Comments on: Saddle Seat Myths and Misconceptions

By: alex

alex — Thu, 13 May 2021 17:36:45 +0000

In reply to sam. omg if u put a western rider on a saddlebred they world be in the dirt at the trot lol

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sat, 24 Jan 2015 17:18:03 +0000

I was lucky as a kid in that I got to see two totally different disciplines when I was learning to ride; saddle seat and all-around stock horse, and even though I own a western QH I think that they are probably abused more than the saddle horses. I live in an area with lots of TWHs, Racking Horses and Spotted Saddle Horses so I see saddle seat often and I like to watch it on YouTube…especially speed rackers!

By: Lynne

Lynne — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 19:24:50 +0000

I rarely to never comment on articles but, after spending quite a lot of time thinking about this one, I’m going to brave the fires and go ahead. This is a wonderful article with some excellent and intuitive information. I would love to share it with others but, due to the inaccuracies and bias rampant in the comments, I don’t feel that it would be a responsible thing to do. With very nearly 50 years as a rider and exhibitor of virtually every breed and discipline available, and over 20 years as a judge, I have to say there are problems in all of them. As a judge I have had to do some fancy dance steps to avoid being run over by a horse out of control. As a rider, I have occasionally lost control. Anyone with any saddle time under their belt, unless it was all at 25 cents per ride at WalMart, has lost control at one time or another. A horse is a living animal with a mind of it’s own, and that mind is not always in sync with the rider’s. As for the soring issue, no, not all TWH are sored. In fact, roughly 85% of TWH are trail horses not used for showing at all. What would be the point? AND, no, TWH are not the only ones sored (and that does include diagonally gaited horses). As a judge I have had the misfortune to watch the good, the bad, and the ugly in virtually every breed. AND done everything humanly possible to remove the “bad” from the ring as soon as possible. Please don’t make generalizations. Every horse, rider, situation is individual and should be treated that way. Take the time to learn before accusing or making assumptions.

By: sam

sam — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 10:37:34 +0000

I always told my saddleseat kids….If u can ride this, you can ride anything. It just won’t be as much fun.
The hunter and western riders could never manage a saddlebred….but we could ride their horses successfully.

By: Diane

Diane — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 09:53:24 +0000

It is almost funny to read the negative comments because they come from people who have little or no knowledge of riding Saddleseat. Watch an inexperienced rider with any breed and you will see faults in their riding skills. It is more obvious in riding a Saddlebred because it takes more skill to rise out of the saddle to the trot without using your hands, and the high action at many gaits can make it much harder to sit than other breeds. It can be done, but it is harder. It’s not like riding a quarter horse. The drive from the hocks throws the rider up which can be a blessing at the trot and difficult at the canter, either a help or a hindrance. I do get tired of many people commenting as if their few experiences should be taken as knowledge. Until you have ridden for many years in a discipline you can rarely understand what goes into it unless you are a very experienced horse person.

By: Karen

Karen — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 07:15:48 +0000

Good comments on ASBs. Most, btw, would never
Tolerate the rider “pulling up to post by reins” and
Good SS riders don’t do that.
I know TWHs are sored– I’ve seen them fall when
The products are removed and when show vets try to
Touch their legs.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Sat, 15 Mar 2014 19:46:28 +0000

Carole nailed it. Very good.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Sat, 15 Mar 2014 18:07:43 +0000

Thank you Carol! Nice job let people know the art of Saddle seat

By: Annetta

Annetta — Sat, 15 Mar 2014 13:03:54 +0000

Lydia….the TWHs are generally the only horses that are sored. Obviously not all Walkers are sored, but just because yours isn’t does not mean others aren’t. Obviously terr has been plenty of proof that somewhere–way
too many of them–ARE sored for anyone to deny it.
As for other breeds being sored–no, they are not. You obviously do not know it but if you sore a diagonal gained horse you will not be able to show him–because a trotting horse will show up as lame if he is sored. Soring doesn’t work on a trotting the same way it does on the big lick horse!

By: Jen

Jen — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 17:52:35 +0000

This and the other related articles were quite enlightening. There’s no doubt that the ASB is beautiful in motion. A discomfort I’ve always had about saddleseat equitation has to do with posting to the trot; many riders sit in a pronounced “chair seat” (altho’ the article on equitation said there should be a straight line from shoulder to hip to heel), and it *looks* as if they are pulling themselves up by the reins when posting. Somehow I can’t see how they can not do so when sitting so far behind their own legs! Also, it appears that some riders do not or cannot post in rhythm with their horse; they bump up and down apparently at random, even sometimes bumping down in the saddle twice per stride. And in the canter, they don’t “polish the saddle”, but again, bump down at every stride, something that could be very uncomfortable for the horse. Perhaps these problems are because I have happened to see rather inept riders, and not the truly skilled ones.