But is it comfortable?

I’m in the fortunate position of having at my disposal a range of saddle from different places and times and built for different purposes and riding styles. I’m always happy to show them to folks, and even have a ride in them.

It weirds me out that the questions that the first question asked by most people is either “is it comfortable?” or “that can’t be comfortable?”.

This is different to the questions that I would be asking about a saddle. Those would include:

• does it fit the horse
• does it fit the rider
• does it put the rider in a good position
• does it adequately protect the horse’s back from the rider’s weight for the chosen purpose
• does it suit the purpose
• is it well made and maintained
• what type of rigging does it have
• what sort of pad or blanket (if any) is necessary
• does it have a narrow or wide twist
• where are the stirrups mounted in relation to the seat

And then, depending on what sort of saddle it is, I might ask whether it is antique or an accurate reproduction of a historical item, what the tree is made from, who made it, where it came from and possibly more.

Whether it is comfortable doesn’t actually make my list of questions at all. Why? Because that is so far down my list of priorities that it’s not relevant. Even if I were to spend hours in any one saddle every day, I would be more driven by fit, position and suitablity for the job than whether the seat might be comfortable. As it is, I generally don’t ride for hours, and neither do 99.99% of the people whose first question relates to comfort.

From what I can gather, most folk think of a well padded seat in the first instance, and then maybe whether the seat is a suitable width and length to suit their posterior. I am yet to hear anyone ask if a saddle is comfortable or suitable for the horse, or whether the saddle allows the rider to sit correctly, and I’m frankly astonished by that. The apparent fixation to sit on a comfortable (for the rider) seat seems to put the horse’s best interests last.

I know that the people who have asked me that question don’t mean to do badly by the horse, and I can confirm that many have gone to great length to ensure that the saddles they are using are working for their horse.

But I still don’t get it. It’s not like a saddle has more important functions than being nice to someone’s bum.