The Dressage Saddle for the Female Rider

Transcription

The Dressage Saddle
for the Female Rider
Equine Inspired LLC © Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
For as long as I have been associated with horses, and the design
and fit of the saddle to correctly fit them, my focus has been on two
concerns; how do I make the shape of the saddle achieve an
optimum position for the rider to communicate their aids, and give
the horse the ability to move with the least amount of resistance from
saddle and rider.
To understand the horse, I felt I had to learn the name, function and
mechanics of every muscle, ligament, tendon, and bone structure of
the horse, but more importantly, what their effects are on the horse
moving in a compensating frame.
In addition, the more complex study was the physiological
idiosyncrasies of the female rider that took up most of my time, and
the question, “Why is it that some women have no difficulty riding,
while others struggle even in the basic 3 gaits”?
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HOW DO MOST PEOPLE CHOOSE A SADDLE FOR THEIR HORSE
I still see many riders only look for two issues when purchasing a saddle; the comfort when sitting in the
saddle, and the correct width of the tree for the horse. However, the complexity of the position of the rider
with those diverse physical traits, have absolutely nothing to do with that fundamental mindset. It is the
position of the rider representing ‘live’ weight to their horse, and the saddle that allows the horse to move
in their natural biomechanical frame, are what not only allows the rider to become an affective upperlevel competitor, but also allow their horse to build the correct musculature for this physically demanding
movements required for the discipline of dressage.
The ability for a rider to sit in their aerobic frame is dictated on how that saddle is designed for the frame of
that particular rider. In no other sport, is the equipment used to participate in that sport, determined by
another individual as is often the case by the recommendation of a trainer, or the influence of a famous
rider that they aspire to be.
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WHAT SHOULD A RIDER ACTUALLY BE LOOKING FOR WHEN CHOOSING A SADDLE FOR THEIR HORSE?
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When checking for the placement of the saddle
on a horse’s back, the saddle should sit right up
against the shoulder – if it is set back 1 or 2 inches
as some fitters suggest, it will end up against the
shoulders anyway – Newton’s Law of motion.
Normally speaking the saddle should sit between
the 8th and 18th thoracic vertebras. That would
make the center of the saddle thoracic vertebra
13. Of course an Arab influence will move that
forward.
Again, the same green arrow, as in the previous
sketch, is indicating the center of the saddle
(T-13); this woman rider is exhibiting exactly how a
dressage horse should move. The front and hind
quarters are working in harmony (indicated by
right fore and left hind on the same red line).
Both horse and rider are relaxed and other than
the bridle sitting on the TMJ, this is what every
saddlery should be working on to build saddles to
fit both horse and rider.
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The picture to the left, is a poorly designed
dressage tree, that would place the weight of the
rider in a ‘chair seat’, in the back of the saddle
(red arrow), instead of the center of the saddle
(green arrow), here the weight of the rider would
not only make this horse back sore, but would
force the horse to work out behind, or what I call
the ‘long frame’. Here we would also have hock
issues, suspensory problems and on and on…
However, this is not the fault of the rider, but the
saddle’s design which places that rider in a
compensating frame.
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In the picture to the left is an example of ‘behind the
motion’ – the slouchier. This position is caused by
saddle design, or how a rider would be forced to sit in
a saddle using the tree on the above picture.
Although this is a dressage rider, she is having a
difficult time achieving the preferred shoulder-hipheel position, as with the rider on the previous page.
So with that inability to ride in her aerobic frame, she
is forced to place her weight, as indicated by the blue
line, into her horse’s lower back – the resultant
position makes the horse hollow his back, work out
behind and is struggling to even get off the ground.
The other form of ‘behind the motion’ is how
another rider has learned to ride by hanging on
to her horse’s mouth - ‘the water skier’. Here
the rider is sitting back against the cantle.
Although this appears to be a talented horse,
this rider’s cantilevered position eventually will
cause wear and tear on the sacrum, stifles, and
hocks. The excessive tension being placed on
the reins making a false ‘on the bit’, is evident
by the uneven muscling of the splenius,
rhomboid, and cervical trapezes muscle groups –
that knotty mess plus the tight brachiocephalic
muscle (neck’s under-muscle) tells me this horse
isn’t comfortable.
When a horse is being ridden in a saddle that doesn’t
allow the rider to use their core strength, as in this case,
the horse will often develop bracing and compensating
musculature. For this horse, and a trait found in Arabs
and Morgans, the neck’s under-muscle,
brachiocephalicus muscles have made this horse move
like a lama. Not only is the frame of this horse going to
have major stifle, hock, and sacrum issues, an
impingement in the compromised back can result in
‘kissing spine’. Worse, these horses can become quite
dangerous, and will do anything possible to get rid of
the rider that is inflicting pain – can you blame them?
As an overview of ‘behind the motion’, in the sketch to the
left is a horse that is being compromised by the rider sitting
in the back of the saddle (red arrow) and unable to
represent ‘live’ weight to their horse – the horse can’t use
their abdominal muscles, engage their hindquarters, and is
forced to flatten their pelvis, and raise their neck. This will
create bracing on the horse’s under neck muscle
(brachiocephalic), an inability to strengthen their top-line,
longissimus dorsi, force the horse to work out behind, and
create a very sore unhappy horse.
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So with the design of our line of saddles, it was imperative
that we place the rider as close to the shoulders as we
can, which allows the horse to carry the rider in a position,
(green arrow) in the saddle where they can use their core
strength to represent ‘live’ weight to their horse, which in
turn, will allow their horse’s correct back and abdominal
muscles to develop.
SO WHAT TO LOOK FOR
The horse will tell you the story; as shown in the top sketch, the horse that stands in a static frame (crossties), with a flattened pelvis, camped under, middle hollow, lacking a top-line, most likely carrying the
weight of the rider in the lower thoracic or even lumbar area of their back. The saddle may appear to fit
the horse correctly, but often, the saddle is not allowing the rider to sit in the area of the horse’s back that
would allow the horse to carry the weight of the rider comfortably. So if the saddle appears to fit the horse
correctly, then this is most likely a case where the saddle in not fitting the rider.
If the horse is standing in cross-ties in a frame like the bottom sketch, chances are that the saddle is fitting
both horse and rider.
If you look at the physical build of the world’s best dressage riders, you will see that they have similar body
types, whether they are men or women; tall, equal disparity of their upper-to-lower leg length, balance in a
posterior frame, and have a short pelvis (ilium) with narrowly placed sitting bones Those fortunate riders are
often heard saying, “I can ride in any saddle”, which they should be able to.
On the other hand, we have women with an atypical assortment of physical muscular/skeletal traits, with
each one representing a different challenge when trying to ride in the discipline of dressage. To add to
that complexity, the trainers that they seek to help with their ineffective position and inability to
communicate their aids, have seldom experienced what those clients are going through, and instead of
providing guidance for the cause, they try to manipulate the result – in other words, “ride like me”.
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In the picture to the left, is a saddle that did not allow this rider to sit in her aerobic frame (chair seat). The
result of that position, made her and her horse hollow their backs, which placed her weight against the
back of the saddle thereby forcing the horse to flatten his back, and work out behind. The saddle on the
right which we specifically designed for this same horse and rider on the left, allowed her to use her core
strength, which resulted in ‘lightness’ in the bridle, and a more animated, and relaxed frame.
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THE DESIGN OF THE SADDLE FOR THE POSITION OF THE FEMALE DRESSAGE RIDER
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The difference between the male and female rider,
besides the obvious, is that men tend to carry their weight
above their waist, shown in green arrows, and women
carry their weight in their mid to lower anatomy, red
arrows. Women have wider placed sitting bones, ischial
tuberosities, a taller pelvis, ilium, and in the seat of the
saddle contact requires more openness, ischial plate –
sitting-bones to pubic bone. Men are usually built in a
posterior frame, balance off their heels, while women are
usually built in an anterior frame and balance off the balls
of their feet.
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In the two skeletal depictions on the left of the above plate, is showing the male’s straight spinal column
causing the load bearing of that frame to be on the heels, thereby allowing that balance to take place
without excessive quadriceps and hamstrings.
The right two depictions on the above plate, is showing the female’s spinal column with the lower-back
inward curvature, and taller, and a more tipped-forward pelvis, than that of their male counterpart.
Thereby, most women tend to load on the balls of their feet requiring more stabilizing musculature of their
larger thighs (quadriceps/hamstrings). Also women tend to have a tipped pelvis, which in turn forces them
to ride off their knees which gives them an insecure high center of gravity.
This is where it becomes complicated; one can become quite proficient in determining if a saddle is fitting
a horse correctly, but the ability to determine how it fits the rider is a different story. The sales of saddles are
often driven by individuals who have become successful in their respective discipline. An example, is one
of our nation’s best dressage rider, Steffen Peters, riding Ravel in a saddle manufactured by Custom
Saddlery; the Steffen Peters Advantage. Although this is a great saddle for Steffen and some fortunate
riders built like Steffen, for most women, the position in that saddle would be detrimental to building the
correct musculature of their horses - that ability to ‘ride like me’, unfortunately, is most often impossible.
When I give lectures at year-end award meetings, I can always tell who will get the recognition for upperlevel achievement – they will be the women unable to walk in high heels, whereas the women that can
run up to the stage with 4" heels are always lower level riders.
THE EFFECT A RIDER’S POSITION, CAN HAVE ON THE HEALTH OF THE HORSE
Although a saddle may seem to fit a horse correctly, it doesn’t mean that the saddle is allowing the rider a
position that will allow their horse to work in their natural bio-mechanic frame.
The basics - What separates a woman's ability to ride effectively, compared to a man, is the structure of
their child-bearing pelvis; wider and taller than their male counter-parts, their weight is distributed over an
area, ischial tuberosity to pubic bone, called the ischium or plate. However, women from different genetic
backgrounds will distribute their weight differently. For that reason, when we build a saddle for a woman,
the seat of the saddle has to reflect that genetic disparity.
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The 3 illustrations above are depicting the different pelvis positions for women. The far left, is that of a
woman with northern European lineage pelvis, the center, is a woman with mid-European lineage, and the
pelvis to the right, is that of a woman with Mediterranean genetic traits. The importance here, is that
genetics has engineered these women to all be built with a different pelvis position - therefore, their
aerobic frame, or a pelvis position where they can effectively use their core strength are all different, and
each will require a different seat configuration...you are what you are.
With a straight spine, as shown in the right sketch, whether it is a man or a
fortunate woman built like a man, the center of their ischial tuberosities is
slightly forward in their frame, or what we call a posterior balanced
frame.
However, for the woman, left sketch, the center is placed further back,
which makes their weight bearing area in the seat of the saddle, further
towards the cantle on their ischial tuberosities, or what we call an
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anterior balanced frame.
In addition to their difference of ischial contact within the seat of the saddle, is that those riders that are
built like the sketch on the upper right, their ‘pivot point’, blue arrow, allows these riders to ride in a two part
frame; or the area that separates their upper to lower torso with the movement of the horse - their sitting
bones.
However, for women with an inward curvature of their spine, lordosis, they will have two pivot points that
separate their upper and lower torso; the first is shown with the orange arrow, the most anterior vertebra of
the lordotic spine, in this case L-3, the second, is the is shown by the blue arrow, ischial tuberosity, sitting
bones. The complexity is a huge obstacle for a woman trying to ride in this 3 part frame; upper torso to L-3,
L-3 to ischial tuberosities, ischial tuberosities to lower torso. It becomes harder to use their core strength,
they will need to develop stronger oblique muscles for lateral balance, and with that constant activity at
that L-2/ L-3 pivot point, they will experience more back pain than their male, and fortunate female
counterparts with their straight backs – which is further complicated, when those women are forced to sit in
a saddle that is not specifically designed for their lordotic frame, which ironically was probably
recommended by their trainer who doesn't have lordosis.
Some fortunate women seem to have the ability to get in any saddle, and ride
as effortlessly as most men do, while other women find it very difficult to sit in a
saddle at all - there are reasons for that.
This natural straight build, is often times a genetic trait; usually associated with
women with a Northern European lineage; Scandinavian, British Isles, and
northern Germany, or coincidentally those regions that produce the best
Olympic women dressage riders.
Having excelled in their discipline, these naturally gifted women often become
trainers. Unfortunately, it becomes hard for them to realize what a rider with a
different frame than theirs, has to go through to just sit in a saddle, let alone ride
effectively. Without regard to the unique challenges of their students’
physiques, unlike their own, their instructions will promote bodily compensations
making riding all that more frustrating.
It would be great, if women had the ability to ‘ride like me’, but honestly, no
matter how many classes in yoga, palates, or time spent in the gym, most
women cannot actually reconstruct their skeletal system, or change the
muscular, tendon and ligament insertions, in their skeletal frame.
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In this frame, a rider has a genetically hyper-extended spine that causes
her pelvis to tip forward. In order to ride in her natural frame, the rider
often has to sit against the cantle of the saddle where the upward curve
of the seat of the saddle, is more reflective of downward ischium position
of their pelvis. This has a negative two-fold effect; first is that the rider will
be placed in a chair seat, have no use of their core strength, slouch, their
knees will go over the thigh-rolls, and lower leg will go back of the girth for
balance. For the horse, now forced to carry the weight of the rider on
their lower thoracic and lumbar vertebras, will not be able to raise their
back, will be forced to work out behind, and create tightness from poll to
hocks, not to mention a lot of Vet bills, and chiropractor and massage
sessions for the rider.
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This takes a very special saddle that has to have a different tree and the seat webbed in such a way that
the female rider with a lordotic spine, can sit naturally in the center of the saddle, and at the rising trot,
where these riders often hit their pubic bone on the pommel, the stirrup bars have to be positioned for
minimal pelvis travel in that gait. A trainer asking a student with a lordotic frame to ’ride like me’, is asking
for the impossible. If you walk, run, dance or do any aerobic exercise in a lordotic frame, why wouldn’t
you also want that same abdominal/back muscle interaction while riding a horse? Besides, by forcing a
lordotic spine into an unnatural position is exposing the lumbar vertebra into possible herniated or ruptured
discs. You are what you are...
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The above CAT scan is from a client I have worked with in the past. As in many cases, when a rider is
having a difficult time sitting in a saddle comfortably and effectively communicating their aids, CAT scans,
MRI’s and X-rays are often exchanged. These X-rays are very beneficial for me to design a saddle to allow
the rider to sit in their aerobic frame. [As you can see, this woman has very strong abdominal muscles, and
an extremely lordotic spine. If the saddle the rider is using, does not allow her to sit in her natural aerobic
frame, or a trainer doesn't like the look of this sometimes awkward looking position, they are often
requested to sit back and straighten their spine. In doing so, those natural spaced discs between the
thoracic and lumbar vertebra, become wedge-shaped, and extremely prone to inward herniation's, as
was the case with the woman who provided me the above X-ray.
That woman came to me because she had severe pain in her coccyx ((tailbone). As you can see by the
outward protrusion of her coccyx, sitting against the cantle would push her coccyx inward, in this case
creating an impingement, between L-5, and her sacrum, and as shown by red arrow which is pointing to
an area between L-5 and her sacrum, that compensating position has caused an inward herniated disc,
which is very common with women in a lordotic frame, that are trying to ride with a straight spinal column another reason to ride within your frame, and not make any bodily compensation to ride like someone
else.
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What we did for this woman, is create the seat of the saddle to reflect her
exaggerated tipped-pelvis, move the twist of the saddle forward, to
accommodate her rotated femurs to allow her legs to hang straight,
position the stirrup-bars, back to give her that natural shoulder-hip-heel
position, which will prevent her from tightening her quadriceps. We also
webbed the seat laterally against the cantle which will prevent an
upward transition of the saddle's seat, keeping her from making contact
with her coccyx against the cantle when the horse is sitting down in the
piaffe, passage and especially the pirouette.
Review of the tilt an openness of the seat of the saddle for the female rider
To have a saddle fit a rider correctly, the seat of the saddle has to reflect the exact shape of the rider’s
ischium, to allow that rider a position that represents their natural aerobic frame; a frame where a rider will
have the ability to ride in a relaxed position allowing them to have the correct interaction of their
abdominal, back, and oblique muscle groups.
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Female physical genetic traits
What picture best describes your build?
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I realize that these represent the extremes, but with the rider on the left, with the short narrow pelvis, will
require a saddle with what we call a “V” seat.
The middle picture is a woman with a mild amount of inward curvature in her back, and as shown by the
middle pelvis sketch in the center, her pelvis is wider, taller and tipped to where she would require what we
call a closed “U” seat saddle.
The 3rd picture is what we call the lordotic woman who has an even wider, taller, and very tipped pelvis,
where her pubic bone is actually lower than her sitting bones in the seat of the saddle which would require
her to ride in what we call an open “U” seat saddle.
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A picture can sometimes tell a thousand words In this case, this client’s left
leg is one cm longer than her right, causing her to rotate her pelvis to the
right. This has resulted in her left quadriceps to be 2 1/2 cm’s bigger in
circumference than her right. In the seat of the saddle she could not get her
right side aids unless she shortened her stirrup on the right side by 3 holes.
However, this caused her to drop her right shoulder resulting in scoliosis and a
disc impingement between L-3 & L4.
Through design of a saddle and then fit to her horse, we were able to get her
to ride without making any compensations and pain free. Although this
appears to be a radical example, to a certain degree it is quite common.
Women hipping their children as toddlers, repetitive ergonomic one-sided
movements i.e. using your right foot on the gas pedal when driving,
operating a cash register with your right hand, playing tennis, golfing,
bowling and many other movements can cause unequal musculature
development from one side to the other— unfortunately, those disparities,
transfer to the horse as compensating aids, resulting in muscular asymmetries
of both horse and rider.
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This is another lineage deviation; Her genetic traits tell me she is from the
upper European countries, perhaps German, or a Scandinavian country,
but because she was a long term Hunter/Jumper that had been riding
for years with activated quadriceps, she has over-developed those
quads, she also has an inward-curvature of her spine at L-5/sacrum,
balances off the balls of her feet and now has a protruding buttocks. So
it looks as if she has the tall refined upper torso of a northern German, but
the lower torso of a woman from a Mediterranean county.
So although genetic traits have a huge bearing on how well you can
naturally ride, what other discipline you rode prior to dressage, or other
physical activities you participated in, especially pre-puberty, or what
other physical activities you participate in now are important to
determine your compensating posture.
Example: Young girls that were active in gymnastics, will always have
more unnatural lordosis, or women who do serious yoga, palates or
weight training, will also have a frame that contradicts their natural
genetic traits.
In addition to the shape of the seat, a custom-made saddle for a woman also has to have the following:
Correct seat size - that measurement is determined by the circumference of your pelvis - it has
nothing to do with the length of your femur.
Correct length of the flap - which is the distance from the top of your inseam (crotch), to the top of
your show boots, plus 1 1/2”. This will allow the maximum amount of lower leg on your horse’s side, yet long
enough where your boot won’t get caught on the flap.
Correct rotation of the flap and placement of the thigh roll - a complicated measurement that has
to do with how the rider balances with their quadriceps - usually a side effect of women with lordosis that
often have an anterior frame for balance, which causes over-developed quadriceps.
Correct position of the stirrup bar. This crucial position, will allow a rider to sit in that much sought
after shoulder-hip-heel position, but more importantly, keep the rider from sitting on their horse’s lower
thoracic vertebra and the lumbar region of their horses back.
The depth of the seat has many contributing factors; it may be determined by the strength of the riders
abdominal muscles, whether the rider is seeking a more secure seat due to a previous injury, or for a horse
that is still ‘green’, or it can be a required for those riders that like a confined position, for communicating
their aids at upper levels movements.
In addition, there may be other alterations needed for the saddle for the rider that has experienced
arthritic spurs on their ilium, have injured their coccyx, or have pulled or injured an array of muscles,
tendons and ligaments found in the pelvis region. – The goal of a Saddlery should not only be to make the
rider sit comfortably, but also ride in their natural aerobic frame.
The rider’s position, following the movement of their horse.
A woman that has an excessive amount of ‘undulation’, or movement of their abdominal and back
muscles, will often look problematic for women riding in a lordotic frame. I have heard both male and
female trainers comment that they don’t like to see their students ride in this manner, to the extent that
they force them into a position where that undulation is much less, by tightening their abdominals or
straightening their back, etc…
Where to start? First of all, that movement is a reflection of their horse’s movement – to stop the
undulation, will prevent the horse from doing the same thing. However, this is another one of those ‘cause
and result’ issues that trainers try to correct by what they see as the result of an action. In this case, a horse
that has not built the correct top-line muscle group (longissimus dorsi), will move with a lot more motion of
their backs, forcing the rider to feel as if they are sitting on a ‘trampoline’. A horse with a strong top-line
development, will have a back that will be up, which reduces the reflective motion of the undulating rider.
What to do? Work on developing the strength of the top-line muscles.
Riding in the ‘Null’.
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I don’t have a better explanation for that term other than from my engineering background; it refers to a
point of zero reference, or in the case of the carpenter's level, shown above, it is a point when the bubble
is centered or balanced, it is called neutral. For riding a horse, it would indicate a position on the horse’s
back, where the energy is equal in front and back of that point, in this case the neutral ilium contact of the
rider's pelvis. For an example: Have you ever experienced a sitting trot, where you feel like you are part of
the horse; back is up, you are not bouncing, and your horse is moving without the aid of spurs, whip or a
driving seat. It is if the energy in front of you, is equal to the energy behind you, and it becomes almost
effortless for both horse and rider – that is riding in the ‘Null’.
A client of my son, Chris, explained to him when she rode in one of our saddles for the first time, “It was like
riding with wind in my face”.
A rider should be able to have a position where they shouldn’t have to make one single compensation to
maintain that position and have the ability to easily communicate their aids. The horse too, shouldn’t have
to make one single compensation to move in their natural biomechanical frame. So when those two
conditions take place, as Chris’ client explains, “You should feel the wind in your face”.
The driving seat, the long warm up to have the horse relax, the comments about slouching, thighs over the
knee roll, chin up, heels down, and on and on, is not dressage, or it shouldn’t be in the 21st century.
What you should take away from this explanation is that unless a saddle address’ the natural balanced
position of the rider, and has the ability to allow your horse to move in their natural bio-mechanical frame,
a compensation will occur; either from horse to rider, or rider to horse – in most cases then, all the lessons in
the world will only exacerbate those compensations.
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The individual Gold Medal Ride at the 2012 Summer Olympics showed us what dressage is all about. All
those wonderful adjectives about suppleness, throughness, harmony, and a complete lack of
manipulation, took place on that ride…that was "Riding in the Null".
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INFLUENCE OF RIDER’S POSITION ON THE MOVEMENT OF THEIR HORSE
When a rider lacks the ability to sit in a saddle in their relaxed aerobic frame, representing ‘live’ weight
to their horse, there will be a compensation. That compensation, not only can affect the rider’s
inability to use their core strength causing a lack of balance, back pain, and spinal injury, but can also
create those same compensations in their horse. The key to that problem; the inability to ride in a
particular saddle, where another woman doesn’t have those same issues, is purely genetic.
This became our main goal; to first get the rider to sit in a position where they can use their core
strength, without having to make a long check list of bodily compensations. Once that is achieved,
designing and fitting the saddle for that particular horse, completes the equation. Interestingly, it may
take a while to adapt from a position where you needed to grip with your knees, rotate your thighs,
step into your heels, or any other contortionism that you used before, to now ride in a relaxed frame.
The human aspect to the design of a saddle was something we have a very good handle on, but because
of the equally diverse genetic traits, and resultant conformation disparities from one breed to the next,
we sought the input of anyone that could contribute to the solution of finding that correct fit; highly
respected chiropractors, farriers, massage therapists, trainers, and veterinarians. Not only were we
privy to x-rays, CAT scans, and thermal imagery through their studies of equine anatomy and lameness
issues, but those trainers that had worked exclusively with a specific breed, were able to give us
information on the idiosyncrasies of training that particular breed.
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Some of the examples are from left to right, (1) correct fit of saddle’s panels, if horse is not moving middle
hollow – (2) excessive bridging, and also full vertical panel contact causing interference with motion of
triceps – (3) the ‘banana’ tree placing more weight on the sensitive thoracic trapezes, forcing the horse to
move middle hollow – (4) and the resultant kissing spine.
The information from these thermal images is invaluable, but as an example, the image in slide (1), is
supposedly a correctly fit saddle. However, if that horse is observed to be moving middle back hollow, it
then becomes the full-panel contact of the saddle that is preventing the horse from using their abdominal
muscles. Whereas the image in slide (2) is supposedly a saddle that is excessively bridging, but if the horse
is observed to be ridden with too much contact, or manipulated into a false ‘on-the-bit’ frame, then it is
the rider that is creating the bridging. So as good as these images are, they are only as good as the
knowledge of the operator and their understanding of the correct discipline of dressage.
THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE RIDER’S POSITION & AND ITS AFFECT ON THE MOVEMENT OF THE HORSE
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When the rider’s position does not interfere with the horse’s self-carriage, and the horse is not subjected to
a saddle, girth, bridle, spurs, and whip, any horse can move with freedom and harmony. The above
picture shows how this rider with the aid of only a soft braided rope is not getting in the way of how a horse
can move naturally; fore and hind limbs are working in parallel – right-fore with left-rear and left-fore, with
right rear. In addition to the correct stifle/hock action, the forwardness of this horse is accomplished by the
balanced articulation of the pelvis. The pole and jaw are relaxed, the upper necks muscle are activated,
while the necks under-muscle, brachiocephalicus, is relaxed.
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The request I hear the most from a new client: “I want to ride in a saddle in the
same position, when I’m riding bareback”. That position seems to be dictated
by the horse, positioning the rider to sit right behind the shoulder, or the
narrowest point of the horse’s barrel. It is a position, where as they say, “If you
remove the horse, you’ll be standing”; or what is commonly referred to as the
‘shoulder-hip-heel’ position.
The horse’s ability to carry the weight of the rider, would be on their thoracic ribs;
T (thoracic)-8 to T-18 (the area between the two red lines) – That makes the
center of the back, T-13. In the case of the Arabian horse, and those breeds
with that genetic trait, having only 17 thoracic ribs, the center of the saddle
would be closer to the shoulders.
!
!
!
In the picture to the left, this young German woman is centered at that
T-13 location, which allows her to sit in that shoulder-hip-heel position.
This position allows her to represent relaxation to her horse, and give
her the ability to communicate subtle aids without having to make
bodily compensations. With her position centered in the saddle, her
weight is equally distributed from pommel to cantle. The resultant
picture, is a horse that is also relaxed, and does not have to make
bodily compensations to carry the balanced weight of this rider.
!
!
!
The rider to the left is Nicole Uphoff and her famous horse, Rembrandt.
Here she is riding in a Passier PSL, a T-15 saddle with a medium seat and
medium twist. Although Nicole was successful by winning two Olympic
Gold Medals at the 1988 & 1992 Olympics in this saddle, by easily
maintaining a shoulder-hip-heel position it was mainly because of her
long balanced legs, straight back, and an ability to ride like a man with
very little ischial contact. So for men and women built like a man, this is a
saddle that will work for those body types.
Although the Passier was suited for Nicole’s build, most women found the
PSL and later 'Nicole' saddle, had a seat that was too narrow, the twist
was too wide, and almost all women were placed in a ‘chair seat’, as
shown by the rider in the left picture. The ‘water skier’, winds up
cantilevering their weight over the lumbar of the horse, and hanging on
to the horse’s mouth for balance.
!
This is the T-14 or ‘standard’ dressage saddle – It could be an Albion,
County, Custom, Hulsebos, JRD, Stubben, Spirig, Trilogy, Verhan, or one of
many saddles made today. This saddle can work for a lot of riders, but
for some, there needs to be a conscious awareness of using their core
strength to maintain a position that seldom reflects relaxation to their
horse, and an ability to communicate their aids. Unless a rider has a
naturally straight back, the seat/twist/stirrup-bar ratio makes most riders
with a slight lordotic frame sit in a ‘chair seat’ and slouch.
!
For the Arabian shown on the left, and other short back horses, the T-14
saddle can be extremely uncomfortable for the horse. In addition to
having a short back, they are almost always smaller horses to their
Warmblood counterparts, and therefore are more susceptible to ‘kissing
spine’ or forced to make other compensations such as bracing, the lama
look, on their under-neck muscles (brachiocephalicus), flattening their
pelvis, which creates a straighter femur, causing stifle and hock issues.
!
!
!
Another T-14 saddle in which the rider has the strength to physically
make the compensations to achieve an upper-level movement.
However, this horse isn’t showing the relaxation as it has on the next
picture, being ridden in a T-13 saddle.
!
This is our T-13 saddle, which allows the rider to sit in a centered
shoulder-hip-heel position. Although it works affectively for men and
some women with a slight amount of lordosis/tipped pelvis, it cannot
be used for women with mild or severe lordosis. Hennig and Schleese
saddles with extended stirrup-bars are in this category.
!
!
This is our new T-12 saddle. I have found that when a rider can sit
closer to the shoulder, it allows the horse’s hind quarters to move more
naturally and thus develop true ‘throughness’; the ability to sit into
their horse, instead of on top of their horse, prevents women riders
from bracing on their quadriceps, abductors, pectorals, triceps and
grip with their knees. Sitting in a position of having more horse behind
you, instead of in front of you, is almost like riding bareback.
!
!
!
!
!
The sketch to the left, is a horse in the correct ‘short’ frame, versus the horse in the compensating ‘long’
frame, as depicted by the sketch on the right.
I have placed a green arrow on the sketch to the left, indicating the center of the saddle sitting on T-12 –
notice more horse behind the arrow, than in front of it. The green line running through the horse’s head, is
depicting a horse that has no tension in the poll and jaw – relaxation. The green line running through the
pelvis, is depicting a horse that has reciprocal movement with the pelvis, and can stand correctly under its
frame, and would not be placing stress on its stifles and hocks. More importantly, if a horse were able to
move in this frame, there would be an interaction between the longissimus dorsi, (blue arrow), and the
abdominal muscle group, (purple arrow), which would be considered the ‘full range of motion’ that is
required to correctly build both of those muscle groups.
!
!
On the sketch to the right, is a completely different story, the red arrow is indicating the center of the
saddle sitting on T-14 – notice that there is more horse in front of the red arrow, than behind it. The red line
running through horse’s head is depicting a horse that is showing signs of stress in both the poll and the jaw
– tension. The red line running through the pelvis, is depicting a horse that can’t possibly move with the
reciprocal action of the pelvis, a requirement to build the correct musculature of the longissimus dorsi and
abdominal muscle groups. A horse being ridden like this usually takes a long warm-up, and once it does
move, there is only a perception that it is working OK, but more likely, over time, the hocks, stifles and/or
sacrum will all need to be injected, so it hopefully can go another 6 months before lameness issues occur
again.
Benefits of riding at T-12:
1)
When the horse is forced to carry the weight of the rider in the lower back and even slightly behind
center, the horse is considered to be in a ‘long frame’. In that frame, the horse, even those trained
at upper-levels, will go middle back hollow which makes the sitting trot ‘jarring’ to ride. The horse
that carries the weight in front of the center of the horse’s back, will develop into a ‘short frame’
horse, and the back will always be up, making the ‘sitting trot’ very comfortable for both horses
and rider.
2)
Forwardness – if there is one thing that drives me crazy, is to see a rider spur their horse with every
stride to keep them ‘forward’; supposedly, their driving seat bones are meant to aid the horse
forward, but to the horse, that confusing aid is also used to give the aid for a ‘half-halt’ or even an
aid to stop.
3)
And lastly, the most important issue; The ability for ‘throughness’ is developed from the horse
moving from ‘back to fore’; to have complete freedom of the use of their hind-quarters, not just
the stifle/hock movement, but the ability to articulate their pelvis, is what is required to not only
build the ‘top-line’ (longissimus dorsi), but also have the balanced interaction of their abdominal
muscle groups. It is only then, that a complete misnomer is achieved, ‘on-the-bit’ – with that ability
to develop the muscle groups required for articulating the pelvis; gluteus, quadriceps, and the
hamstring group, the horse will not only develop the ‘engine’ for true forwardness, but also the
counter muscular development of the horse’s upper neck’s muscle group; splenius, rhomboid, and
cervical trapezes – and that is true ‘on-the-bit’.
The importance of sitting closer to the shoulder, thereby freeing up the hindquarters, is best demonstrated
by saying, that if you have a horse that was very comfortable riding bare-back. You would soon find that
the most comfortable place to sit that horse, and a position the horse would put you on their back, would
be very far forward or right behind the shoulders - the narrowest part of the back. Because there is not a
saddle to resist the natural movement of the shoulders, the horse could almost be ridden in their natural
frame.
!
!
!
!
However, as the horse becomes stronger, the back muscles, longissimus and latissimus dorsi muscles would
strengthen, or bulk up; development of the top-line. As this occurs, the latissimus dorsi, which is attached to
all of the thoracic vertebra and connected to the humerus, would actually reposition the humerus to a
more vertical position. Because the shoulders are attached to the humerus, the shoulders will be drawn
back and up, placing them in a narrower position of the wither. The stronger that muscle group becomes,
the more vertical the humerus will be positioned, and the further back the shoulders will sit. So, instead of
sitting on a nice comfortable round back, the wither will actually narrow and become almost boney and
extremely difficult to sit.
!
So the importance of the rider to sit forward of the center of the back, is paramount for the development
of the two most important muscle groups of the horse, to comfortably perform the upper-levels of
dressage: latissimus dorsi and longissimus dorsi.
!!
!
Longissimus dorsi muscle group
!
!!
The correct development of the longissimus dorsi is the key to allow
the horse to comfortably carry the weight of the rider, and
accomplish the upper-level movements of dressage. This muscle
group is very easy to develop by either correctly using long-lines or
the lunge, but unfortunately is seldom used by riders and trainers in
the States. Connected to all of the cervical vertebra, it runs the entire
length of the thoracic back and inserted in the pelvis. Two energies
have to take place in order for the ‘full range of motion’ required to
build the strength of this important muscle group; reciprocal
movement of the pelvis, sitting down, which pulls on the muscle from
the rear, and the ‘bobbing’ of the head, which pulls on the muscle
from the front – and here lies the problem.
When a wild horse is walking, without the interference of a rider, the head is bobbing with the rhythm of the
gait and the pelvis is also dropping with each step. This basic motion is always stretching that muscle
group from both directions. Along with that constant lengthening and shortening, the horse's abdominals
also have to move in that same rhythmical motion. That interaction of those two major muscles groups,
allows the horse to balance their weight equally on all fours, creates the correct cardiovascular, and
gastrointestinal functions, and allows the horse total relaxation from poll to hocks; thoroughness.
!
However, in dressage, riders/trainers have this preoccupation of 'contact' or putting the horse 'on the bit'.
That simple action of 'control' or manipulation, before the horse has the physical strength of the longissimus
dorsa to carry the additional weight of the rider, completely stops half of the motion required from
developing the horse's most important muscle group. Without that ability to bob their head with the motion
of any gait, the horse has to start making physical compensations to carry the weight of the rider development of the under-muscle of the neck or brachiocephalicus, ilocostalis and other additional
muscles that a wild horse would never develop. In addition, without the strength of the longissimus dorsa,
the rider is often forced to sit behind the motion; where the cantle of the saddle is lower than the pommel.
This feeling of sitting in a hole, places the weight of the rider against the cantle of the saddle, which
represents 'dead weight'. This position on the horse's lower thoracic vertebra area and lumbar, or the
weakest part oft of the back, is responsible for pulling the ilium closed, which causes the pelvis to flatten,
forces the horse to work out behind, and in turn stops the reciprocal action of the pelvis, required to build
longissimus dorsa.
!
It gets worse - for some strange reason, riders and trainers feel the need to do an excessive amount of
sitting trot, before the top-line, longissimus dorsi is correctly developed, which further forces the horse to
hollow their backs, which can cause even more development of compensating muscles groups. This is
where the veterinarian, chiropractor and massage therapists enters the picture - injection of hocks, stifles,
lumbar, radiograms, x-rays, different shoeing requirements, popped splints, torn suspensories, bowed
tendons and on and on....
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!
!!
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!
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Once the horse has the strength of the longissimus dorsi and latissimus dorsi, the horse can be ridden with
contact in a frame that allows the two energies to take place; reciprocal movement of the pelvis, and the
correct flexion of the neck at the poll, without hyperextension. The picture to the right is what the perfect
position of the rider, with a horse that has correctly developed the two top-line muscles; longissimus and
latissimus dorsi. The result is a second level horse ridden in a snaffle that looks more like the frame of a
Grand-Prix horse.
!
!
The sketch bottom left, is a horse in a compensating frame; manipulation. The downward force of the
rider in the lower back, is putting the horse in a position where it would almost be impossible to use their
abdominal muscles, and develop the top-line of the horse. In addition, because of that downward force
in the lower back, this horse's supraspineous ligaments would force this horse to draw the neck back as in a
lama, brace on the lower neck muscles, brachiocephalicus, which would prevent the use of the
abdominal muscles, in turn would prevent the development of the longissimus dorsa - it gets worse; with
the back middle hollow, neck drawn back, the pelvis would also have to be drawn forward, as shown by
the red line, forcing this horse to work out behind. The picture to the right is the resultant movement of a
horse being ridden in the lower back, middle-back hollow, or what I call the long frame.
!!
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!
While standing, we balance off our feet, while sitting in a saddle, the pelvis becomes our base of balance.
The area of the pelvis we sit on is called the ischium. The male rider’s skeletal area that comes in contact
with the seat of the saddle is called the ischia tuberosity, or sitting bones: two boney protrusions, about the
size of a half-dollar and approximately 3-4 inches apart. Notably, a woman’s boney protrusions can be as
far as 7 inches apart. That anatomical difference, between men and women, is why men, or women with
narrow pelvises, can laterally balance on the back of an asymmetrically built horse much easier, while
most other women will find themselves falling into the weaker side of their horse.
The illustration to the left is how a man's
pelvis is built. The illustration to the
right is how a woman's pelvis is built.
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!
When a symmetrical saddle is placed on an asymmetrically build horse, the saddle is going to fall into the
weaker side. For the male, whose base is close together, green arrows, he may move slightly to the
stronger side, or what he perceives is the center of the back. However, in that same scenario, a woman,
red arrows, will have to move considerably further to the stronger side to feel that same security due to the
width of her sitting bones. Often when I take a woman’s saddle apart, I can see a deep indentation
where their sitting bone, ischial tuberosity, is making more contact on the side of the saddle that represents
the strength of the horse, and a much smaller indentation on the weaker side.
!
!
!
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On the picture to the left, is the top view depiction of how I find 95% of
the horses; more musculature development on the stronger side, in this
case left side, gluteus, hamstrings, longissimus dorsa (back muscles),
and a very tell-tale muscle group, the ilocostalis, as shown in red. This
muscle group can be found by running your hand down from the spine
on the middle of the back. This ridge of muscles, will always be more
developed on the stronger side of the horse, and will almost give the
illusion that there is a shelf for the saddle to sit, whereas the weaker side
of the horse, that muscle group will be either nonexistent, or have a lot
less development. Interestingly, this musculature is more prominent on
horses ridden by women, and also wide-backed horses; Arabs, Baroque
breeds, Frisians, and Morgans.
The more the ilocostalis muscle group is developed on the stronger side, the stiffer the horse will be to that
side. In fact, just as the rider in the illustration on the next page, has developed corrective scoliosis in order
to balance, and the horse will also have that same spinal conformation.
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!
!
!
The difference between the male rider, on the left, versus the female rider, on the right, creating an
asymmetrical horse.
The degree of development of this musculature, can tell an entire story of how this horse is moving, but
more importantly how they are compensating their frame to carry the weight of the rider.
In this instance, because the left hind quarter, on the right sketch, is doing all the work, not only to carry the
weight of the rider, but also its disproportional left side musculature, its left hock will be the most active.
Unfortunately, it will also become the stiffer hock because of the weight being placed on that left hind
quarter. The biggest problem with the travel of the stiffer left hock, besides requiring injections for its
longevity, is that the left side of the pelvis seldom closes- and here lies the problem.
In that same sketch, because this horse has less musculature on the right side, the saddle is going to fall into
that weaker side, plus the fact that the right side of the horse is not carrying the weight of the rider, the
motion of the right-hind can be a lot more expressive, which will cause an inward rotation of the right hock,
an outward rotation of the right stifle, but more importantly, allow the weaker right pelvis to close, or sitdown, something the stronger-side left pelvis is incapable of doing. With that ‘sitting down’, the rider, will
have a sense of always falling into the weaker side of the horse, this becomes the catch 22; the more the
rider sits to the stronger left side, the stronger the active left side becomes, and the weaker the passive
right side becomes. With that, the more that the rider sits to the left, the more the rider will fall into the
weaker side - it gets worse.
As shown with that inward rotation of the right hock (A), there will have to be an outward motion of the
right stifle (B). Basically, this horse is making this adjustment (compensation) because of the cantilevered
position of the rider. Now we have two joints that were designed to move forward and back, but are now
moving laterally which is going to cause stress on ligaments and tendons that are meant to support those
joints, and create an unnatural movement in the skeletal joint. There simply won’t be enough synovial
fluids to correctly lubricate those joints, which can cause an array of compensating soreness/lameness
issues.
SO WHAT CAN YOU DO?
The first priority is the comfort to the horse, and the ability for you to build a balanced horse. You have to
stop this compensation of making the horse’s stronger side, stronger, and the weaker side, weaker. This not
only creates an eventually lame horse, but is the major reason that so many riders are stuck at the lower
levels of dressage - once you can get a horse to track evenly and load on all fours equally, you will have a
much easier ability to advance in this discipline.
!
No matter what we say, nobody is going to back up their training to get their horse laterally balanced
through correct lunging and long-lining. So, what we have to do, is convince not only the rider, but also
their trainer, to stop the dressage training, and start building an athlete. It is only when the horse develops
the correct musculature that dressage can be done correctly.
!
!
The sketch to the left, is a depiction of the comparison of how
a woman rider (left), and a male rider (right) would sit in the
exact horse and saddle. Because a woman rider will most
always have a much wider base than their male counterparts,
those women will have to make some bodily compensations,
as shown by the red arrow. In this depiction, she is placing
more of her weight in the saddle on her left sitting bone –
when that occurs, she will have to collapse to the weaker
side, otherwise she would fall off the horse. The male rider
with a narrow base doesn’t have to make that same
compensation indicated by the equal weight distributed, as
shown by the green arrows.
!
Perhaps the biggest problem I encounter is the inability of a woman rider to sit evenly on a horse that is
asymmetrically built – which is 99% of all horses. For an example; in the past as a rider and trainer, I always
felt that I was centered in the saddle, and could tell which side of the horse was weaker and what I had to
do to strengthen that weakness. However, after taking hundreds of saddles apart, I soon realized there
was a big difference between the wear on the seat of a saddle between men and women riders. The
males’ indentations of their ischial tuberosities or sitting bones in the seat of the saddle were often equal in
wear, and centered in the seat. However, in most women's saddles, there was always one deeper
indentation made from their tuberosity on one side versus the other side, and often times those indentions
were not centered in the seat of the saddle.
The reason for this dissimilar wear in the seat of the saddle between a man and a woman, is that a man's
sitting bones may only be a few centimeters apart - a very narrow base. However, a woman's sitting bones
may be as much as 13 centimeters across depending on hereditary traits - Mediterranean lineage women
with wider, open hips, will have a wider base to sit, but women with a northern European lineage descent,
may have a narrower placement of their sitting bones, much like a man. So, when a horse is
asymmetrically built and the saddle is falling to the weaker side, the man or woman with narrowly placed
sitting bones may only have to readjust their base a fraction of an inch to stay centered and yet feel both
sides of the horse evenly. However, for the woman rider with a wider base of her sitting bones, she will find
herself falling further to the weaker side of the horse, which will force her to move an inch or more to the
stronger side of the horse to feel centered. Although now centered, she will also be unbalanced - to
compensate for that posture, which will force her to collapse her upper body back to the weaker side. This
one simple compensation, can then start a chain of events leading to many more compensations which
will both stop the development of building correct muscles and start developing compensating muscles:
having the horse brace on one rein, tightness in the jaw and poll, lack of forward, increased weakness to
the passive hock, and other muscle, ligament, and tendon issues that will now occur because of her horse
carrying the weight of a rider in an unbalanced frame.
“How we can make the rider’s position more effective, and reduce back pain”.
Also, a comment that we have received from hundreds of our customers, is that the lower back pain and
sometimes sciatic conditions they felt after riding have since disappeared after our corrective reflocking.
The reason explained to us by chiropractors, is that in their compensating frame of sitting on one sitting
bone, and collapsing their upper body in the other direction, that compensating position has caused a
nerve impingement in either one of their lumbar discs, or where the spine connects to the sacrum.
This is not a black and white problem - this is very gray issue. But from our experience with those women
rider's that are experiencing position, relaxation, balance, and bracing problems while attempting
dressage, asymmetrically flocking a saddle is a necessity, but it has to be done by someone that really has
an understanding of the bio-mechanic movement of a horse moving in a compensating frame, otherwise
it can be completely counterproductive.
If you think I have been repetitive with my explanation of the asymmetries of most female riders in
relationship to men and accomplished female riders, there is a purpose to that. I have found over the past
40 years, that there are a lot of women that have a defeatist attitude when it comes to their ability to ever
ride a horse affectively. "'All I want to do is be able to canter my horse", "It would be nice to be able to
ride a training level test", "My trainer thinks my horse will never be able to advance above 1st level". These
and other statements I have heard way too many times.
First of all, most horse when observed in a pasture are often seen doing a capriole, corbette and levade…if
they can do those circus movements, they sure will be able to do all the FEI movements. So the missing link
becomes the horse that can affectively carry the weight of the rider beyond self-carriage, and/or the rider
that has to have the ability to communicate their aids to the horse. And those two elements are not that
difficult to attain.
!
The first element is to strengthen the horse to perform dressage – this takes proper ground work to build the
correct musculature and elasticity in ligaments and tendons, which will be covered in another article and
video. The second element, is once the horse is ridden, the rider has to have a saddle that allows them a
position to ride in their aerobic frame that does not represent resistance to their horse's natural mechanical
movement. The 3rd element is just plain common sense – never ask a horse to do something that it is not
physically capable of doing. Unfortunately riders and trainers that lack patience can get in the way of all
three of those elements.
If you truly want to be successful in any equine
discipline, the rider should also share the
muscular strength and flexibility that they are
requiring of their horse. Pilates, weight
training and even vigorous walking will not only
build your strength and stamina, but also help
your cardiovascular and gastrointestinal
systems as well.
What you will really find interesting while riding in our saddles, is that because a female's
quadriceps are attached to the top of the pelvis, and the abdominal muscles are attached to the
bottom of the pelvis, the only real exercise that works the muscles between those two insertions, is
the undulation of the rider's core with the reflective movement of their horse – it is truly the best
aerobic exercise there is to develop those core muscle groups.

The Dressage Saddle for the Female Rider

Transcription

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