How to Learn the Parts of a Hunt Seat Saddle

Learning the parts of the saddle you ride in is a basic necessity for any rider. After all, it would be difficult to understand how to tack up, adjust your riding position and order occasional replacement parts if you do not know what anything is called or what your instructor is telling you when she tells you to adjust your stirrup leather or move your girth up a couple of notches on the billets. Hunt seat saddles have the same general components and are also known as all-purpose English saddles.

Things You'll Need

  • Saddle stand
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Instructions

    • 1

      Set the hunt seat saddle on a saddle stand for examination. Identify the front of the saddle, which is narrower than the back. Find the slight lump on the top center of the front of the saddle; this is the pommel. The pommel is where the tree, which is the internal framework of the saddle, comes together. You can not see the tree without cutting the saddle open.

    • 2

      Locate the seat of the saddle. It is directly behind the pommel and it is where you sit when you are riding in the saddle. The cantle is the lip at the back of the seat. The underside of the saddle contains panels of padding that protect the horse's back and distribute rider weight. The gullet is the channel underneath the middle of the saddle; it goes above the horse's spine.

    • 3

      Locate the stirrups of the saddle. They are triangular metal frames that dangle down from a bar located under a small flap (called the jockey or skirt) that is located off the side of the seat, near the front. The leather strap that is looped through the stirrup is the stirrup leather. The small metal bar under the jockey that holds the stirrup on is the stirrup bar.

    • 4

      Locate the fender, also called the saddle flap, on the saddle. The fender is the large flap of leather underneath the stirrup leather and below the seat. It is rounded. On the front of it, you may see a knee roll, which is a padded section designed to stop the rider's knees from sliding past the front of the saddle. Not all hunter saddles have knee rolls, but many do.

    • 5

      Lift up the fender of the saddle. There are three billets underneath the fender; the girth attaches to the billets on both sides of the saddle.