Bareback Riding

Last New Year’s I hung up my stirrup irons, then eventually put away my saddle completely, and rode bareback until spring. I’m starting a little earlier this year. I began wishing for a side saddle when I was about 15 or 16. But, I’ve wanted a bareback pad since I want about 10. I finally bought myself one. The 10 year old in me really wanted a green one, but I thought William would look more distinguished in black.

My reason for buying a bareback pad, was not so much to give me traction on the horse, but Mr.W.P. Grey seems to find the feel of my thigh muscles gripping his bare back at the canter either strangely provocative or down right annoying, because eVeRy.TiMe.We.CaNteR: he bucks. If he doesn’t start out crowhopping, he ends crowhopping, and when he gets like that he is not easy to pull up.

He has a big, bold, ground covering canter, and we have worked all summer on a smooth, loose reined transition. If I stay out of his face and leave my legs off him, he will step off quietly and lope along smoothly like a top notch western pleasure horse. If I get a little tense and interfere, he gets chargey and it’s off to the races. Then he might slip or trip on less than perfect footing, which makes him mad, and conditions have been known to disintegrate from there. This is all more likely to happen when I am bareback and clinging for my dear life. If I am ever going to canter aside, we need to work this out.

I feel riding bareback has a lot of comparisons to riding aside. You need core strength and to develop independent balance, and you have to trust your horse. You have to be aware of your seat bones and keeping one on each side of the spine. If you hold tension in your upper body, your shoulders will end up somewhere around your ears and you may be inclined to flap your chicken wings ...ummmm I mean elbows. You cannot rely on stirrups for anything.

I’ve just completed my second ride with the bareback pad. The first ride Grey was very careful of me, jogging along like he was giving a pony ride. This is a little strange considering his frequent delight in seeing if I am truly paying attention and have my heals down.

Today was cool and brisk and I had a snorty horse under me. But, he was obedient and had a lot more impulsion at the trot allowing me to work on keeping my shoulders and chicken wings down …and keeping one seat bone on each side of his spine. Yes, I can feel his spine through the pad, and I was surprised how often my seat bones went astray, twanging on the spine which I sure is not pleasant for the horse either.



I was able to get my calves off his side and let my lower leg hang properly. By the end of the ride, I was stretching my legs down and back and lengthening them along his side instead of perching with my knees too high. He went along at a very nice, straight medium trot, not behind the vertical and generally giving me everything I work so hard for in my dressage lessons and daily ride without my asking. And I haven’t figured out exactly WHY other than I was concentrating on my riding, not him. And we all know the root of all riding problems is the rider, not the horse.

Both rides we cantered on each lead uneventfully with no dolphin moves or pronging like an antelope, and he seemed quite pleased with himself. After 20 minutes or so in the ring, we headed out the driveway and up the road. This was an exercise in trust. He is generally better behaved out of the ring than in it, but the nervous adult re-rider in me says that cantering up the road bareback is a risky endeavor if not plain stupid. We trotted and had a short canter. We are baby stepping our way to more confident and balanced riding in order to ride aside that much more elegantly.

The Hoarder's Dilemma

This weekend I couldn't really decide if I wanted to try the side saddle or not. I had the time, but when I got to the barn at 10am, it was already 85 degrees and 94% humidity. Because of that, I had worn my slippery summer schooling tights. Well, what the heck. Let's see how much help those full seats actually give.

A LOT.

Of course it didn't help that because I hadn't bothered to either ride or longe yet, my horse had a hump in his back the size of the Rocky Mountains. I opted not to tighten the balance strap those last few holes, and headed up the slope to the arena, slipping and sliding, left, right, back... and hadn't even swung my leg over yet!

Once in the arena, we stopped to stand and breathe until Grey's back relaxed. Then we tried a couple of laps at the walk. With my balance wavering, I was pushing my horse all over the place, and because of the slippery britches, I couldn't stay centered to save my life. So we called it a day. While last time the saddle felt comfy, this time it felt horrible. There is a lot to be said for not ignoring your own preparations and flying in the face of good planning. I guess I will be ordering some full seated summer tights for those miserable hot days.

So, back to the barn, and change saddles for a ride in the cool woods. As I rode, I mulled over the saddle fit.

#1. I need some flocking out of the front. If anything, the saddle is still a bit too tight, and it definetly rides uphill. I wouldn't mind setting it back another half inch, but it won't budge.

#2. This saddle doesn't fit like a glove. There is a lot of difference in saddles even of the same size. This I learned when shopping for my Stubben. I made full use of Dover's saddle test ride program, and spent one whole summer changing out trial saddles. What a bore.

#3. A quick inventory of the saddles available on the Internet tells me I am going to need at least $3000 to play with to get something just a tad longer and just a tad wider. A 23" x 14" would be just ducky. Side Saddle Heaven has three saddles that look promising, ranging from $1995 to $3500. No sense even calling to be "wait listed" for new consignments without cash in hand, and no sense buying one with the same sizing.

#4. The best way to get a good chunk of that cash is to sell my current saddle. I actually know someone shopping for a saddle and this one fits their criteria to a tee.

#5. The saddle hoarder in my blanches at the thought of letting go of this saddle. Even in the interest of "trading up".

But, if I sold my saddle to my friend for what I paid for it, and threw in next month's "mad money", I could be the proud new owner of something like this lovely Mayhew.

Ride #7: Quite Good Fun

Today was back to basics day. No pads, no shim, just me and the saddle. I do think I am on the verge of visiting the chiropractor. I've been working harder at the gym to get my lower back strengthened up, and trim down a bit, and by the end of the week it seemed like my feet were getting further away, and gravity was getting stronger. I woke up this morning stiff as a board with a persistent ache in my left hip socket.

And I'm not the only member of this team feeling less than spry. The Grey Horse has been moving a bit short in front, particularly in the left front. I was hoping it was just general foot soreness from the dry weather, or maybe a stone bruise. I've been packing his hooves with Magic Cushion, and it's helping, but hasn't done away with the problem entirely. It's mostly noticeable longeing to the left on a hard surface, but if you let him warm up slowly it doesn't bother him much. I wouldn't doubt he pulled something in his shoulder. If you could see him play cowboys and indians (he's always the Lone Ranger) you would wonder how he has a leg left to stand on. So anyway, we've been taking it slow this week.

Determined to have a good ride, I took some Aleeve, and spent 10 minutes stretching and by the time I left the house I felt almost normal.

Now I know I will be battling the uphill battle with no cantle lift. Just out of curiosity, I pulled up the measurements of Grey that I did for a conformation study for Cornell University a couple of years ago. His withers measure a full 1.75 inches higher than his hips. This is pretty common for Saddlebreds. Our other two horses are 1.5 and 1.75 higher. So we'll work that out later. Today's goal was to sit straight.

This is me straddling my side saddle. I even chose a striped shirt to help with the visual.

I've swung my leg over, and not bad, but not perfect. I think this can be attributed to my horse not being square. His hips aren't level here either.


After walking to the end of the arena, I am more straight.


And after a bit of trotting, I have settled in a pretty good position.


And look what we have here... a HAPPY horse.

I think this expression is pretty telling. Last time he was very worried and hesitant. Today he seemed quite satisfied with the arrangement.

We even achieved what I would call a medium trot, instead of a halting jog while he worried about which side I was going to fall off on.

And a short video...

Please keep in mind this is only my 7th ride. I know there was quite the debate going on on face book about right toe up vs. right toe down position. I believe the concensus was "toe neutral". We all know the toe down position give a much cleaner line under an apron. My natural chair seat lends itself to the "toe up" position. If I try for too long to keep my foot neutral, my calf cramps. I imagine strength and practice will alleviate this.

I am also fighting with my left leg. I raised my stirrup one notch last week. I am still not confident enough in my balance to relax my left leg but I'm working on it. It feels worse than it looks in this clip, although you can see me fiddle with my stirrup once.

So there you have it. I was quite pelased with my ride and really had fun because I didn't feel like I was fighting the saddle. Of course I felt a little unfamiliar, but I no longer get butterflies in my stomach before I swing my leg over. I was worried the photos would tell a different tale, but they seem to portray what I was feeling. This really is quite good fun!

Things that keep you up at night

I awoke this morning thinking about straightness. Actually, after posting those photos, I was feeling rather glum. I'm a good rider. Really I am. I started taking dressage lessons this summer, first lessons in 25 years, from a woman who intimidates me just a little, and was prepared for the worst. After a few sessions, she said I had a nice light seat, sympathetic hands, and that I shouldn't be so hard on myself. We had great lessons. I enjoyed them immensely, and I got a lot out of them. I am looking forward to starting up in the fall when cooler weather hits. And yes, I am someday going to ask her to take a look at the side saddle, once our relationship has developed a bit.

I can sit straight on this side saddle. I have proof.

What the heck happened here? Could it be the squishyness of the Cashel pad exacerbating the problem? Let's hope so!

But I admit I don't sit straight. Heck, when I dragged out of bed into the passenger seat of the car to go to the local greasy spoon for breakfast this morning, the first thing I noticed was... I was sitting on my left hip!!!


My instructor found my weakness 5 minutes into our first lesson.

She grabbed my belt loop, hauled my butt 2 inches to the right to line up my seam, and told me to sit over there and if I felt crooked, I was probably straight because when I thought I was straight, I sure the heck wasn't. Grey found this all very interesting and studied with rapt attention.

Then one hot summer morning, I used a little too much Lady Anti Monkey Butt Powder...

And look, even astride, I sit with my right seat bone forward and to the left. Ohhh.... I'm so screwed!!!!!!! I'm going to have to find an off side saddle.

The Long Process of Do It Yourself

Saturday is the only time I have to spend leisurely at the barn. But something always seems to come up to put me off from hauling my side saddle out there. Either I'm too stiff and sore, or too tired and uninspired. Last weekend company came, so it was all rush-rush-rush. But today was rainy and lazy, so it was a good time to mess with the side saddle. Kathie, who sold me the saddle, sent me a Cashel lift pad to try. So I stuck it in my side saddle duffle and headed out.

I have a lot of gear in my side saddle duffle. There are two lift pads, the shaped, quilted pad with shims that I made myself, my long reins, the loop for the girth to keep the balance strap, a girth extender just in case, and several rolls of Vetwrap .

After half an hour of layering and repositioning, I have a stack resembling a Big Mac with the corners of the rug pads sticking out at various spots like the corners of cheese slices. Today I went with the quilted pad with the near side shim (didn't help), a non slip under that, then the Cashel with a rug pad between the quilted pad and the Cashel. I really did like the Cashel pad. It gave the cantle the perfect lift, but I still have trouble tipping left. So, I think this fall the saddle will be on it's way to Lillian for some adjustment. I think if we pull some flocking out of the front, that will help level it a lot too. What a patient guy William is being. He hates the saddling up process any day, and side saddling takes a lot of fussing right now.

Is it just me, or is the highest part of the cantle not on center with the gullet?

I got settled in astride, the swung my leg over. Mom just happened to snap the photo at the point, and we both thought this was a funny picture. I must admit, side saddle (the way I do it) is not always elegant and glamorous.

William looks for help from Mom.

He has been a little off in the left front leg. I think the hard ground is starting to tell on him and I'm going to try some sole packing. When I first started off, my being aside sent him listing hard to the left. We finally got leveled out and his left shoulder raised, but once we got the kinks worked out I took him outside so we would have a straightaway to work on.

Now I'm listing hard to the left. Well most of me. The rest is listing right. I raised my stirrup a notch so I'm not always tipping my heel to leg him on. I found that pointing my right toe down caused my calf to cramp, so I had to let up on that a bit.

I didn't feel like I was slouching this badly, but the camera sure caught it!

From the off side we look much more elegant. I actually felt secure and comfortable at both the walk and the trot.

But of course, the walk always looks better.

Not from this angle!!! This is actually the sweet spot where my right seat bone feels best. And I do feel like I'm leaning, but no where near this hard.

There go the wings. It's hard to sit pretty and steer at the same time. Should my right toe be pointing more forward? I'm not sure if it will. I'll have to work on that.

Push push push and cluck. Giddy up!

OK, I've fixed my slouch... too much.

Ahhh... finally a nice angle.

My calf was cramping, and I felt like as I tired, I was tipping left more, so I decided not to try the canter. This horse's canter is very active and bounding and hard for me to ride even when I'm sitting in the middle. We'll have to get my hips fixed before we try that.

Next weekend, I'm going to try the saddle with no pads at all and see what issues we come up with. Ideally, I would like to be able to do away with all the padding nonsense,

In Reality

It is so amazing to have you all's support and encouragement regarding the show and finding pieces of equipment. It means a lot. After sleeping on it a few nights, and taking my (merely) 5th ride aside, I am at peace with the decision to pass on the county fair this year. Besides the fact that my workload at the office has basically doubled this spring, I think this year has to be the year of the cow pasture. There are only so many directions my mental energies can go. Maybe next year will be the year of the horse show.



If my horse was a seasoned competitor who could hold up his end of the bargain I wouldn't think twice about it. I've had horses who could run through their horse show responsibilites with an untrained monkey strapped to their back, and they wouldn't have given the hog auction or the tractor pull a second glance. Grey has virtually no idea what happens in a show ring and will be high as a kite (he was last time). I can't worry about his manners, and keeping my rein bight on the right so I don't catch my foot in it at the same time. So, either he's going to need to gain a lot of experience in new places, or I am going to have to become proficient riding aside.

So with that in mind, I saddled up for another ride. This was our first trip outside. At first it felt very foreign (it has been months afterall), but I was determined and the longer I sat up there the more comfy I got. Despite obvious flaws in my position, I felt secure and gained confidence by the minute. I did not feel like I was going to slide off, but I have some easily identifiable issues.

The day before, my riding instructor pointed out that I was sitting on the right side of my saddle (astride) and compensating with my uneven weight distribution by raising my shoulder. Pretty much what you see here. Since I suddenly have similar issues both astride and aside, I'm thinking there is some general gardening fatigue going on in my core and/or lower back. When this photo was taken, we were walking, and I was beginning to turn to the right, so that affects the symmetry of the picture a bit, but I need to get my right seat bone back, and more weight in it.

So much for remembering to keep my pelvis upright... I'm dealing with a bit of an uphill saddle here. I tried my new shims today, and they are not sufficient. I had the saddle much more level before. Not to worry, I have a plan. I am happy to report that my horse is patiently humoring me in what he obviously thinks is the dumbest idea I've ever had. I guess the Magnesium and Vitamin B are kicking in. Not to mention the summer heat. I will remember to wear a spur and bring a crop next time.

My right leg position felt like my strong point. I was suprised that my tall (although not tall enough to be fashionable astride) boots seem to be the best footwear choice yet. For the first time ever, I was happy with their height! I also felt quite secure even at the trot and I'm giving my right leg credit for that. I was able to begin thinking about my left leg position. And what I was thinking was that I had to keep my heel in my horse and that was raising my thigh. I'm also struggling a bit figuring out a comfortable and correct spot for my left hand.

Now this looks OK despite the uphill saddle. I can live with this photo.
(Horse still asleep)

This ride really renewed my enthusiasm and I am eager to continue. It went a heck of a lot better than this poor girl's ride. That video came up on my daily Google search. I was thinking "gee, that pinto horse is a saint to put up with her hands." Then I watched his patience wear thin, and at the end he gives her a really good "screw you".

Hot to Trot

The weather took enough of a break for my side saddle enthusiasm to renew. I loaded the car, did my stretches and headed out. I think I've found a new muscle. As far as I can tell, it's called the gluteus medius. It's not used to stretching, and it's not happy. It ached and cramped all night, but is limbering up pretty well now. My abductors and adductors are a little sore, but they have nothing to complain about since they have to work at the gym almost daily and should be prepared. I also have a sore rectus femoris. In other words, the back of my right thigh burns right above my knee. I'm editing to add a bit, as the day wears on... my right seat bone made a tender mooshy spot in my fat, and my right calf is tight.

The good news is, my balance, hips, and shoulders seem to be taking care of themselves fairly naturally. Apparently, I'm not at immediate risk of falling off. The bad news is, I have no more control over my lower legs than usual, and it has been decades since I worried about equitation. I think I did much better with my right leg, but it required about 80% of my concentration.

I started out with a little walking, but that is getting boring and my horse needs some exercise. The saddle still feels like it is twisting left. I kept tightening the balance strap, and it took three tries to get it back to the hole it belongs on. I put a weight tape on Grey last week, and he is up at least 50 pounds since Christmas, but he took the balance strap with no complaints. Once I felt confident that the saddle was staying put, albeit a little wonky feeling, we moved on to the trot.

I concentrated on pulling my right ankle back and pointing my toe, and it's amazing how that secures you to the saddle. I feel pretty easy as far as balance, and began asking Grey to move out more. He was a little startled to actually feel the whip for a change.

But, as you see in the above photo where I snapped him and he scooted, my left leg doesn't stay under me well. This is NOT an issue exclusive to aside riding. I also concentrated on not sitting back on my pockets, which helps with the overall saddle fit. In fact, I've been practicing that during the day at my office. The difference in square foot coverage of a fanny when you straighten your back and tip your hips is remarkable.

Kathie, who sold me the saddle, recommended before she even shipped it that I find a corset to ride in. I've been shopping the internet for them a bit (actually kind of fun) and figured I might as well get something I might use even if it doesn't help my riding. So, since I don't have a corset to ride in yet, I dug out my old lower back support and wore that. I do think it helps.

Also, I feel more secure circling right than left. I don't know if this is my balance or my horse's. I am really looking forward to spring so I can get outside and ride in a straight line.

Critical Situations

No side saddle progress this week. Despite the fact that we had 3 beautiful, warm spring days... the kind where you simply cannot fathom the thought that winter will return... winter is back. Saturday morning's weather was every bit as miserable as last Saturday's. Cold, HIGH winds, blowing snow, slippery roads, poor visibility. Completely demoralised, I dragged myself out of bed and to the barn with as little baggage as possible, leaving the armloads of side saddle and gear on the rack in the living room.




After puttering around the barn for a bit while Grey thundered around the tiny indoor, I finally mustered enough interest to get out a cold bridle, and catch the wild thing for a bareback ride. It was apparent, even before I got him to the mounting block, that this was not going to be a leisurely waddle around on the fuzzy couch. As Mom put it he had "too many bats in his belfry" and she decided to linger in the barn "just in case you fall off". Thanks for the vote of confidence.




The 50 mph winds were howling in the trees outside, creaking the walls, and banging the doors. Even though we have four and a half foot solid gates in the back, the actual sliding door is hopelessly frozen open affording a clear view of fresh-snow phantasms blowing down off the roof. After a monstrous spook which didn't unseat me, but did tweak something in my right side and lower back, I decided this was one of those moments: Give up and get down, or toughen up and ride. I wiggled out of my comfy quilted barn jacket, and traded it over the gate for the dressage whip.




Deciding to avoid going past the back door, we instead did trot figure eights in the safe 2/3rds of the 50x50. Since Grey was channeling his inner park horse and could only be trusted with about 18" of rein, it did not resemble elementary dressage work, but instead a satirical farce based on a saddle seat equitation class... bareback. I tried posting (usually easy) to save my back, but that loosened the all important connection of fanny to horse so I opted instead to concentrate on which seat bone my weight was in. After awhile I finally got him settled, ahead of my leg, and listening well enough to do an elementary leg yield, amd then cantered both ways without incident. So, as it turned out, conditions were not conducive to learning to ride aside. Which, begs the question, what does a lady do when her horse misbehaves?



To bring today’s entry back to a side saddle theme, I went flipping through some pdf copies of the old books to see how ladies were expected to handle naughty horses, and I must say, I wish I had more time to devote to sitting and reading these books cover to cover because there were some real gems.

Principles of Modern Riding for Ladies by John Allen (1825)
The author refers to these as “Critical Situations” and gives the usual advice on rearing and bucking horses but also tackles some indelicate terminology… “Accordingly, when he lifts his forelegs, your breech must be thrust out behind, by which you are prepared if he rears.”

Belle Beach must have been quite the gutsy rider, as she was a professional, and certainly was put in all sorts of hairy situations. “Many claim that the cross-saddle is safer than the side saddle in case of a rearing horse falling over backward. I do not agree with this (of course she wouldn’t)for, in the first place, many good men have suffered shocking accidents in this way and, when riding in the cross-saddle, unless the rider succeeds in throwing himself clear from the horse, he is almost sure to have one leg broken. On the other hand, with a side-saddle, if the horse comes down on his off side, there is no danger of a broken leg, and when the horse starts to rear a woman can usually make him fall on the off side by pulling his head to that side with all her strength, so that on this point the ease of clearing oneself from a cross-saddle is more that offset by the ability to throw the horse with safety and make him fall on the off side.” Now, I’ve thrown a few horses over, in my rougher youth, and you should actually pull the horse’s head left, not to the off side, but I think this method falls squarely in the “do not try this at home” category.






I didn’t take the time to relate all of William Alexander Kerr’s advice in Practical Horsemanship and Riding for Ladies (1891) but I did spot this interesting illustration. The trainer looks pretty determined doesn’t he? If I ever got my legs in that position… I don’t think I’d be getting off on my own.






Ladies on Horseback by Mrs. (Nannie) Power O’Donoghue (1881) provides not only the most exhaustive advice on bad actors, but by far the most amusing. She starts with very practical advice, then ventures off into wonderful stories of personal experiences.

"You must not lose sight of the fact that a bird flitting suddenly across, a donkey’s head laid without warning against a gate, a goat’s horns appearing over a wall, or even a piece of paper blown along the ground, may cause your horse to shy, and if you are not sitting close at the time, woe betide you! "

"Should your horse show temper and attempt to back with you, leave him rein, touch him lightly with your heel, and speak encouragingly to him; should he persist, your attendant must look into the matter; but a horse who possesses this dangerous vice should never be ridden by a lady. "

"Should your horse at anytime rear with you, throw the reins loose, sit close, and bring your whip sharply across his flank. If this is not effectual, you may give him the butt end of it between the ears, which will be pretty sure to bring him down. " Oh my. How unladylike.

She then goes on to relate a runaway situation that rather amused her, but not so much as the fact that a gentleman “actually attacked my servant in the most irate manner because he had not clattered after me during the progress of the mare’s wild career. ‘How dare you sir,’ cried this irascible old gentleman, ‘how dare you attempt to neglect your young lady in this cowardly manner?’ Nor was his anger at all appeased when informed that I, as a matron was my own caretaker, and that my attendant had strict injunctions not to follow me in the event of my horse being startled or running away.”

She then goes on to relate a story of being runaway with in a hunt and of jumping a 6’ 6” wall (which she set her horse at to stop him) and landing in the middle of a farm yard, creating a “considerable disturbance”!

“Such a commotion amongst fowl was surely never witnessed.” Finding the gate locked, she did the only thing she could… led her defeated horse out through the kitchen, startling an old woman who was knitting in the chimney corner. “And she was still shrieking long after I had mounted the big bay and ridden him back to inform his owner of how charmingly he had behaved.” Who could think a lady could have such adventures?

She must have been quite the character. I'll have to spend the time to read that book more thoroughly, as well as the Riding for Ladies published in 1887. All the above books are available in their entirety in Google Books.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

I can't believe I took the trouble to haul my side saddle out today. The weather was horrible, and my first instinct, upon getting up and not being able to see as far as the garage through the snow, was to just stay in the house and make soup or bread. But horse people are crazy. So...

I made two mistakes today, but one improvement. First, I didn't bother to do any stretching before I left the house which really helped last time. And it was terribly cold, so as soon as I got aside, both my calves and both my arches cramped up. After sitting there for a few minutes and deciding they weren't going to loosen, I had Grey take me back to the mounting block where I shimmied down his left side and did heel lifts on the mounting block until they loosened up.

Secondly, because my horse was filthy today...

Nice, Huh?

Just what you want to put a fancy saddle on.

...I thought it would be a good day to see if I could get any pressure points on the white saddle pad so I left the sticky layer between the horse and the pad out, and I could really tell the difference. Of course, my unorthodox dismount and second mounting didn't help, and the saddle was shifting left.

After last week's successful ride, I trusted the saddle, my horse, and myself a bit more so I didn't immediately panic, but after a few minutes it became evident the saddle needed to be reset. I put it all straight and remounted with a tighter girth and tighter balance strap and everything immediately felt 10 times better and no more shifting. Still, at that point I was starting to wear out, so I never got around to trotting. My horse did treat me to a Bambi-Spraddle spook with a jump to the left which didn't loosen my seat any, but just made me mad and I spent a few minutes astride the saddle making him walk properly shaped circles instead of lolly-gagging, cutting corners and gazing out the back door.

The positive thing I did was leave my right half chap off which gave me a lot more flexibility to my right ankle so I could get my toe pointed down. Due to the cramping hazards, that didn't happen a lot, but I did get my foot pulled back, and my left heel down. Of course, with my right shin more perpendicular, was pulled forward further, and the leaping head didn't feel as perfect as it did last week.

I know it doesn't look like it in the photos, but last week I had two fingers of cantle left, and pulled forward with my shin straight I had almost four which actually put me at a narrower part of the seat which was less comfortable. This saddle has a pretty persistent "sweet spot" that is hard to get out of. First I dropped the stirrup one hole, but with my heel down I not only could get one hand between my thigh and the leaping head, I could get my whole wrist. So I raised it back up. I still felt like I was twisting a bit with my right hip forward, so I kept resetting from an astride position trying to reassure myself that I was square. It seems to help if I drop my right rein, and let my arm hang for a minute.




Very limited photos today because it was so *bleep*ing cold, the batteries were dying in the camera. Despite the fact that I've lost 4 pounds this week, I felt fat and clumsy and stiff, and a bit dizzy and immediately after I dismounted, my right knee started with stabbing pains.
Despite sacrificing the security of the slip pad, there was no dirt at all on the dressage pad. So that either means there are no pressure points or that the experiment was a complete and total failure. I did take the time to arrange the quilted pad, and mark the outline of my saddle in masking tape so I can make a pattern for a pad.

When I removed the saddle, both sides of his back were ruffled a little but that was from me fiddling around and having to reset the saddle, and I don't think was an indication of where most of my weight was.

I drove home through 30 mph winds, drifting snow and sloppy melting roads. Ate a banana for my leg cramps, took an Aleve for my knee and took a nap. I never got any soup or bread made, but my neighbor Trish left us some... I'm not sure what, zucchini bread maybe? which is very good, and now I've blown my diet. Sort of. There's always room in a diet for home made bread. I can't wait for February to be over!

Take Two: Success!

Okay, I guess this IS doable! Hooray! I am NOT a side saddle failure. The past two weeks, I have been carefully scheming and preparing for my next ride. I am happy to report the fixes worked. Very well in fact. It took a lot of thinking, shopping and adjusting. My husband even got in on the act bending leaping heads, and beveling shim pads with his die grinder.

So, the list of fixes are:

Longer reins: Perfect! Gives me a lot of bight which I am used to, after decades of heavy maned Saddlebreds, keeping on the left. I caught myself several times chanting "bight on the right" over and over. That's one thing you don't want wrapped around your ankle.

Shim Pad: Gives me half an inch of rise to the cantle, and magically seems to have fixed the tight spot right behind his shoulder blade. There are a LOT of shim options, and some challenges to properly shimming a side saddle. More on that later in the week.

Mohair Girth: In a proper size 52". I was using a saddle seat "humane" girth, but it was at only 48 inches and longer ones are very rare to find and much more expensive than the string girths. I have eliminated the sketchy girth extender, and I love the mohair. It has a nice amount of give to it and is not at all slippery. Two thumbs up!

Non Slip Rug Pad (from Home Depot): I have a regular "non slip" saddle pad, but it isn't anywhere near as sticky as a cheap-o rug pad. I put one square beneath the quilted pad, and one square between the quilted pad and the shim pad.

Seat Stikum: This is a three pronged approach. Not only did I remember my full seat breeches today (20 degrees warmer incidentally) but I also put some Sadl-Tite on my seat, and wrapped the upright head with some Vet Wrap for good measure.

Time to ride. The last two times I have taken the saddle to the barn, I have been nervous and jumpy. I didn't even sleep well the nights before. This morning I woke up excited and eager, one might even say confident, with a plan of attack. Another thing Robin has said in her blog brought back old memories. When I was a kid, I used to ride "aside" in western saddles. This is pretty much impractical, even painful, likely unsafe. But almost anyone who trail rides a lot has done it at one point or another. Putting one, or both legs up on a western pommel will rest your back. Swinging one leg around the horn is a convenient way to sit and talk with your companions. It isn't very easy to do while walking or trotting, as the horse's neck rises and falls with it's stride, pinching your leg, but if I could do that without a problem, certainly I can ride in a proper side saddle.

Today I clamoured aboard astride (there are a lot of horns in the way) and went for a little stroll. Why not get used to this saddle one leg at a time? It's actually not bad this way. I was able to fiddle with my left leg, and enjoy the new fit of the leaping head. I got myself settled in, my butt in a comfy balanced place, and then I just swung my right leg up and over, and pretty much forgot about it.




Grey did not. My right leg appearing on his near side again got the equine equivalent of raised eyebrows. "Really? You're going to try this again?"

"Do you realise your legs are both over here?"

He studied the situation and thought about it. For those of you who know William Pendleton Grey Esq. from his blog, you will know that he is quick, powerful, and smart. And like most Saddlebreds, he has a very active fantasy life. If there is nothing going on, he pretends story lines about monsters and pirates. I don't make that stuff up. I just try to write down what's really going on in his head. He doesn't dump me on purpose. In the six years we've owned him, we've parted company three times. Once I fell off, once I was thrown off, and once I went down with the ship. Each time he has been very ashamed afterwards. I haven't decided yet if he's ashamed of his poor behavior, or ashamed of my lousy riding skills. He takes a lot for granted when it comes to my sticking with him. In light of that, he has been very careful and conscientious about this whole side saddle thing.


Of course, we are in the small, dusty indoor. And he finds that pretty boring. In fact, he generally turns into a western pleasure horse. You can see from all the dust in the air that showed up in the pictures, that by the time I had longed him enough to get all the pirates out of him, we had pretty well ruined the air quality. But, the mere fact that we are able to ride at all in a western NY winter is pretty amazing, so I can over look the fact that every time I ride I have to clean all my tack, and launder all my clothes.

This time I had very little trouble staying in the middle. In fact, I found the root of the sliding off the left side is actually me leaning my torso to the right. Shoulder goes right, bum goes left. Amazing and immediate cause and effect. I could feel Grey wobbling a bit under me. Remember, he's never had a side saddle on before. He's not sure how to react or if he's supposed to compensate for me when I do something awkward. This doesn't surprise me as it took us several rides to get used to the new feel of riding bareback. I think he is doing very well with side saddle.

I had Mom shoot a lot of photos. I tried to crop this one using the sliding door track on the wall as the level horizon. Not too bad for a second ride. I think I lean a smidge to the off side though.








Grey was almost impossible to get unrooted to start with. I had to send Mom for a dressage whip just to get him to step forward. There is only one near side shot that shows it, but I guarantee my left heel was up most of the time encouraging my reluctant and overly cautious horse.

I rode for almost a half hour, and only twice felt like I was going to slide myself off. As soon as I realised the correlation between that and my upper body weight, it was quite easily solved. I am having some difficulty figuring out how to increase my weight in my right seat bone. When I unsaddled, I studied Grey's back, and I did ruffle some hair under my left seat bone, so I obviously am a little off balance. I think I did better with the balance strap this time. I had it two fingers tight, then when I mounted, I took it up another notch or two to compensate for me squishing everything down.

I even worked up the nerve to trot. No good photos of that. Just funny pictures of intense concentration. It wasn't hard though, and I didn't feel insecure. My right toe did come up, and my left heel a bit. Luckily Grey has an easy trot which I have never found hard to sit. He was a bit shocked when I asked him to trot. His initial reaction was "For a minute there I thought you said 'Trot!" But after a few times he evidently decided I wasn't going to fall off, or send him careening into a wall, and he actually relaxed and started looking for boogers out the door again. In fact, I'm pretty sure I am more likely to get my self in a pickle wobbling around at a walk worrying about my saddle than I am at a brisk trot thinking about keeping my horse in front of my leg and on the bit.

A happy end to our second ride.

Sidesaddle Savant~NOT

This is going to be hard. I mean, I never assumed it would be easy. But this is going to be really hard. I guess I sort of assumed I might show just a whisper of natural side saddle aptitude. I do not. Last year, after I saucily dared him, my good friend Bill borrowed a side saddle, took "one or two practice rides at the barn", and proceeded to stage this grand performance at a horse show, collecting donations, for the benefit of Saddlebred Rescue. Now I always assumed Bill to be a more talented rider than myself. But I thought the difference, perchance, rested in his hands. Not so. I am thoroughly humbled. I would not have made it through the in-gate.

Saturdays are side saddle days, so I loaded the old lady up and headed for the barn. First I wanted to get to the bottom of some fit issues. The biggest would be the leveling of the seat. I borrowed a four foot level from my husband. I saddled up the grey horse, pulled aside the safe where it covers the cut back, and placed the level down the center line like so.

Not bad actually. Less than a half a bubble off. I know there is some dip to the seat which gives an optical illusion but the cantle is almost level with the pommel. I raise the end of the level over the cantle until the bubble was centered. Mmmm... a little less than half an inch. I got a half inch gel pad and placed it under the saddle, back from the pommel so it would raise the cantle only.






WHOA! Pegged the bubble. That might be a little too much. But we assume my weight will condense the padding. I decided to leave it in there for experimental purposes.




Next I tried to get a photo of the gullet at the withers. Good luck. All I can say is that the clearance is good. Not to high. Actually we have two other fit issues that are proving more problematic. The first one is the padding of the panels at the front. If I slide my fingers under the saddle, there is a tight point right behind the end of his shoulder blade. The rest is comfortable, and the points of the tree are wide enough.




The second problem is that blasted Martin & Martin garage door hinge. It's curved to sharply and puts a pressure point on his rib cage right at the bottom of the flap.





For short rides with a pad, this probably wouldn't be too bad. But for any real riding, especially without a pad, there would be a rubbed raw spot in short order. I imagine the metal hinge could be reshaped a bit? The seller already suggested it could be removed entirely because of the tight pinch it puts on the leather when you raise the hinge is destroying the off side flap.




The hinge is very handy for raising the flap while mounted to tighten the girth, but it is posing two problems and only offering one solution. At least the snap when it closes does not startled my "unflappable" Saddlebred.

The curve of the hinge.

So I bridled Grey and put him out on the longe line. No reaction to the balance strap whatsoever today. I announced my intention to sit in my saddle to my mother, and she came in to hold the horse for me. I am very grateful that I instilled, from the very beginning, the absolute necessity that Grey stand around and wait for me to say we are ready to move off. He stood like a rock, patiently entertaining himself with his bit and trying to stuff the entire longe line in his mouth while Mom and I studied gravity and other problematic laws of physics as they pertain to the human anatomy.

First obvious thing? I'm going to need those longer reins. I also need to learn to keep my right foot out of them. My first impression of the saddle? Wow this thing is WIDE! As I sat stride it I wondered how on earth a male groom would hang one of those groom's pad things with an extra stirrup to ride milady's second horse to the hunt. But wide is good. Wide is very good. I'm wide too.

Second obvious thing. While the upright head is ample for the shape of my thigh, the leaping head is too tightly curved. Something will have to be done about that. Both my horse and I are proving to be less curvy than the saddle. Other than that I feel comfortable. I reach around and feel for the cantle. Not there. I remove my winter glove and feel for the cantle. One finger width of space. Well we know it isn't because I have extra long thighs. This is because of the second glass of wine in the evenings. And the gravy. And perhaps there is some butter and sour cream involved as well. Good incentive to work harder.


I study the mechanics of pressing my right ankle into the horse's shoulder to tighten my right thigh against the upright head. I practice pointing my toe down. I raise my stirrup one notch. OK, time to try moving. Mom steps Grey ahead. It's been 33 years since Mom led me on a horse. It was my the first day with my second pony. He spooked, did a Bambi spraddle, and dropped me. From a walk. Hopefully we will not have a repeat performance. Everything feels different. Very different. Sort of like the elephant ride at the circus. I fight with my reins and finally am able to leave them alone. I practice with my right leg again if for no other reason than to remain aware of my position.

I continually resist the urge to clamp my left leg to the leaping head, even though there really isn't much room for it there. One lap around and I begin to shift. I don't want the saddle to slip because I don't want to scare my horse, give him a bad experience and risk damaging the saddle. We stop to study the situation and tighten the girth. The saddle doesn't seem to have shifted on his withers. I throw my right leg astride and wiggle. Nope. Won't budge. Seems to be centred. Another lap around the round pen.


My ass is sliding to the left. We laugh a bit, stop again, tighten the balance strap. I still don't think it's the saddle's fault. Maybe I should have worn different breeches. Maybe forgetting the full seats was imprudent. I remember that when I awoke at 7 am, the Weather Channel declared it to be -3 outside. By the time I drove to the barn it had warmed up to a balmy +9. I think I can make a good case for the insulated, yet oddly glossy, britches being the prudent choice. Despite the bitter cold, my carefully chosen outfit is keeping all my edges rather toasty.
Yay Kerrits and Mountain Horse! We'll try the full seats next time.

Just in case my horse is caving under me, we reverse and walk the other way. Grey is enduring this with patience and aplomb as nearly 200 pounds of antique leather and clumsy rider clamber about on his back like a load of poorly secured camping gear. Nope, still sliding. I mean I'm headed down hill like a I'm on a water slide. Only this time I can feel the saddle coming with me. I tell Mom to stop because I want to hop off right here and see if the saddle is really doing what it feels like it's doing. Yes, the pommel may have shifted a bit, but as you can see from this photo, the cantle has shifted left.





Perhaps we DO need some flocking on the near side panel. And I need to learn how to properly adjust a balance strap. When I get home I check some books, and find out that I'm probably hooking my right leg against the upright pommel, providing a pivot point to slide my ass right off the horse. Yep, there's yer problem. Not only have I pinpointed two or three issues for a saddler to correct, but I've found out a big problem with my position. We'll get the saddle adjusted first, then work on me.


No, there are no photos of my riding position. Sharing the personal detail of your life on the Internet can be both fun and helpful. You can get advice you wouldn't normally get. There is, however, a limit to the level of humiliation one must stoop to. This is mine. Mom is sympathetic to this challenge. She reassures me that I don't have to learn to ride aside. I remove the puzzling contraption and swing aboard bareback for a quick canter 'round. If you told me a month ago that cantering bareback would feel like the safe and secure choice for riding I would have laughed at you. But it does prove that I can train my body, manage my balance and well....ride.



This may be a challenge, but I'm up for it. I'm going to a fox hunting weekend at Hunter's Rest in March, and Betsy tells me she has a side saddle and a suitable horse and she will give me a side saddle lesson as well. I can't wait!