saddles and your position

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harrihjc

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I've currently got a Bates caprilli saddle which I absolutely love as it's very comfortable and great for jumping, and being so adjustable is great on a continuously changing horse, but for flatwork I find it very difficult to keep my lower legs in the right place! Now this may well (more than likely!!) be my rather rubbish balance and not very secure seat, but I was wondering whether straighter cut saddles, like dressage saddles and WH type saddles actually are more supportive and position you better?

We are hoping to be brave enough to try dressage soon, and also do some showing, what would you recommend? Would a different saddle for these kind of things be a good idea or just far more work with no stirrups?
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Try putting both your legs over the front of the saddle (whilst sat in it of course!) and then ensuring your seat is central - sometimes if your seats slips too far back you become behind the movement and the lower leg gets harder to control. When you have ensured your seat is central lift your legs back over - lift from the thigh and place them back in the right position - you should feel the difference.
If it is your thigh that you are finding difficult to control it may be that a straighter cut or dressage saddle would help. I have the same problems - my thigh creeps forward in my GP when I am riding at dressage length which is why I am going to invest in a dressage saddle. Perhaps you could try riding something in a dressage saddle to see if it helps before you buy one?
 
If you have a more foward cut saddle then you will find it easier to do flat work with a shorter stirrup. The longer, flatter seat of a jumping style saddle means it is harder to keep still & upright, the balance is all wrong. If your instructor is asking you to ride with a longer leg, you will be fighting the design of your saddle & will find it all harder (sorry - a bit garbled - hope it is clear) than if you had a straighter cut saddle as your stirrup leather will be more underneath your seat
 
Yes it is my thighs I have issues with, they slip forwards then my whole lower leg does and then it just doesn't stay still. I'm fine in walk and canter but trotting I really struggle with!
 
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If you have a more foward cut saddle then you will find it easier to do flat work with a shorter stirrup. The longer, flatter seat of a jumping style saddle means it is harder to keep still & upright, the balance is all wrong. If your instructor is asking you to ride with a longer leg, you will be fighting the design of your saddle & will find it all harder (sorry - a bit garbled - hope it is clear) than if you had a straighter cut saddle as your stirrup leather will be more underneath your seat

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That makes sense, he's a lazy little sod and I had my stirrups longer so I could attempt to wrap my legs around him and sit deeper and push him forward more (not that it works
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) so I may try to shorten them a bit and see if it makes a difference
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I suppose it depends as to whether you want to fork out for another saddle!- GP's are fine for hacking and a bit of dressage however if you decide you want to go on and do more with your flatwork, you may find it easier to ride in a dressage saddle as the stirrup bars will be in the right place to allow you to ride a deeper seat and longer stirrups with your legs underneath your body and it will be easier for you to keep your position- and then you could use a jumping saddle for jumping/fast work.

It's quite difficult doing flatwork in a GP/ jumping saddle as the stirrup bars are usually too far forward. Or if you want to do showing as well, may be you could try a VSD as it will be slightly straighter cut.
 
I don't mind forking out for another saddle eventually, my saddle is definitely more of a jumping saddle and we're planning on doing quite a bit of showing and dressage, so ideally I'd have something better suited to both
 
IMHO all to do with the placement of the stirrup bar and the way the stirrup leather hangs... in GP you will not find it easy to have a straighter leg for Dressage... to test take your feet out of the stirrups and hang your legs "dressage style!" as such... look at your leathers.... where are they?? probably more forward....hence the difficulty keeping your leg long... GP will place your Centre of Gravity differently to that of Dressage cut saddle... hope this helps... sorry not very informative but in a rush!!!!!!
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Get a WOW with 2 sets of flaps (recent WOW convert...)

Then you have 2 stirrup bars, a forward one for jumping & a further back one for dressage!!
 
the cure for all the problems, get a working hunter saddle. Got a deep enough seat and bars in the right place for stressage, straight cut enough for showing, got enough of a knee roll to jump with.
 
I think it is all about where the stirrup bar is, had a look at the weekend and my leg does just seem to swing forward if I'm riding quite long. I did think about getting a wow saddle but can't afford it at the mo, and just love my bates saddle
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I had thought about getting a working hunter saddle, but can't find one where you can change the gullet and Flash is constantly changing shape!
 
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