Most saddles follow designs made for men and tend to have the stirrups too far forward prompting chair seats in women who have longer thighs and shorter calves as opposed to men who have the reverse. The longer thigh proportion for women naturally puts your hanging leg further forward at the knee than a man's, thus putting the leg automatically out of position. I had horrible tension in my lower back from trying to fight against the chair seat my saddle was forcing me into. I found a saddle designed with a woman's proportions (including recognizing the effect that women's fuller thighs and wider pelvis have on how you sit). The company moved the stirrup placement a bit further back to suit my proportions and now I not only do not have to deal with fighting myself into position, but I also have no back pain. It was an eye opener for me and I now strongly advocate finding saddles that fit both the horse and rider. I think this is especially true if you are a smaller woman.

@Lietjesmarket

5 жыл бұрын

Wow totally agree i had the saddle fitter for my saddle last week i was having trouble sitting correct. I turned out my saddle does not fit me wel. I tried a saddle from the fitter problem solved....

@TrakRider

5 жыл бұрын

I am still looking for a saddle that puts me in the correct position. I am a smaller woman and you are absolutely correct. The saddle I ride in feels like I am in the back seat and my legs are in the front seat. Can I ask which saddle you eventually bought? I know its very individual but I'm getting tired of the saddle hunt so can't hurt to try one more.

@tanon2703

5 жыл бұрын

TrakRider I contacted Schleese saddlery. Their founder is German, but they are based in Ontario, Canada. They have fitters across North America and I believe in Europe/UK. They will measure you and your horse. They have videos on KZread re fitting saddles and fitting female riders. You can take a look and see if it might be what you are looking for. Good luck! 👍

@TrakRider

5 жыл бұрын

@@tanon2703 Thank you!

@silky2204

4 жыл бұрын

Good analysis.

I spent the entire video drooling over your saddle pad

Thank you for all the wonderful riding tips!!!! I always watch your videos before I ride to help and inspire me!!!! My horses especially thank you!!!!

I, for one, would love to see Mercurio on the move in future videos. It would be interesting to see the contrast in movement from the warmbloods you typically use to demo in your videos.

@AmeliaNewcombDressage

5 жыл бұрын

Ok! I will!

@seasands3486

4 жыл бұрын

@@AmeliaNewcombDressage He's beautiful...

Thanks for re-sharing this video Amelia! Very helpful; confirms the need to stretch! (not my favorite thing, I find it boring).

Your the best Amelia. You always give me something to check and a way to correct it. Thanks.

You give the most wonderful tips! Thank you for sharing...

@AmeliaNewcombDressage

4 ай бұрын

You are so welcome!

This is really helpful, Thank you very much dear Amelia. 🎩

I am going to try that stretch next lesson, my quads are always REALLY tight and over-engaged, if that makes sense (I ran track in high school, mainly sprinting, and that muscle has been dominant ever since, it hampers my attempts to open my hip and strengthen my inner thigh, when I do any leg exercises my quads tend to take over and bear the brunt of the movement, if that makes sense? I need Pilates or yoga to learn how to isolate and focus on certain muscles... This was very helpful! You make it all look SO easy and elegant, you are a rider I try to emulate, thank you for the great videos!

What a beautiful horsie and awesome video❤️❤️❤️

Tnx a lot. Very nice.

Gorgeous horse 😍

thank you for this in the last year or so somehow ive gotten a habit of riding in a chair seat 😐 i think mostly its to do with the saddle cause the stirrup bars on it are so forward but i cant get a different one cause shes not mine

Most of the time it's the saddle and not the rider. You can put a saddle lift under the cantle some times and it will help put you in the proper position.

@AmeliaNewcombDressage

5 жыл бұрын

This is very true!! Thanks for pointing this out!

i just did intro to dressage test b virtual and that was a remark, so thanks for this video, i think i'm just a stiff old lady. (in my 50's), so now i know what to work on.

@AmeliaNewcombDressage

26 күн бұрын

So glad it's helpful! Congratulations on doing your test!

@metalkingtohorses

26 күн бұрын

@@AmeliaNewcombDressage thank you Amelia, you are a beautiful rider and all your horses are amazing

As an older rider, I have found that the additional time spent sitting during COVID (ordering from the Internet, etc) contributed to the tightening of my quads. For this reason, I think it is useful to do some quad-stretching daily, whether riding or not. I believe there is an example of stretching them while lying on one's side in another of Amelia's videos.

@AmeliaNewcombDressage

Жыл бұрын

Great tip!

Actually one thing that helped me is to see where your toe is in relation to the girth. I have had trouble putting my feet too far back. And I when at home, I know I've been overcorrecting since I can't see it and during my lesson my coach can help me fix it. But seeing your foot really helped.

@AmeliaNewcombDressage

5 жыл бұрын

Yes. Good idea!

This horse obviously ❤ you

I fell called out 8'D I'll try this to correct my position, thank you very much!!

Always looking forward to your videos Amelia! Mercurio is lovely, is he a Lusitano?

@AmeliaNewcombDressage

5 жыл бұрын

He’s a PRE!

@evelinefischer8070

5 жыл бұрын

@@AmeliaNewcombDressage , how nice, I also have a PRE! (Had Lusitanos before)

@nathrose7612

5 жыл бұрын

@@AmeliaNewcombDressage PRE and looks like one

Hey Amelia, thanks for this video, can you please do a video on sitting trot,my sitting on trot is lousy, and its it's really affecting my ability on horses to sit for the canter strike off. I'm so frustrated by it as it looks so easy for others. I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

@janekiceniuk1578

5 жыл бұрын

I am working on this same thing!

@oliviamae3281

5 жыл бұрын

@@janekiceniuk1578 omg, the frustration is real isn't it, I swear I look like I'm water-skiing on a horse

Thank you! I have a question. I tend to press my thighs on the saddle, so my heels goes up. What would you recommend me to do to prevent it? 😊

@pariahmouse7794

4 жыл бұрын

The girl I take a dual lesson with does this- she grips badly in the thigh and her heels come way up, our instructor has tried a lot of no stirrup work to try to get her to relax and lengthen her leg, sometimes it is easier to feel the contact without gripping that way, no stirrup work is good for lots of things, anyway, if that helps...😳

@Amelia, I just bought a PS of Sweden dressage pad, how do you like yours?

@AmeliaNewcombDressage

5 жыл бұрын

It belongs to my client actually! There nice but expensive!!

Is it possible that saddles can force you into a wrong position with your thigh and quads and make your muscles tight to

@AmeliaNewcombDressage

12 күн бұрын

Yes it is. If you are unsure about your saddle fit you should consult with a certified saddle fitter

@joanne0862

12 күн бұрын

@@AmeliaNewcombDressage I ride at a riding school, and one saddle I ride in makes my pelvis foward and no matter how many times I try get my pelvis in a netrual position I can’t get in the correct position , and also I feel I’m in a chair position and my hip flexors are getting tighter to riding in that saddle to it has a really high cantle , so half the time I’m not sure if it’s me or the saddle and I have a very hollow back to and I try and engage my core but it just hollows again

Hum those boots, she almost spurs herself at some point.