My new horse Cookie Monster does saddle seat and hunt seat which is best for a saddlebred?

Question

He is not actuly mine untill august but should I use saddle seat or hunt seat I really need to know!

Answer 1

Yeah!!  Another Saddlebred'er!!

That is one of the great things about Saddlebreds is that they are very versatile!!  What has he been ridden? Has he been shown? What type of riding do you do?  Do you want to show or just pleasure ride?  What kind of saddle do you have?

If it is a matter of pleasure riding..then it doesn't really matter..it is just a different saddle..and perhaps a change of shoeing.  However, if you want to show, then I would take a look at what discipline he works better in.  Did you want to go to open shows or rated shows?  Classes could be limited for hunt seat in rated shows. Plus, if the horse has alot of natural motion, and a very high head carriage, may not have the best "look" in the judges eye because of the animated way of going.

So, ask yourself those questions..and answer them here..so we can get a better idea of you and Cookie Monster (cute name!!).

I took the liberty of looking him up (if that is his registered name) and there are two Cookie Monsters..one with THE.  One is 11 and the other is 18..the 11 year old has been shown extensively in saddleseat (rated shows) and the other guy was shown as a youngster and not that he hasn't shown..just not at rated shows where they report to the association.  Both are chestnut (very unusual--just kidding!!) and have great bloodlines!!

So, either way, you are very lucky!!

Answer 2

if she does both, i would say saddleseat, but if you have never ridden that before, but you have ridden huntseat, then start out huntseat and progress to saddleseat.

Saddleseat is the best though! i have arabs, and half-arabs.....and all i do is saddleseat

Answer 3

If he is a saddlebred then you should ride saddleseat it is so much fun. I have my own saddlebred too. I ride saddleseat.

Answer 4

I have a horse named Cookie Monster too! :) (She's a rescue, not a standardbred, but we have one of those too!)

Use a saddleseat, the way Standarbreds are built, it'll probably be better for his back.

Answer 5

if he is a saddlebred i would definitley go with saddleseat that is where the breed excels if you are looking to show. are you experience in either discipline?

Answer 6

it depens what he is best at and most consisten at. saddlebreds are usually shown in saddleseat. but i know many that are shown huntseat. it also depends on his conformation and how long his back is. the longer the back is the more you should leans towards huntseat. because you are closer to the withers taking the stress off of his back. if he's got a short back i would show him saddleseat.  since the breed excels at saddleseat it would be great if you could get him to do that. but huntseat it a great choice for him too. hope this has helped. message me if you have any more questions.