From: Sue
Jessica, I have enjoyed your posts on the Classical Dressage list and was e-mailing a friend I met from list about saddle fitting. She suggested I contact you, since you always give such sound advice. (You can thank Tamme of Nap-n-Tam for that later!)
My horse, a half Arabian/half Saddlebred, and I are at training level. I'm looking for a good dressage saddle (I have been borrowing a friend's saddle) and I'm trying to learn as much as I can before I plunk down some serious big bucks for a saddle. I went to State Line Tack on Sunday and sat my butt in as many dressage saddle I could find to get a feel for what "felt" good and what didn't.
Here's my question: How do I know what size I am? As in derriere. I am "vertically challenged" (5'0") and have medium-sized bones for my height. I obviously have a narrow pelvis, as I had to have C-sections for all three of my kids. I have short legs, a big "bum" and heavy thighs. (Think Mary Lou Retten here.) I would have thought I needed a 17 1/2 or an 18 because of the size of my "sit-upon," but a 17 just felt more "secure." How do I know what is right? Maybe my idea of being "secure" means being too confined. Perhaps I'm looking at saddles that hold me too tightly in place without allowing me freedom of movement.
Help! Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks. Sue
You're by no means alone in your quest - this is a universal preoccupation. Does that make you feel any better?
Let's divide saddle fit (for the rider) into several different areas, because you'll need to consider all of them.
First, there is the actual fit between the rider's seat and the saddle itself. Don't go by the size of your rear end, that can be very deceptive. If there is ONE single most relevant measurement, that one will be the length of your femur. Put one end of a measuring tape on the protruding bit of your hipbone, and put the other end in the middle of your kneecap. This may entail getting a friend to help -- so much the better. You'll be able to measure one another, and you'll both learn something useful.
This length is what will determine, to a great extent, what SIZE saddle you need. The measurement between hipbone and kneecap, in inches, will correspond (roughly) to the saddle size that would probably suit you best. For example: if your thigh length is 16", you'll be lost in an 19" saddle, and happier in a 17" model; if your thigh length is 20", you might be happiest in a 19" saddle or larger, or, if your thigh length is 20" and your bottom is tiny, you might need a custom-built 17.5" or 18" saddle with extra-long flaps. If you have very long thighs, then you will need a larger saddle and/or a saddle with longer and/or more forward-cut flaps, even if you have no rear end at all. If you have short thighs, you will need a smaller saddle; if you have short thighs, plus what I've heard referred to as "a major case of bubble-butt", you may need a larger saddle with shorter flaps.
If your saddle is too small, you'll always be jammed up against the pommel (painful for you), or sitting on the cantle (painful for your horse). Either way, you'll have a terribly hard time getting balanced over your legs and feet. If your saddle is a LOT too large, you'll float about, and if your saddle is several inches too large, you may find that you end up chronically behind your leg, because of the distance between the stirrup bars and the lowest point of the saddle seat. However, when in doubt, go a little too large rather than a little too small -- it's better for your horse, yourself, and your riding. Think of it in the same way you would think about a pair of shoes: if you wear a size 7, you can probably wear a size 7 1/2 in some styles, and you can at least move around reasonably comfortably in shoes that are a bit too large. On the other hand, there's not much chance that you could be comfortable in a pair of too-small shoes, under any circumstances.
Second, there's the question of the twist or "waist" of the saddle. Women with round thighs tend to be most comfortable in a saddle with a narrow twist; this design creates some room on the saddle for the thighs.
Third, there's the question of the seat itself: padded or hard, deep or flat? Your answers will reflect your personal preferences (and personal conformation) and your riding habits. People who ride occasionally -- weekend riders, for instance -- are usually happiest in a deeper, softer saddle seat. They depend on the saddle to help them maintain a good position, and they can become very sore when forced to ride in a saddle with a flat, hard seat. Riders who are in the saddle for several hours each day often prefer a flatter, harder seat, because they don't want to be "held" in any particular position, they want the freedom to move around more, and they don't need the padding on the saddle.
The type of saddle will also help determine what sort of seat you want. Are you going to be jumping in an arena? You'll probably want a saddle with a seat that's flat enough to let you make the necessary adjustments over and after jumps. Are you going to be doing dressage, or a lot of trail-riding in fairly flat areas? A more curved seat may suit you better, as may a more padded one. Are you going to be going up and down mountains and around a lot of tight turns? A heavily padded seat that helps to hold you in place may be exactly what you want. Are you going to need to get your seat out of your saddle to help your horse negotiate steep hills? Then you mnight want the extra padding, but not an extra-deep seat... It comes down to what will make you most comfortable whilst you do whatever you're plannning to do on horseback.
Personal conformation will also be a factor: if you have a good deal of your own personal padding between your seatbones and the saddle, you may be quite happy with a harder, flatter seat. If you have very little padding between seatbones and saddle, you may appreciate the softness of a more heavily padded saddle seat.
The best way to find out which saddles suit you is to do exactly what you've been doing: SIT IN THEM. Sit in as many saddles as you possibly can, ride in as many saddles as you possibly can, and take notes. Riders sometimes sell new saddles after just a few weeks because they aren't comfortable -- that can be an expensive decision. If your body needs a narrow or wide twist, big or small knee-rolls or thigh-blocks, a deeper or more shallow seat, a softer or harder seat, a particular length of flap, or deeply-recessed stirrup bars, find out before you buy.
If you're like most good riders, you'll end up searching for a saddle that fits your horse really well, and when you've found it, you'll try to find a version of that saddle that also fits YOU. Good luck!
Jessica
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