The market is chock-a-bloc with horse riding must haves, and it can be a major headache selecting something when you’re out to buy. When you’re a beginner, whether or not you are buying at a physical store or online, the variety you run across may leave you in a state of total undecided confusion. As you get more experienced, naturally, you will develop a true awareness of exactly what you want and where to get it, though even at this stage, you’ll hesitate over the infinite choices available.

You’ll possibly have the most difficulty in selecting saddles. Off-the-shelf saddles are fine for general purpose use, for most horse-related activities and for horses and riders of all ages, capabilities and experience levels.

However , the off-the-shelf all-purpose saddle has its uses, but it’s not at all suitable for specialised use. Using a all-purpose saddle for a specialist equine event is like using a family sedan in a Formula 1 event. Every specialised saddle is made for a specific equine discipline and a particular riding style. These saddles come with features that boost the performance of the horse and its rider. Like the name suggests, the general saddle is a product that is designed to suit all purposes without suiting any one purpose specifically. The general saddle cannot meet the more refined requirements of advanced horse riding at the strongly competitive or professional level. Each discipline calls for a particular kind of saddle. Consider the dressage saddle. Obviously, it is designed specially for dressage events, and the features incorporated in it might not make it acceptable for any other equine discipline. As a serious dressage rider, you are not going to get the maximum out of yourself or your horse if you are not utilising the right saddle.

The cantle and pommel are higher than ordinary, and the panels are wider, with less padding. This allows the rider to maintain close touch contact with the horse and that in turn makes sure better coordination between the rider and the pony.

For ideal performance in dressage, the rider’s legs stretch out nearly straight down below him. This is helped in dressage saddles by long saddle flaps that are straight cut and stirrup bars that are set somewhat further back than ordinary to make it easy for the rider to keep his knee down and his thigh back. The dressage saddle’s straight cut architecture also grants a great deal of freedom round the shoulder area to the pony.

Another feature of dressage saddles is longer billet straps and shorter girths that go round the horse’s stomach. This permits the rider to keep closely in contact with the horse through leg cues, as the buckles do not get in the way of the rider’s legs.

While they are great aids, dressage saddles are a conclusive must: lots of riders have been known to ride as well as participate in dressage events all through their lives, using just general purpose saddles. Dressage saddles are really most appropriate for riders and horses who concentrate on the highly advanced levels of dressage. If you are an all round competitor who features in more than one equestrian discipline like hunting and show jumping, you will not find it worth buying a dressage saddle.

If you purchase a custom saddle for each event you want to participate in, you may find yourself loaded with several saddles, which should naturally add considerably to your cleaning and maintaining chores!

From the other perspective, if you are dead serious about dressage as the one horse riding discipline you absolutely want to master, then laying out some money on a top quality dressage saddle would likely pay off.

Horses are Heather Toms passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers, like all things about riding hats