Equestrian Life is an online community for horse people.
We bring together horse people across all disciplines, breeds and sports.
We invite you to connect with others who love horses as much as you do.
Different Saddles for Trail Riding
Hi, I'm Patty Fiedler Level 3 ARI instructor and trainer. Today, I'm going to give you some tips on different saddles for use during trail riding. Everybody likes to use a different kind of saddle and there's no right or wrong. The most important thing about a saddle is that it fits you and it fits your horse while you're trail riding, whether it be an English saddle, an Endurance saddle, a Western saddle, you want to make sure that it fits properly to ensure that while you're riding your horse doesn't incur any discomfort. When this happens it's going to cause other problems out on the trail. So, when you pick your saddles make sure you ride in it, see if you can test ride in them and ride for as long as you're going to be riding out on the trail. Some people may only ride an hour. Some people may ride two hours. Even if you ride six hours you want to make sure that as you're out there, everything fits, is comfortable to both you and the horse. You also want to make sure that you don't do anything on the saddle that you haven't done at home in a contained area. Make sure the first time you ride in the saddle is also close to home and in an area where you can make sure the saddle is going to work for both you and your horse. That is some tips for picking out proper saddles and also using them on the trail, from Patty Fiedler at Amber Glen Equestrian Center in Pinellas Park, Florida.