The saddle is among the most important pieces of horse riding apparel, so there are lots of things to have in mind once picking out horse saddles for sale. First, your riding style must be identified. Usually, this can be either English or Western, although there are specialty saddles for activities such as polo, dressage, jumping, as well as racing.
In English riding, any rider keeps one reign within each hand and tells the horse to turn by softly pulling one reign, which applies pressure to a bit inside the horse's mouth.
Western- style riders hold both reigns in one hand and tell the horse to turn by shifting his or her weight or laying the reigns against the horses neck. Western saddles tend to be heavier and larger as compared to English saddles and were originally made for hard- riding cowboys.
The riders weight is distributed evenly across the horses back, which allows the horse and rider to become comfortable on lengthy rides.
Dressage saddles permit the riders leg and the horse to have the most contact. The flaps will be cut straight and narrow and these saddles contain a different cut than an English saddle.
With regard to jumping, a hunt seat saddle is used. This saddle was initially produced for fox hunting, it affords the rider a better position for jumping.
Horse racing needs a flat racing saddle. These are extremely lightweight and have quite short stirrups thus the rider can lean forward as far as possible.
Irrespective of the activity, the next question is the type of saddle. You will find leather saddles, suede saddles, plus saddles produced from man-made materials. Leather saddles are the most well known, and a high quality leather saddle can last for years. Synthetic saddles are usually lightweight and easy to clean, but may not have the durability associated with a leather saddle.
The most important thing for saddles is comfort, for both the rider and the horse. A saddle that doesn't fit properly may cause back muscle bruising on the horse. Saddle sizes are measured in inches, from the pommel to the cantle. There should be 2-3 inches of space in between the rider and the back of the saddle when seated.
Also, the saddle ought to stay firmly in place without slipping and it ought to fit the horse tightly across the shoulders and back without digging in.
There's a lot of saddles out there, so it's important to keep in mind your anticipated riding activities whenever choosing a horse saddle for sale.
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This post was written by Reg Ryder on March 5, 2010
