Riding Saddles

The term English saddle encompasses several different styles of saddle, including those used for eventing, show jumping and hunt seat, dressage, saddle seat, horse racing and polo.

Western saddles are saddles originally designed to be used on horses on working cattle ranches in the United States. Used today in a wide variety of western riding activities, they are the "cowboy saddles" familiar to movie viewers, rodeo fans, and those who have gone on tourist trail rides. The Western saddle has no padding of its own, and must be used with a saddle blanket or pad in order to provide a comfortable fit for the horse. It also has sturdier stirrups and uses a cinch rather than a girth. Its most distinctive feature is the horn on the front of the saddle, originally used to dally a lariat when roping cattle.

Saddles in Asia date back several thousand years to the time of the Scythians. Modern Asian saddles can be divided into two groups: Saddles from Central Asia, which have a prominent horn and leather covering, and saddles from East Asia, which have a high pommel and cantle. Central Asian saddles are noted for their wide seats and high horns. The saddle has a base of wood with a thin leather covering that frequently has a lacquer finish. Central Asian saddles have no pad and must be ridden with a saddle blanket. The horn comes in particular good use during the rough horseback sport of ‘‘buskashi (see Pashtun culture), played throughout Central Asia, which involves two teams of riders wrestling over a decapitated goat’s carcass.

Saddles from East Asia differ from Central Asian saddles by their high pommel and cantle and lack of a horn. East Asian saddles can be divided into several types that are associated with certain nationalities and ethnic groups. Saddles used by the Han Chinese are noted by their use of inlay work for ornamentation. Japanese saddles frequently are covered in a thick lacquer finish. Tibetan saddles typically employ iron covers inlayed with precious metals on the pommel and cantle and universally come with padding. Mongolian saddles are similar to the Tibetan style except that they are typically smaller and the seat has a high ridge. Saddles from ethnic minority groups in China’s southwest, such as in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, have colorful lacquer work over a leather covering.

Other nations such as Australia and Argentina have stock saddles that lack a horn but have other features commonly seen in a western saddle, including a deep seat, high cantle, and heavier leather.

• Tree: the base on which the rest of the saddle is built. Usually based on wood or a similar synthetic material, It is eventually covered in leather or a leatherlike synthetic. The tree size determines its fit on the horse's back as well as the size of the seat for the rider.
• Seat: the part of the saddle where the rider sits, it is usually lower than the pommel and cantle to provide security
• 'Pommel or Pomnel (English)/ Swell (Western): the front, slightly raised area of the saddle.
• Cantle: the back of the saddle
• Stirrup: part of the saddle in which the rider's feet go, provides support and leverage to the rider.
• Leathers (English) or Fenders (Western): The leather straps connecting the stirrups to the saddle tree.
• D-ring: a "D"-shaped ring on the front of a saddle, to which certain pieces of equipment (such as breastplates) can be attached.