RE: twist on saddles

["Desgrange, Verlane" <VerlaneD@sfcc.spokane.cc.wa.us>]

>  -----Original Message-----
> From: 	Desgrange, Verlane  
> Sent:	Wednesday, December 05, 2001 4:12 PM
> To:	'ridecamp@endurance.net'
> Subject:	twist on saddles
> 
> Dear Karla,
> 
> An endurance riding friend forwarded me your querry about twist in a
> saddle seat. I'm a custom saddlemaker for both English and western. My
> riding background is in endurance and dressage.
> 
> For starters, picture two bicycle seats: one for men, the other for women.
> A man's seat is long and the same width over its entire length. It has no
> lateral support for your  ischia (your seat bones that contact the seat of
> a saddle). On a man's seat, you feel as though you're being cut in half,
> and no matter where you sit, you cannot get comfort or lateral support
> (it's too wide in the thigh area and not wide enough in the seat bone
> area). On the other hand, a women's bicycle seat is wide in the rear and
> narrow in front. Your seat bones have a place for support (wide) and your
> round thighs have NO interference from the width of the seat (narrow) in
> front. You simultaneously have support for your bones and yet no
> interference from the seat and you are able to drop your thighs around the
> seat and pedal away. Thus a "twist" in the seat is a narrowing of the seat
> where your thighs rest. By the same token, the rear of the seat is wide
> enough to support your seat bones (ischia, plural; ischium, singular).
> 
>  On a saddle, a narrow twist should be done without building up the seat
> in front, which will place you behind the horse's motion and force you to
> ride in the rear of the saddle. The seat should be level along its entire
> length with a correctly fitted saddle on the horse and have a narrowing in
> each side of the seat where your thighs would hang down, approximately in
> the middle of the seat as viewed from the top. Very few saddles do this,
> as most saddlemakers themselves ride in a "chair seat" (feet out in front
> and derierre to the rear of the saddle seat) instead of a balanced
> position with shoulder, hip, and heel in alignment at all gaits. An
> unbalanced western saddle with the lowest part of the seat to the rear
> instead of center, is the more common, but many English saddles have the
> same problem (because of many times an incorrect fit on the horse),
> forcing you to sit too far to the back of the saddle's seat.
> 
>  Most western saddles have a wide twist (saddlemaker speak for little or
> no narrowing of the waist area of the seat) and most English saddles have
> a narrower twist due to the mechanics of how the saddles are made. It is
> possible to build a western saddle in the traditional way AND build a
> narrow twist into the seat, but that takes some skill and knowledge. I've
> noticed male riders find a seat with a narrow twist more comfortable than
> the commonly available wide twist seats and none of them (male) has ever
> complained to me about any of my narrow twist seats, as a narrow seat
> gives a rider a place to drop his/her thighs around the horse for greater
> contact with the horse's sides.
> 
> All of this has to be done in the correct context, of course. It is a
> given that the underside of the saddle has to fit the horse and be
> correctly balanced on the horse. Then the seat has to be balanced for the
> rider's build and intended function of the saddle.  Regardless of the type
> of riding you do, you must be able to do it in comfort for you and the
> horse and in balance, English or western. There is a time and place for
> riding behind the motion of the horse, but not for everyday riding and
> schooling, especially if you are conditioning for endurance. 
> 
> I give saddlery "clinics" that encompass fitting, engineering of saddles,
> quality inspection, and actual consultations as to fit and function.
> Should you wish to contact me for a clinic or getting a saddle made,  you
> can e-mail me at: verland@sfcc.spokane.cc.wa.us. 
> 
> Hope this helps,
> 
> Verlane Desgrange 
> 
>