David Genadek Report post Posted May 1, 2008 You're welcome, Todd! And thank you Hidemechanic (and everyone else). My lifelong background is jumpers, so when I started riding western three years ago, in standard commercial saddles, I felt very "perched" and the first thing that came to mind was "close contact" - I want to be part of my horse again, not sitting way up in the air just waiting to be dumped at the first spook or crow-hop or happy-dance. I've since come to realize that the "perched" feeling is precisely because my saddle doesn't fit me, not because of the inches between me and my horse. So, with all the help I've gotten here, my next saddle is going to fit me as well as my old jumping saddle. [/quo A level pelvis opens the joints and allows you to get your leg on. Leg contact is close contact. The master of this is Peggy Cummings I used to actually bring her in to help train my ground work people. Her work is worth paying attention to. She helped Sally Swift devleope Centered riding but in my opinion she has taken that work to a new level. David Genadek Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JAM Report post Posted May 5, 2008 A post-script: The most comfortable, all-around-usable saddle I've ever ridden in is my old Berney jumping saddle, so as an experiment yesterday I rode both my horses in that saddle with the stirrups let down long. Not only was it far and away more comfortable than any western saddle I have or have ever ridden in, it allowed me to sit the way I'm supposed to sit, and the horses moved better, and my back, butt, and knees didn't hurt when I was done. So I looked at that seat in light of what I've learned here, and saw that it's built like a "ladies' seat" should be built. It's kinda like a well-padded, slick-fork ladies' seat ranch saddle. So now I have a physical model to copy in building the seat in my soon-to-be-started saddle. I'll post the results here when I finally finish. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Turtlepaint Report post Posted July 30, 2008 I'm about to build my first saddle and, being a woman, I want it to fit me well. I've read that some of you are really good at building a "ladies seat" and I'd like to know what differences/specifics I should be incorporating into my seat to make it work better for me than the average men's saddle? Is this info already written somewhere or incorporated into any makers' videos? Thanks in advance for any advice. Dear Jam, I read a bit through the answers. I can understand your need! Maybe you find some more info in this article. I found it very informative. http://equinestudies.org/knowledge_base/built_to_ride.html Kind reagrds, Bea Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
