks all, been really interesting to hear what works for you and how individual this is. I’m going to have a play around with the saddle again and see if I can find a happy medium. The knee roll area isnt very thick or and squiggy - the leather is smooth/there’s no texture to allow you to grip which some saddles have. My balance can be improved on but I don’t fancy parting ways with my horse in the meantime who is rather spooky atm! Roll on summer…

 

[LEC]

Hate any kind of blocks - I have flat saddles with forward flaps and a flat seat as find that far easier to sit on sharp, athletic horses and be able to stay in balance. I hate feeling locked in by blocks and find I get twisted or can feel it in my muscles like a tweak if they want to spook. Even my dressage saddles don’t have big blocks or deep seats.

 

[Belmont]

I was indifferent until hacking a sharp PRE stallion and was very grateful to be wedged in an Equipe dressage saddle with humongous knee blocks. Since upgraded my saddles at home and shamefully don't think I'd be half as confident without them now.

 

[fidleyspromise]

I've never had big knee blocks and I had a pony in a saddle that you had to be balanced on or it was easy for it to slide round her belly. My balance couldn't have been too shabby as she would do a quick 180 and it was 50/50 whether she just stood facing that way or would canter off but my saddle didn't move.

 

[blitznbobs]

For me, knee blocks never fit. My legs are too short, and even on an 16,5" saddle they are in the way. Thigh blocks are better, but I quickly removed mine anyway. I don't need them, and felt constricted with them. I ride in a Deuber El Campo, might be different in another saddle.

as a confirmed lover of knee blocks I am convinced those that don’t love them have never found the right ones… I literally have the same saddle in all the widths as it works for me so well. I personally think their more of a safety device than a air jacket

 

[Jambarissa]

I mainly ride in a TCS, so my knees are just on the numnah. It felt so unsafe at first but turns out it was never the saddle keeping me on. I sit spins and dead stops from a gallop with no issues. Very surprising.

I'm currently riding a horse belonging to an older woman on my yard whilst she recuperates. Her saddle has a deep seat with huge knee rolls and thigh blocks, it feels safe and initially comfortable but on longer rides I can't adjust my position at all and end up with painful hips and knees.

 

[little_critter]

I like blocks. Has to be in the right place though. I'd always sit in a saddle before I'd buy it. I'm gone so fussy.

Agree, the block needs to be right for you. My saddle has pads rather than blocks so your knee can go over them a bit. Even so my saddle would ‘prefer’ me to ride a hole or 2 longer so my knee sits behind the pad rather than on it. Unfortunately I have short legs so that doesn’t quite work for me.

 

[sbloom]

If the saddle truly fits you, in terms of the modern understanding (pelvis supported in neutral, knee dropping, leg rotating inwards, and foot under the body or nearly under the body depending on activity) then you don't need them. I've spent 15 years telling people that in the right saddle they are less likely to need them, and then proving it.

Big blocks allow leverage onto the horse's back (not a good thing!), increased tension, and potentially pain, in the rider as some of you have found. Centaur Biomechanics even did research into it.

Small to medium block, in the right place so that 99% of the time it does nothing, the knee/thigh grazes it...but when the brown stuff hits the fan they're there to help. Riders leaning back in medium and extended trots can only do so because of deep seats and big blocks unless they're incredibly strong, and in huge tension, no wonder so many horses shoulders and backs are down. We should sit lightly, sit up and, for many people, what feels like slightly forwards. We must make ourselves, through our own training and the saddle, the easiest possible load to carry. Blocks seldom help with that.

I do use small blocks even under knees, ie between the rider's knee and the horse. We need to make good contact and, especially in a half panel saddle, we may lack contact and stability in our knees. Equally some para and other weaker riders MAY need them but I'd start them with the correct fit for the pelvis and hips and then see what they need.

We haven't yet learned all there is to know about fitting the rider to help the horse, but we do know all that about blocks.

 

[Hackback]

For me it very much depends on the saddle. Some saddles I fight the knee block (and same with a thigh block) and others are comfortable. I think it also depends on the size of the block and how I fit (or don't fit) the saddle

This
I'm 5'7" on a 15 h Arab and need space for my legs. I've removed them in all my previous saddles but current saddle is a Farrington with small blocks and these are ok.

On the other hand my Christ 'bareback' pad has huge knee rolls and I love them and feel so secure with them, also feel that I ride in a much better position and my horse goes better. Of course with no stirrups my legs have little bend.