>>> I am 65 years old and no real meat on my bones or the end of me. It just >>> hurts me to sit on the position you just described. I look and looked >>> and found a used saddle that was a chair seat so it would not hurt so >>> badly. I am sitting on my buns actually.
Sylvia, my husband has a bad hip and bad knees (he used to run, so don't ask HIM for an opinion on the cumulative effects of ice tolts...) and we found some surprising things when we were looking for a saddle suitable for him to ride his Icelandic with. We have had a Port Lewis Impression Pad for several years - if you aren't familiar with them, they are clear plastic pads filled with some Play-dough like material. You place them between your saddle and your horse, and you ride for about 20 minutes. Then you carefully remove the saddle and pad, and look at the impression left in the play-dough. The dough is pushed away where there's pressure, leaving a clear spot. My husband simply can't ride with his heels under his hip - it's WAY too painful. But, there's another component to the "chair seat" and that's the position of the upper body. People in the classic chair seat tend to lean back like they are in a LaZ Boy recliner, as well as putting their feet forward. When my husband rode in the "full chair seat" - legs in front, AND leaning back, the impression in the Port Lewis pad was HORRIBLE. All of his weight was at the very back of the saddle, some weight on the loins. But the good news: when he kept his upper body relaxed but upright, not leaning back, the impression was actually pretty good...even with his legs slightly forward. What we learned from that is that the upper body component of the chair seat may actually be more important than the leg position portion - it certainly was for Cary. There was this mental image that Sue Falkner March used at the Centered Riding clinic that Cary and I attended at Robyn's farm in 2004. What Sue told Cary to do when he tended to slouch was to "zip your jacket." That image alone was worth the price of the whole clinic. It stuck in Cary's mind, and for a while afterwards, all I had to say periodically was "zip your jacket" and he'd instantly correct his upper body position. He wouldn't go stiff, and rigidly stick his shoulders back, but he'd straighten and center his torso. If you can't keep your heels under you, you still may be able to dramatically help your horse by trying to keep the best upper body position you can - not rigidly erect, but straight and relaxed. You might try to remember to "zip your jacket" - even if you aren't wearing one. It sure did the trick for Cary. Karen Thomas, NC
