In addition, ROM was compared between saddles and between collected and extended variations of each gait. (LogOut/ One of the benefits of the flapless saddle is that by removing two layers of leather on each side, it narrows the distance between the riders thighs and the distance between the riders knees, which requires less flexion/abduction/external rotation of the hip joint. Some you ask will say because of the supreme closeness and security felt whilst riding, others will say its because all of the big name eventers are using them, while many say its a combination of both. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the. LOL, my 14.2 mare wears a bigger girth than my 16.2 gelding shes not fat shes curvy! Pressure data were collected using a Pliance (Novel, Germany) electronic pressure mat that is partially divided into left and right halves each measuring 60 by 20 cm and having 128 embedded pressure sensors. The improved stability was thought to result from the absence of saddle flaps allowing the riders thighs to lie in more adducted positions, which facilitated the action of the lumbopelvic-hip musculature in stabilizing and controlling translations and rotations of the pelvis and trunk. Bystrm A, Rhodin M, von Peinen K, Weishaupt MA, Roepstorff L. Kinematics of saddle and rider in high-level dressage horses performing collected walk on a treadmill. These findings indicate that the rider is more stable from side-to-side and is better able to control lateral body movements in the face of perturbations due to gravitational, inertial and ground reaction forces (GRF) generated during locomotion. Data are shown for walk (top two rows), trot (middle two rows) and canter (bottom two rows) using a conventional saddle (left) and a flapless saddle (right). The number one biggest difference between a regular jumping saddle and a monoflap jumping saddle is.. they only have one flap! Since the core musculature is less effective in stabilizing the trunk in the ML direction there is a weaker coupling between rider and horse in this direction [19]. In short, you really have to try it to know how it will work for you. A series of 21 wooden stakes spaced 1 m apart were placed immediately behind the boards demarcating the long side of the arena to calibrate the distance measurements. I am thinking brown is the better colour on a palomino? EQ Saddle Science did not play a role in designing the study, collecting and analyzing data, manuscript preparation or publishing decisions. The riders ability to stabilize the body in the face of these perturbations is highly dependent on controlling the lumbopelvic-hip complex, which includes the lumbar spine, the pelvis, the hip joints and the active and passive soft tissues responsible for causing and controlling their movements [25]. Winkelmayr B, Peham C, Frhwirth B, Licka T, Scheidl M. Evaluation of the force acting on the back of the horse with an English saddle and a side saddle at walk, trot and canter. My current Amerigo is dual flap but the under flap is really quite small/thin. My advice would be find something both you and your horse like that fits you both and go from there. Peter Fraser owns Pete Fraser Consulting of Oakland, CA. I usually prefer monoflaps because its slightly less bulk under me and I like to be as close to my somewhat wide horse as possible. If you think one may be right for you, take one on trial, ask that girl at your barn who has one if you can try it, whatever you need to do. I do have a dual flap Butet that I use on my TB gelding and I like it and really, its not bulky under my leg. [4] showed that sitting trot has a larger AP ROM of the COP than rising trot or a two-point seat. Different saddles can affect the motion patterns of both horse [3] and rider [21]. History In: Back W, Clayton HM, eds. This leaves only a passage for the girth straps/billets to pass through, reducing the overall thickness of leather between horse and rider. Same! As a general principle, the riders pelvis pitches in the opposite direction to the saddle and rolls in the same direction as the saddle though the movements are somewhat out-of-phase in trot and canter [1519]. Peham et al. De Cocq P, Mooren M, Dortmans A, van Weeren PR, Timmermans M, Muller M, et al. An understated style (including flap forwardness) dual flap brown saddle works for any jumping discipline so if resale or potential use on a future greenie/hunter are a consideration, go with dual flap, IMHO. Change). Each horse/rider/saddle combination performed a pre-determined pattern of movements that included walk, sitting and rising trot, and cantering on both leads around a dressage arena in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions. An official website of the United States government. Since the knee joint acts as a hinge in flexion-extension, the hip joint must be somewhat flexed, abducted, and/or externally rotated to allow the riders thigh and calf to conform to the convexity of the horses ribcage. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Benefit of this is you might be able to use your dressage girth with it (and same bridle if your horse can go jump/XC in that bit like mine can), BUT black jumping saddles are less popular here in the states even for jumpers and eventers. Co-activation of the antagonistic core muscles makes the spine system more robust to external perturbations [26] but the degree of co-activation should be appropriate to the task at hand [27]. Thus, although the AP COP has a similar ROM in trot and canter, the underlying mechanisms are somewhat different. The movements of the horses back are responsible for predictable perturbations of the riders position that result in the typical excursion pattern of the riders COM in each gait [11,12,13,14]. Learn more Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden. I also just like the way they feel when I ride. When in the far future I replace my jump saddle, I will definitely try some monoflaps. Wilson JD, Dougherty CP, Ireland ML, Davis IM. Influence of velocity on horse and rider movement and resulting saddle forces at walk and trot. The billets and stirrup leathers drape around the saddle pad that is anchored securely to the panels of the saddle and extends ventrally over the upper part of the horses ribcage on each side. 1 These tend to be on the larger side. The rider follows the motion of the saddle with a posterior pelvic rotation, which is likely to account for much of the AP motion of the COM. Much closer feel and less stuff between me and the horse. The smaller AP ROM in trot with the flapless saddle is likely to be beneficial because stability of the riders seat is necessary for effective communication between the rider and horse. It is a characteristic of experienced riders that they maintain their pelvis in a position close to the horses midline [19], which is evidence of an advanced level of postural control in the riding position. Monoflap saddles are super trendy in the sport of Eventing right now. A monoflap uses a short girth while the traditional flap uses a longer girth that fits under your leg. A saddle that is a poor fit for the horse causes greater instability in the system [3]. Above the tree is the seat of the saddle that should fit the size and shape of the riders pelvis, buttocks and thighs, which differ considerably from the shape of the horses back. The quality of a rider can be judged by their stability in the saddle [3] and good riders appear to be inherently motivated to improve their stability. @equinelibrium : A monoflap can just as easily be made with a point billet as a dual flap. (But she does have a monoflap for dressage so he is used to it.) These more pronounced blocks help give riders legs more security, which is much appreciated when one is jumping large jumps, ditches, drops, and when finding ones self in sticky situations! Saddles have been developed to improve the comfort and security of the rider and, over the years, have evolved according to the different purposes for which horses have been used. Galloux P, Richard N, Dronka T, Leard M, Perrot A, Jouffroy JL, et al. Truth. Because of the lack of extra flap, monoflaps have exterior knee/thigh blocks. However, dressage riders do not have the option to use the more stable rising or two-point positions in competition. The riders ROM in the ML direction was significantly smaller in all six gait types when riding in the flapless saddle (Table 2, Fig 2). Data for the project have been uploaded to the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/bsavf/). A lot but not all monoflap saddles are close contact and have latex pannels and so can't be adjusted like flocked or flaired saddles can be. As for color, consider doing something like brown with black trim. Different brands have their quirks so definitely check with your stockist to be sure that this is true for your particular model. Data from the pressure mat were transmitted via Bluetooth to a laptop computer at the side of the arena. Going with an Ideal. The riders position in the saddle is the basis for effective communication between the rider and the horse [4]. I dont know though. For some horses a short girth seems to pinch at a sensitive point. The lines of action of the abdominal and epaxial musculature are such that they provide greater trunk stability in the AP than in the ML direction, which is beneficial for a rider because the largest accelerations of the horses body are due to the effects of the braking and propulsive longitudinal GRFs. I am curious as to why a dual flap saddle would have more stability/support? The Pliance software (version 24, Novel, Germany) was used to split the data strings into strides with five strides being analysed for collected and extended walk, trot and canter per saddle/horse combination. There were no significant differences in the speed or stride length of any gait when horses were ridden in the conventional versus the flapless saddles (Table 1). The most normal transformations judged from plotting and descriptive statistics were selected. 1. On the underside of the tree are the panels which are shaped to match the contours of the individual horses back. In the frontal plane, ML stabilization of the trunk keeps the rider centered over the horse. This is a good point though, I should make sure the saddle I am looking at has a similar configuration. Monoflaps do seem to be a little more popular these days in the jumper ring. The flapless saddle (Fig 1) goes a stage further in having no flaps which places the riders legs even closer to the sides of the horse, from which they are separated only by a soft, cushioned saddle pad in the thigh region. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. For instance, a horse with no withers that has a history of causing saddles to slip forwards may not do well with a monoflap since theres no point billet to keep the saddle from sliding forwards. government site. So Im open to both, but prefer monoflap. Middle: monoflap saddle showing the outer surface of the flap (left) and with the flap raised (right). But IMO, its more of a fad than anything, and reflective of the push by saddle companies to do something different in the jumper world. Plus the horse seemed distracted by the closer contact and it seems to interfere with his ability to make his own judgements XC. Monoflap tend to be closer fitting and lighter - an advantage across country , they also seem to be more expensive tho (another advantage is there is less to clean!) The horses average speed was calculated by measuring the time taken to cover an integral number of strides (over a distance of approximately 16 m) in the center of the field of view. The mat did not move by more than 1 cm during the testing of any saddle so it was not considered necessary to repeat any of the tests. Who wouldnt want a close contact ride with their horse? EQ Saddle Science provided saddles for use during data collection, and will pay the costs of publication. Most of us have seen one or heard of them before, maybe even ridden in one, and still dont know what exactly a monoflap saddle is or why one would use one. I like the idea of a monoflap but when I put long billets on my jump saddle a few years ago, I found it really annoying how the stirrups would clang on the girth buckles. The site is secure. If all else was the same it really comes down to personal preference. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. I am not a calfskin saddle person: I like the thicker leather. Monoflaps do seem to be a little more popular these days. (getting the big boy fit so we can remeasurepadded up my dressage saddle to more or less fit him). The material that would be the sweat flap and saddle flap on a traditional saddle, is considerably thinner and is one, singular flap. Long billets = short girth, which works great for some conformations and not so great for others (if your dressage saddle has long billets youll know which is better/if both are fine). A lot of riders prefer the monoflap as they feel closer to their horse without the bulk of the girth under their leg. I still have far more people buying dual flap jump saddles than monoflap, but monoflap dressage saddles beat dual flap easily. It is our duty to educate others with the knowledge that we have accumulated! Less to clean on a monoflap as pointed out above, but CAN be more wear and tear on the saddle since the flap taking abuse from your boots is the same flap getting sweat on it from the horse. The results suggest that further investigations of horse conformation, rider morphology, and their interaction with different types of equipment are warranted. My horse is big and an odd shape. De Cocq P, Clayton HM, Terada K, Muller M, van Leeuwen JL. Synchrony between the horse and riders motion is highest in canter due to the acceleration and deceleration of the different limbs being out of phase so the accelerative and decelerative effects on the rider are less pronounced [24]. The zoom was adjusted to encompass the 20 m length covered by the stakes. Fear not fellow equestrians, Im here to let you in on the big secret! (LogOut/ Bogisch S, Geser-Von Peinen K, Wiestner T, Roepstorff L, Weishaupt MA. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the Reduction of the lateral ROM of the COP implies better control of lateral translations and rotations of the pelvis and trunk. Its comfortable and fits him so I suck it up. In preparation for data collection, the pressure mat was placed on the horses back so the two halves lay symmetrically on each side of the dorsal midline and in a position that would accommodate the full length of the panels of both saddles. In the AP direction the rider was better able to control movements of the COP, most notably in the trot in which large longitudinal braking and propulsive forces are applied. sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on a federal My daughter really wanted a mono flap when we bought her new XC saddle - but they just didn't suit her or the horse. I would NEVER buy a full calf monoflap saddle. She is committed to helping equestrians at all levels achieve the best fit for themselves and their horses. Fruehwirth B, Peham C, Scheidl M, Schobeberger H. Evaluation of pressure distribution under an English saddle at walk, trot and canter, Validity of saddle measurements using force-sensing array technology-preliminary studies. The model I am considering comes in either regular flap or monoflap. (LogOut/ It may be that with your dressage saddle youre already using a short girth, but its worthwhile thinking about whether the girth will be done up tighter on a jumping saddle than it is on the dressage saddle. To Consign or Not to Consign, That is theQuestion, Follow Dutchess Bridle & Saddle, LLC. The horses trunk pitches from front to back in the sagittal plane and rolls from side to side in the frontal plane to varying degrees in different gaits. From these values the AP and ML ROMs were determined by subtraction. And I feel absolutely no difference in how close I feel to the horse whatsoeveras in, the flap has zero to do with that factor. To me its combines the best features of a mono flap and dual flapped saddle. For each stride the path of the riders center of pressure was plotted, maximal and minimal values in the anteroposterior and mediolateral directions were extracted, and ranges of motion in anteroposterior and mediolateral directions were calculated. A pressure mat (60 Hz) placed between the saddle and the horses back was used to determine the position of the center of pressure, which represents the centroid of pressure distribution on the horses back. In developed countries, horses have become less utilitarian over the past 50 years and are now primarily used for sport and recreation. FOIA Pete Fraser Consulting, Oakland, California, United States of America, 4 Careers, Universidade do Porto Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, PORTUGAL. A stationary video camera was set up perpendicular to, and 25 m from, the horses line of travel. official website and that any information you provide is encrypted Data were recorded as five horses were ridden at collected and extended walk, trot and canter in a straight line. Personally, and having the devoucoux on hand reminded me of why, I hate monoflaps. Ideally, a dressage rider sits with the ear, shoulder, hip and heel in vertical alignment when viewed in the sagittal plane. Top: conventional saddle with two flaps showing the outer flap (left) and outer flap raised to show the underlying sweat flap and girth tabs (right). Some dual flaps feel better than others to me. Animal Rehab Institute, Loxahatchee, Florida, United States of America, 5 The same is actually true for horses - that close contact of the monoflap that allows you to feel every move your horse makes? This gives monoflap saddle riders a closer feel to the horse by eliminating all the extra bulk. HHS Vulnerability Disclosure, Help The biggest difference between a monoflap and a traditional saddle, IMO, is the girth placement. The rider used a high mounting block to mount without weighting the stirrup and then warmed up for approximately 15 minutes until she felt the horse was ready to perform the pattern. Some saddlers make the same saddles in a mono or dual flap option - I think Ideal give the option on some of theirs. I had to switch back to short billets because the edge of the flap of the saddle actually started cutting through the billets! I dont like the additional difficulty in tightening the girth from horseback, and I dont like my feet feeling the buckles. Functionally not much difference with the exception of girth placement. You must log in or register to reply here. Ill probably get long billets put on it at some point. The direction of rotation of the riders trunk differs between individuals and is less consistent than pelvic rotations [17]. Definitely dark brown in my humble opinion, especially on a palomino! I think that much we all already know, but let me get into the why. We expect that the closer contact between the riders legs and the horse with the flapless saddle will result in greater stability of the rider. The horses were in full-time dressage training and were working between US Equestrian fourth level https://www.usef.org/compete/disciplines/dressage/dressage-tests to Fdration Equestre Internationale Grand Prix level http://inside.fei.org/fei/your-role/organisers/dressage/tests. That was obviously never an issue with my monoflap dressage saddle due to longer stirrup length, so it hadnt occurred to me. In the frontal plane, the head, trunk and pelvis should be vertically aligned and centered over the midline of the horse with the thighs draped lightly around the horses ribcage and the toes pointing forward [7]. The COP shifts laterally as a consequence of lateral translation or roll rotation of the pelvis and/or trunk segments, with the COP moving toward the more heavily loaded side. The riders ROM in the AP direction was smaller in the flapless saddle at all gaits with the difference reaching statistical significance in collected trot, extended trot and extended canter (Table 2, Fig 2). Within each gait, p-values are shown for the comparison between anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) ranges of motion (ROM) between the conventional saddle and flapless saddle. Give them a test run- who knows, you may be converted to a believer! In this study we explore whether a saddle that gives the rider a more functional leg position involving closer contact with the horse and the opportunity for greater haptic input can improve the riders stability. Video and pressure data were recorded at collected and extended walk, trot and canter as the horse moved in a straight line along the long side of the arena. The only way to find out is to ride in them! The ability to control body movements in the face of these perturbations is a characteristic of an experienced rider [15]. He is currently retired. Ive always wondered if there had been any studies done on the pressure areas long billets create versus a long girth/short billets. In general there is no functional difference between a mono and dual flap. The purpose of a saddle is to improve the riders safety, security, and comfort, while distributing the forces exerted by the rider and saddle over a large area of the horses back without focal pressure points. She travels to work with clients throughout the Northeast United States. After completing the pattern with the first saddle the rider dismounted, the girth was loosened gradually and the saddle was removed taking care not to disturb the pressure mat. Given his odd shape, I do wonder if a lower girth placement would be better, so the buckles arent sitting right at the wide part of his body? The flapless saddle, which offers closer contact between the riders legs and the horse, and the associated reduction in ROM of the riders COP indicates a more tightly controlled system. I know, shocker. They can also feel every move YOU make and its too much input for some sensitive horses. In the study reported here, the gaits showing the greatest increase in ML stabilization with the flapless saddle also had large improvements in AP stabilization. Movements of the COP occur as the rider follows the rhythmic motion of the horses back and the range of motion (ROM) of the COP has been used as an indication of rider stability [2].