Take a minute to think about the innovations that have occurred over the past 25 years: CDs, the Internet, and … saddles? English horse saddles have undergone major and minor changes since the 1970s and 1980s. While some English riders may embrace modern saddle technologies, others still believe their tried-and-true horse saddles are worth their weight in gold.
Design Over the Decades
Although the appearance of an English saddle has changed over the years, its original purpose still holds true, says Rita O'Shea, owner of Blarney Stone Tack Shop in Lubbock, Texas. Saddles are still designed to keep riders off of their horses' backs and distribute weight evenly.
The basic English saddle design has moved in a pendulum arc from the 1960s to today. During the 1960s, most saddles were crafted in a full-seat design with lots of padding for the rider, says Susan Maxey, owner of Equusports tack shop in Lubbock, Texas. Later, during the 1970s and 1980s, English saddle design changed to a flatter, close-contact type of saddle.
"Twenty years ago, the predominant saddle was a descendant of a race exercise saddle," says Ron Friedson, a Connecticut-based saddle designer for Cynron Saddlery.
Most dressage and hunter-jumper saddles during the 1970s and 1980s were designed with flatter seats, had minimal knee rolls, and were light and flexible. Saddle design has come full circle within the last decade or so, with a movement back to deeper seats and more padding.
"Probably the main difference I see is the amount of padding for the rider," says Master Saddler Marji McFadden, proprietor of a saddle-fitting business at saddlelady.com. "The saddles have gone from being quite flat and minimalist to being quite padded and comfortable for the rider."
Maxey agrees. "It's evolved into these French saddles with a slightly deeper cantle. Everything about them is improved: You have more support and the close-contact feel like you used to."
Beginning in the 1970s, most saddles were constructed with stabilizing foam-rubber panels on a lightweight tree and a foam-rubber seat, Friedson says. About 80% of saddles are still built in this basic design.
Today's saddlers use a variety of materials. Twenty-five years ago, saddle trees were primarily made of wood or steel. Now, saddlers have the option of using fiberglass, polymers, plastics, other materials - or no tree at all.
Some saddles are designed with interchangeable gullets, created to help riders fit a greater variety of horses in the withers. Flexible polymer trees, like those used at Cynron Saddlery, allow horses to feel and comprehend subtle cues from their riders, says Cindy McCully, president of Cynron Saddlery. These flexible trees can move laterally and front-to-back and even follow the conformation of the horse's back during bending, Friedson says.
Saddle panels have also undergone significant improvements. Over the years, saddlers have progressed from only using wool for stuffing to incorporating foam, felt, and more modern technologies, including advanced polymer materials and air.
Cynron Saddlery, based in Frederick, Md., developed a unique saddle panel material called CIRP technology - short for conforming to shape, impact resistance, regulation and response to temperature, and protective polymers. The panels are composed of two layers: a solid polymer and a layer of Styrofoam-type beads that prevent pressure points and provide support. A foam and wool mixture on top of the two layers helps provide adjustability and a more traditional appearance, McCully says. The CIRP material absorbs impact and heat, transfers energy laterally, and conforms to the individual horse and rider. Its unique properties prevent the material from becoming denser with use, one of the causes of pressure points.
