Many horsemen and women ride English style saddles. They are smaller, look more elegant, and are often more comfortable than Western saddles. Their parts are easier to clean, and the saddle is simpler to disassemble. Storing an English saddle is much easier due to the small size of the saddle. There are many different types of English saddles, and each has their own use. I’ll explain each type and how they differ from each other.
The first type of English saddle is the Park Saddle. The Park Saddle is commonly used for simple arena riding. The leather is very thin and the rider sits very close to the horse. This saddle provides little protection and support for the rider so it is not used for intense riding. The Park Saddle has very long and wide side flaps. The pommel is very low, or even cut back to allow undisturbed movement of the horse’s withers. The seat is cut low and sits farther back on the horse than many other saddles. The Park Saddle is a great choice when showing your horse in the arena.
The Dressage Saddle is a saddle designed for the greatest balance of the rider. Since a Dressage rider needs to be in perfect balance and sit with the best posture, this saddle has a deep, well padded seat to give the rider greater comfort. The Dressage Saddle is also very well padded so the horse feels no intense areas of pressure from the rider. This allows for softer movement of the horse. The padding is often made of wool. The thick wool padding will mold to the horse after it has been worn several times. Some Dressage Saddles have two billet sets and two cinches. This allows for more even distribution of the riders weight.
The Jumping Saddle is another English style riding saddle. As the name infers, the Jumping Saddle is used for jumping. The main difference with the Jumping Saddle is the flap position. The flaps are set very far forward on the saddle to allow for the seating position of the rider. The flaps come padded, or you can choose to have unpadded flaps as well. This saddle is very thin throughout the seat, and sits forwardly on the horse. The seat is wide and very shallow. The back channel of the saddle should sit above the horse’s back so that it does not interfere with the horse’s movement while jumping.
The All-Purpose Saddle is an English saddle that is designed to work for all needs. It combines the assets of each different English saddle so that it can be used for many purposes, as the name states. The leather of the saddle is generally thin so that close contact can be obtained between the horse and the rider. The flaps are generally large and often have suede leg rolls so that the suede of the riders’ breeches can lock in place with the saddle. This gives the horse and rider ultimate comfort and closeness needed for all English riding sports.
The Australian Stock saddle has been used by English Riders as well. The Aussie saddle is a cross between the standard English saddle and a Western saddle. The advantage of an Aussie saddle is that is fits closer than a Western saddle, but is more secure on a horse than a standard English type saddle. The deep padded seat resembles a Western saddle seat, while the size and shape resembles an English saddle. The Aussie Saddle is commonly used by pleasure riders or for trail use. The Aussie saddle has many rings to hold necessities when out for a day long ride.
The Endurance Saddle is similar to the Aussie Saddle, but does not feature the Western similarities. This saddle is designed for ample comfort of the rider and the horse. A comfortable seat is the most noted feature of an Endurance Saddle. Endurance Saddles often have a saddle extension beyond the cantle for better distribution of the rider’s weight across the horse’s back.
All these English Saddles have specific components designed for the best fit of each sport. If you are planning on choosing one sport to compete in, choose the saddle designed for that sport. If you just desire to ride on an English Saddle, the All-Purpose Saddle will suite you well!
