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Re: [RC] Narrow vs. Wide Twist - Laney HumphreyTwist generally is defined as describing the area of the saddle under the crotch. It used to be thought that women needed a narrow twist and men, because their legs hang straight down needed a wide twist. But, as Jonni pointed out, there are lots of other factors involved such as knees. There is also a difference between english and western saddles because the seat area is different which then effects the twist area. Something else which complicates the issue is whether the twist/seat design accomodates the "flesh" that many women have on the inner sides of their thighs. This "flesh" is actually what made people assume that women needed a narrow twist - we look narrower there than men who don't often have as much "flesh" there. But in fact, women's pelvic bony structure is wide - our sit bones point out rather than straight down like mens'. So what is often needed is a wide seat area so our sit bones aren't falling off the edges but space below the twist to accomodate our "flesh."As all of us who have been on The Great Saddle Hunt know, there is no standardization in the saddle making industry! What one saddle maker describes as narrow will feel wide compared to another that might even be described as wide! The relationship of the seat area including the shape, depth and width of the sitting "bowl" to the degree of rise towards the pommel, which is also the twist area to the placement of the stirrup bar is what determines how a saddle feels. And, guess what! The only what to find out how a particular saddle matches your own architecture is to ride in it. We've got increasingly sophisticated ways of mapping the architecture of a horse's back, but we're no where near as far in mapping the rider's bottom. Two more points: 1) the bottom of the saddle is for the horse and the top is for the rider. Only in rare instances does one affect the other: very large rider on small, short backed horse or vice versa. 2) your hip joints are quite far down and what gives women our curves there really isn't the size/depth/width of our pelvis. Your doc is concerned with the size of your pelvis and that's sitting on top of your narrow hips. So, if your saddle fits your horse and you too - keep it and enjoy!!! Laney Mary Krauss wrote: So far I understand that preference for one or the other depends on the shape of one's pelvis--Great--how the heck do I discover this??? (I have zero hips but my Doctor said I was made for having babies which, I suppose, means I have a wide pelvis. Either that or he was trying to fool me into thinking the process of having a baby wouldn't hurt....) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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