Seat Savers... Yay or Neigh?

[ihorse]

... pun intended. ;) Anyway, long story short, I recently picked up a cool older Stubben Cavaleria Monoflap saddle that's in great condition, and I like the feel of it... except for how hard the seat is. It leaves my seat bones feeling really sore. It fits me better than my A/P saddle, so I'm inclined to use it more, but I just can't get over how

Comments

[k7point5]

I have a Cashel seat saver and it is too bulky for my tastes. I completely lose the close contact feeling with it. I prefer my sheepskin one; it's very thin but just as comfortable. I found it for $5 at a horsey flea market last year.

[suraineko]

I've heard of gel ones feeling bulky. Seems like the best way to go is sheepskin.

[miladyelizabeth]

+1 to this

[smallhound]

Stubbens.. BRUTAL on the butt. Nothing else to add, LOL. Boy did I ever suffer on my Tristan.

[ihorse]

Haha, so I have discovered! My very first saddle was pretty hard so I think I'm a little more tolerant of hard seats than most, but being a skinny little thing with a bony no-butt doesn't help me much haha. Did you find that the hard seat effected your position or effectiveness in the saddle? Most of the time when I'm riding in my A/P or this Stubben, I'll half seat or two-point the canter because it's easier than trying to sit my mare's canter and she seems to go better when I'm off her back. When I'm riding in my dressage saddle I'll sit because it's more comfortable and with longer stirrups it's easier to wrap my legs around her and sit deep and help her out with rhythm and consistency. So theoretically, I won't be spending a whole lot of time just sitting in the saddle as I bought it for jumping, but I am wondering if the hard seat will cause me to ride defensively or hunch my back or anything weird like that. Guess I'll just have to ride in it more and see how it feels, with and without a seat saver.

[hooveshealme]

I'm a little late responding... but I tried the cashel and it didn't fit well enough and moved around too much. I got the fleeceworks seat cover and love it. I look for excuses to wear it on any saddle, even if theyre still comfortable.

[ihorse]

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll have to look for one. How does it attach to the saddle? My saddle is a monoflap, not sure if that makes a difference.

[hooveshealme]

Sorry for being late responding... I was on vacation for a couple weeks :-)
I don't know if the mono flap will make a difference.
Two elastic loops go around a billet on each side over the front. A long strap velcros lengthwise down the middle of the underside. And there's a big elastic strap that goes under the back of the saddle width wise. I hope that makes sense. It's kind of hard to explain.

[candysgirl]

FWIW, my old Siegfried II had the HARDEST seat. It would make my seatbones quite sore if I took any time off from riding in it. However, when I was conditioning for endurance rides, I got used to it and it was fine. I did whole 25mi rides in it one season. The only reason I quit using it and sold it to a friend was my Arab grew up, changed shape and didn't like the shorter tree points on it. Her gelding likes it fine and she loves it.

Now I have three other Stubbens for two horses (Roxane, newest and most comfortable, Aramis and Wotan).

[ihorse]

Well, that's encouraging! Thanks for letting me know that. :) I like how the flap fits my leg and the close contact is great (monoflap, no knee rolls or anything) so I'd hate to not use it just because of the hard seat. Hopefully I'll get used to it as well.

[evieeros]

Yeah I was borrowing a friend's Hard as a ROCK hunt saddle because it was a Wide for Wide Mare. My butt hurt so bad for days the first few times I used it. I mean I rode in the saddle again a week later (dressage in between) and my seat bones were still tender. However, I did get used to it/get in shape/something and it stopped hurting. No idea, perhaps my bum just grew numb! At any rate it stopped hurting after a week or two.

Best of luck!