I tried one, and
personally did not like the feeling of being locked in. I felt like I might get
hung up, if I needed to escape. I haven't ridden the trails in an english saddle
for probably 30 years. My english saddle was stolen, so I just used my western
ones. Now that I'm doing 50 mile rides, I use the western style endurance saddle
without a horn. I know it helps me stay in the saddle during spooks and
180's. I believe that the stirrups fenders being a little firmer (mine are
cordura) than just a leather strap, helps me to stay centered during the spook.
Also, a sueded seat holds you in better that a smooth leather or even a wool
seat. And, in a scary situation, I have no problem holding onto the pommel for a
bit more security. Fortunately, we don't have many (well, we never many,
really, but now even fewer) spooks/spins any more, since our first 50, I think
they've decided it wasn't worth wasting the
energy.(:>)
And, for those who think Arabs are inherently
spooky, we have 4 here right now, and we ride trails full of obstacles, tarps,
trampolines, garbarge cans laying on their sides, recycling bins left out at the
curbside, dogs that bark & chase us up the fence line, deer that jump up in
front of us, quail that get flushed out of the bushes next to us, goats who rush
the fence as we ride by & jump up on the rock piles to try to scare us,
heavy equipment digging & dumping loads of rock right near the trail as we
pass..... and we rarely get a big spook. Two of the horses are relatively new to
us, one in June, one 4 weeks ago, so it's not just familiarity.
Kathy
Grass Valley
Does anyone
have either proof or an opinion as to whether an Australian = saddle helps
keep a rider on a spooky horse better than a regular = English saddle?
I've never ridden nor even sat on an Australian saddle. = They look
interesting.
