Why do I like Circassian saddles? Because they're safe and comfortable

Have you ever wondered why anyone would want to invent anything as incomfortable as classical English saddle? I was thinking of it since I first used it at a riding school. And these schools for some strange reasons use them to discourage people from horseback riding once and for ever. This was until I tried Circassian saddles…

It’s not like I don’t like English saddles. Now, after riding horses for more than 10 years, including horse tourism and endurance racing, I understand where English saddle can be useful - e.g. to teach you a correct position and obviously if you do dressage or show jumping.

But for recreational riding? No way. My first enlightment was cavalry (army) saddle which looked a bit similiar to classic McClellan. Then I discovered western saddles - yet another class of comfort during long rides. And then I went to Caucasus and discovered Circassian (Kabardian) saddle. And that’s what I’m using since then and wouldn’t exchange it for anything else.

These saddles are just like a soft craddle and are ideal for very long trips, where you spend countless hours in the saddle every day. Obviously, you still need to raise in a long trot but at the same time you can do sitting trot at much wider range of speeds.

What is even better, the Circassian saddle is much safer than the English saddle as the pillows provide a stable and firm seat for even an unexperienced rider. This makes it perfect for children, unexperienced riders and people with disabilities.

Here’s my 5-years old son who just finished a short trot and didn’t even imagine that he could fall from the saddle: