What kind of riding you choose to participate in will determine what style of English saddle you buy. English saddle designs are based on physics. Where the stirrup bar is in relation to the deepest part of the saddle will influence where your leg hangs below it. The farther forward the stirrup bar the more in front of you your leg will be. Saddles are measures from the button on the front of the saddle to the center of the cantle. The measurements are in inches. Children’s saddles are from 12” – 16”. Adult saddles are from 16” – 19” every half inch. A correctly fitting saddle will leave you room behind your bottom measuring about the width of your hand. Also, be sure that your knees do not pass the front of the flaps when you are wearing your stirrups.

All-purpose saddles are usually designed this way. It is a far more protective, defensive riding position. It takes longer to fall off forward if you leg is parked out in front of you. No matter how hard you try you will not be able to put your leg under you for a proper equitation position in an all-purpose saddle. Riders on all-purpose saddles generally ride with shorter stirrups. The flaps on all-purpose saddles are set farther forward in order for your knees to not stick out off of the flaps. Riders compensate for this by leaning a bit more forward to balance. This type of saddle usually had a round cantle, a deeper seat and knee rolls. All-purpose-saddles are used mainly for trail riding, recreational riding, fox hunting and cross-country horseback riding. These kinds of saddles are comfortable for long rides.

In contrast, dressage saddles have the stirrup bars directly under your seat. This allows your leg to be open at the hip, almost standing while riding. Dressage riders sit far more upright than any other English rider and need to have as much leg as possible against their horses. The flap of the dressage saddle is straight down from the stirrup bar. This style accommodates a longer stirrup length and a straighter leg. Deep seats, round and high cantles, as well as long flaps, characterize dressage saddles.

In between all-purpose and dressage is the close contact styled saddle. These saddles are designed for classic equitation. The bodylines that determine this are: Shoulder – Hip – Heel & Knee – Toe. What this means is that when you are seated in a saddle on a horse, you will be able to draw a straight line from your shoulder through your hip ending at your heel. You will at the same time be able to draw a line from the front of your knee to the tip or your toe. The close contact saddle’s stirrup bars are installed to make proper equitation possible. Close contact saddles can have plain flaps or padded flaps. Under these flaps you may find knee and/or thigh blocks. Knee blocks help keep you mounted when you horse spooks, stops at a fence or wheels around. The block helps you recover your balance when you fall forward and gives you time to push back into an upright position. It does not affect equitation either way, most of the time you will not even know a knee block is there. Thigh blocks prevent your leg from slipping back under your body.