On my quest for the saddle to fit my exceedingly difficult-to-fit mare, Beautiful Girl… I am also learning about how saddles should fit MY body.
I mean, my motto has always been, “If it fits the horse and is mostly comfortable for me, I’ll just get a gel pad or a sheepskin and I’ll be fine…”.
Do you do the same?
Well, now I’m learning WHY the female body doesn’t fit into saddles that aren’t made specifically for females.
Who Knew?!…
…Schleese Saddlery, that’s who. (No affiliation)
This is great information! Click to go to the site! Saddle fitting for women – why we are different and need different saddles than men.
HOW IT ALL STARTED…
On my ‘saddle fit to horse’ quest, I ran across the Schleese Saddle Fitting website and complimentary videos. ( I previously wrote about 4 of the ‘9 Points of Correct Saddle Fit’ here.) Awesome information, really… you should check it out. Easy to read, watch and implement. Click here.
Anyway, while I was on the Schleese 9 Points of Correct Saddle Fit, I saw a little sidebar title that said, “Saddles made for Women“.
Wha? Wow! Really?!
I had to check it out…
These videos are GREAT! They use a female narrator and a female model to tell the story and it all makes total sense! Click here to watch the videos!
AHA! A LIGHTBULB WENT ON! NOW IT ALL MADE SENSE – why I was never quite comfortable in my saddles!
First of all, I have no affiliation with Schleese (wish I did…). I simply found this information really valuable. For me, the presentation was easy to understand – which isn’t always the case with saddle fitting – and it all made total sense.
Of course women are shaped differently from men… but the ways in which we are shaped differently might surprise you. I hadn’t really thought about it this intensely and everything they say makes absolute sense. No wonder my knees are always sore! No wonder my lower back is tipped incorrectly… No Wonder!! I had several “Aha” moments while watching these videos and reading the book (below).
Here is a link to the Saddle Fit for Females page on the Schleese website. You will learn why these areas (twist, stirrup bar placement, flap angulation, seat width, crotch comfort) are very important saddle fitting issues for women.
- Birthing Channel (females make seat contact differently)
- Pelvic Structure (wider)
- Spinal Column (curved at the base – hollow back)
- Balance Point of Pelvis (farther forward than men)
- Pubic Symphysis (flat and low)
- Hip Joints (angled to side, leg hangs forward, shorter tail bone)
- Upper Leg (leg built differently and does not hang straight down, femur bigger)
- Quadriceps and hamstrings (rounder muscle, not much space between thighs)
- Seat Bones (farther apart)
These are pages 46/47 in the book, Schleese’s SUFFERING IN SILENCE. The information and detail is excellent – really easy to understand and follow. I recommend this book totally. You can click the image to go to Amazon to order this very packed full of information book (no affiliation).
IMPRESSED.
I was so impressed with this information, I went even deeper by looking at Jochen Schleese’s book on saddle fit, “SUFFERING IN SILENCE”.
OMG. I had no idea a book on saddle fit could be so engaging! I mean, how much is there to say?… But there is A LOT. And, this book is filled with information and color photos that demonstrate important points. I am learning so much! Check out the book here. (no affiliation)
But this is what impressed me the most… best part: the book is dedicated to his horse! Jochen Schleese wrote this as his dedication:
This book is dedicated to my horse Pirat. H was my partner in many successful event competitions in Europe. When the signs of increasing lameness appeared and his eyes began to lose their shine, it was already too late to do anything so his career came to an all-too-early end. The diagnosis: irreparable cartilage damage at his scapula. Although at the time I was an apprentice saddler, I had no clue that it was the saddle that had caused him all this pain and lameness. I will never forget nor forgive myself for this; it’s because of him, I want to help as many horses as possible avoid the same fate. That’s why I founded Saddlefit 4 Life. And that’s why I wrote this book.
That alone made me want to purchase this book.
Click to go to Amazon
AN ENTIRE CHAPTER – VERY DETAILED – on female saddle fit vs men.
Pages 39 – 59 (20 pages!) totally devoted to graphs, charts, photos and illustrations on how/why womens’ bodies need differences in their saddles to maintain a comfortable and correct seat.
I feel like an expert now! ;)
The book is pretty remarkable, more than you ever even thought about – in saddle fit. And, it is easy and fun to read. Amazing. For me, I will keep it on my shelf for often referral.
This is just one of the very informative 20 pages dedicated to womens’ saddle fit. Here, you see a female and a male that look very similar in shape and size. The two are sitting on plaster casting material. As you can see by the casts, the points of contact are very different!
GOOD TO KNOW and yet another layer of SADDLE FIT – for your horse and FOR YOU!
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