Equestrian Sports and how women have historically held their own with saddles designed for men

[Sinamin]

I've been riding since I was three and to me a saddle was just a saddle (as long as it fitted the horse) until I read an article a few years ago which was a real eye opener.

Possibly today's top female equestrians are benefitting from saddles designed for women but Marion Mould (née Coakes) and all of the top women riders of my youth including the amazing Ann Moore and Princess Anne were competing on saddles designed for men and were still winning.

I think this says so much about how equestrian women just got on with it in one of the very few sports that they could compete in as equals to men, even though they were starting with a great disadvantage that they were probably completely unaware of.

https://holistichorse.com/health-care/saddle-fit-for-women/

https://www.womenandhorses.com/saddles-for-women.html

https://fitrightsaddlesolutions.com/female-saddles

https://schleese.com/why-schleese/

This isn’t new. I bought my first female anatomically designed saddle in 1990. My husband likes a flat, hard saddle which is agony for me to sit in. That said, he’s a pro and is better seated than I am anyway.

I paid extra for a female-design saddle a few years ago, and it was a revelation. But considering most riders (at least in the UK) are females these days, surely the men should be paying extra!

And your point in Feminism: Sex & gender discussions is what exactly?

Many, many people will still be unaware that pelvic differences between men and women mean a massive difference in everything from climbing a ladder to simply running in a straight line.

You being a consistently poor rider is irrelevant tbh.

Exactly!

And I am very, very envious of your new comfort x

Clicked on this as I thought it was an interesting topic. Your needless hostility to other posters is pretty depressing to be honest.

I’m not a poor rider. I ride GP dressage. My husband is better. My point is that this information isn’t new. I’m not challenging the feminist angle.

If that is aimed at me I'm sorry but I'm not on here for 'likes'.

I have posted numerous very interesting links regarding male v female pelvises and I have questioned one poster that did not contribute anything to the discussion.

If they wanted to talk about how bad their seat is even with a tailor made saddle we do have a Tack Room area where they can chat gayly away all day and get decent advice.

So why didn't you share this info way back when? It is very, very relevant?

Heather Moffett was talking about this back in the 90s, so it isn't new knowledge although there are new saddle designs now.

The old school female riders were incredible though, the likes of Princess Anne, Lucinda Green and Ginny Leng weren't just riding in saddles designed for the male pelvis and thigh they were also hampered by a saddle cloth full of lead.

They were absolute heros.

Given that the overwhelming majority of people who ride & compete recreationally, and most of those who ride professionally in every equestrian discipline except racing are female, why on earth would it make commercial sense for saddle makers to design their products for men? Logically, it should be the other way round.

And my inexpert understanding is that saddles are fitted & adjusted & to fit horses, not riders?

Does being a complete dick to people come naturally to you? Or do you work hard at it? I no longer have any desire to discuss the ‘numerous interesting links’ you’ve kindly bestowed upon us 🙄

Because she didn’t know how much of a dickhead you are and wasn’t expecting you to tear apart her perfectly normal reply?

History and tradition plays far too much of a part. Plus many of the top riders are still male, as are many master saddlers.

Then there is lack of understanding of the anatomical differences and the impact they have.

Plus often women don't realise that they could be more comfortable because they have never known any different.

Jesus, bit of an unnecessary comment. How on earth do you know she's a consistently poor rider? She said nothing to indicate such. Your attack is ridiculous. I've ridden for 45 years and so have ridden in old saddles and new saddles. Saddles are just generally more comfortable these days and I'm sure you'll find many more men than women have found saddles incredibly uncomfortable.

Well indeed!
As if this corner of the mumsnet forum doesn't slip off into threads about cakes and cheese, occasionally, smh!
However, when the thread police hove into view, it takes all the fun and camaraderie out of it.

Are you Rebecca??!!

This thread took a weird turn.

I'm an experienced horsewoman (I don't particularly want to list my qualifications but they are multiple and varied) and I wasn't really aware that saddles were designed for men, although it "makes sense" when you think about it.

I found it interesting and am thankful for it being posted.

I haven't sat on a horse in decades, will probably never ride a horse again (unless the ULEZ expands to the NW) but I'm annoyed I didn't know this. It's bloody typical, and obvious, in hindsight. Thanks OP. I hope someone posts this on the threads where the riders hang out.

There is a holistic saddler named Steph bloom (she has a Facebook page), who not only deals in fitting ‘the female pelvis’ but also looks at different shaped pelvises amongst women and how that impacts saddle fit.

She fits/sells Ergo saddles that (from my understanding) have different shaped seats, to correspond to different shaped pelvises. Unfortunately they are far more expensive than your average off the peg saddle. If I won the lottery I’d be booking an appointment with her asap.

My saddle does not fit me, it fits my horse very well. If I do too much walking (eg a long slow hack 2hrs+) I get really bad blisters and rubs. Oddly it doesn’t happen if I mix up the pace, and do lots of trot/canter, but anymore than 30 min of walk and I’m sore.

Steph is amazing, I don't know her personally but know her online and she's brilliant and very generous in sharing her knowledge.

I did t know this. And I know everything 😉 so thank you!

This had never even entered my head!

What about side saddles? Would they have been designed specifically for women? Is the fact that women then started riding with men's saddles, i.e. astride, a factor here or am I talking nonsense?

Ideally, they are fitted to both horse and rider, assuming that for the most part, only one rider is riding that horse.

Much in saddle design and fitting is from military tradition, where it was useful to have a generic design to be used for many horses and riders. Likewise, in a riding school, it doesn't make sense to adjust saddles for individual riders. There are, therefore, loads of designs about that purport to be easily adjustable to multiple horses.

My horse has a very short back, and I have very long legs, so her saddle was customised in order to accommodate that. Her previous saddle was a Heather Moffett, which fit her very well, but was too small for me, as well as too wide in the twist.

@Trivium4all That’s interesting, thank you.