Can I Jump In A Dressage Saddle?

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Of course you can, and there are people who do all kinds of things which are not the "proper" thing to do.

However, there are reasons why you will probably be advised not to jump using a dressage saddle. It will not be good for your long-term benefit and there is no point in having an experienced rider give you advice and for you to ignore what they have said.

The people I have heard of, who use their dressage saddle for jumping, only jump very small jumps and these are probably less than 2 foot high. These people are generally not taking jumping or even their riding seriously, because it can cause bad habits to develop which are a problem to reverse in the future.

Your instructor will probably be able to give you more detailed advice and maybe even be able to lend you a jumping saddle to try, so that you can appreciate the differences and you will then know why you have been told it is not a good idea to use a dressage saddle for jumping.

Dressage saddles are designed for dressage, have deeper seats and have flaps which are longer and straighter to allow dressage riders to be in the more upright correct position for that discipline.

Jumping saddles have shorter flaps and are designed so that you use them with shorter stirrups. These are so that you can get off the horse’s back when jumping and move over the jump together more smoothly. Using a dressage saddle will place you in the wrong jumping position, your centre of gravity will be incorrect when you jump and make it more difficult for you to stay in the saddle – even with small jumps.This means that you are more likely to lose your balance and fall off your horse.

I appreciate that money is always tight for everyone, but unless you intend to concentrate on dressage riding, you would be better off making your dressage saddle look nice and selling it and buying a jumping or all-purpose saddle.

All-purpose saddles are better than dressage saddles for jumping with, as they are a cross between the two types but obviously they are not as good as true jumping saddles due to their more general all-purpose design features.

What it boils down to, is that if you are currently more interested in jumping than dressage, and think that you may become more serious about jumping in the future, you should probably look for a proper jumping saddle straight away. They are designed with jumping in mind and will put you in the correct jumping position, and give your legs the support in the proper places for moving over the jumps smoothly and safely.