ridecamp@endurance.net: [endurance] Why don't sports saddles bridge?

[endurance] Why don't sports saddles bridge?

lee clark (laclark@unm.edu)
Tue, 19 Mar 1996 08:39:59 -0700 (MST)

Hi,
Recently I received the pamphlet describing the sport saddle. According
to the diagram, it looks like there is a small section of tree right
behind the withers and another small section on the loins, and the sides
are also separated from each other. The rider sits suspended between
these tree sections, supposedly right on the horse.
My last horse was sway backed, and his saddle rested on these areas
only and not in the middle, resulting in extremely painful loins.
Wouldn't the sports saddle mimic this situation? If the rider is in fact
suspended between these two areas, isn't this the reverse of what I've
been hearing that you should have a large area to spread the rider weight
on? If, however, the rider's weight is actually resting on the horse in
the middle of the saddle, then wouldn't that mean that all the weight is
concentrated right under the butt, effectively riding bareback? Would'nt
this possibly hurt the horse's spine?
I was quite surprised by this diagram, because I thought a flexible
tree meant that the sections were separated from side to side, but not
also from front to back. Are all flexible trees like this?
Thanks,
Lee Clark
Sandia Park, NM