Sitting pretty

Of course the saddle has to fit your horse, but what about how it fits you as a rider? Sarah Isaacs speaks to saddlery experts to find out just how important it is to consider your own body shape and posture in the saddle fitting process

- Sarah Issac

THE horse has to carry the saddle, but the saddle in turn must carry the rider, who therefore should not be an afterthought.

David Kempsell, managing director of WOW Saddles, explains that for horse and rider to work harmoniously, the saddle has to fit both.

“Every rider is different and the saddle needs to provide support, security and correct positioning for their physique and their discipline,” he says.

And it isn’t just how a saddle works with your body shape. David adds that a well-fitted saddle actively helps to correct rider asymmetry.

“Almost every rider is asymmetric to a degree,” he says. “The saddle is a tool to make sure the rider’s weight is distributed equally across the horse’s back, helping to ensure the horse’s musculature develops symmetrically.”

He adds that while riders can take steps to improve their muscular symmetry – so those Pilates classes are still important – underlying skeletal asymmetry isn’t as straightforward.

“It’s here that the use of asymmetry correction within the saddle is invaluable,” he says.

Several parts of the saddle need to be taken into account, as Ruth Spencer, the technical advisor for Erreplus Italian Saddlery UK, explains.

“If the saddle seat and twist – width between the rider’s legs – don’t suit the rider’s pelvis, this causes pain and can make the aids ineffective,” she says. “Knee rolls and flaps need to be in the correct position, otherwise they can push the rider’s leg back and bottom away from the centre of the seat, which is where they are most balanced.”

Cath Gordon, managing director at Albion, points out the importance of a correct seat size.