Today I just bought my first ever english saddle. I have ridden english once at a friends horse my horses have never even seen a saddle. Is it different from a western saddle? Any tips and advice would be great!

Congrats!

Hello there! Congratulations on your first English saddle! I ride both English and Western consistently so I thought I'd comment. English is a lot more schooled I suppose. In other words if you're doing flatwork in an English saddle, the rider needs to pay a lot more attention to their own body as well. Western can be the same way but you're in a more relaxed position. If you don't know how to correctly fit your irons here's a quick guide. When you're sizing your irons, sit on the saddle and let your legs stretch down. The irons should be shortened so that they hit your ankle bone. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me! I like to see people that ride both disciplines because it creates a well-rounded rider and horse and personally, my Norwegian Fjord works better when we ride ever other.

Thank you Lazy Dog Acres. I will be getting leathers and Irons soon. Also what would you recommend for Saddle Pads? Fleece or Pad?

Foxy Stable said:
Thank you Lazy Dog Acres. I will be getting leathers and Irons soon. Also what would you recommend for Saddle Pads? Fleece or Pad?

So the majority of English saddles, when you go to fit a horse, will not fit without some sort of corrective pad. I use a half pad that is adjustable. It fits right under that saddle and is smaller than a regular pad. It has extra foam pieces that you can put in separate parts of the pad itself. The majority of the time the saddle has to be lifted in the back so its level, especially on a horse that has taller withers. If you look up English half pad you'll know what I'm talking about. As for the actual pad that I use I just use regular English all purpose pads that are fitted for jumping. They look a bit different from Dressage pads and you can always look that up. You can also use fitted/shaped pads that conform more to that saddle so you don't have all that extra material. A lot of those are fleece.

Congrats on an English saddle. I’ve ridden western once and I think English ones are more comfortable, but you’ll find western ones to be more stable. For saddle pads at shows use a white shape pad, for schooling what the horse needs, it’s usually a square pad and a half pad. I’d just figure out what the horse needs, have very experienced English rider, even but a trainer help you get used to English. You also need to buy stirrup leathers and irons. If you have more questions PM me. IÂ’ve been an English nugget for 13 years.