DefinitelyDressage.com

Just curious, I have not ridden in a saddle with "outside" knee blocks and a friend has told me how wonderful it is to ride in. I have two dressage saddles that I am very happy with (Albion SLK and McRider Evolution) and have no plans to go saddle searching again. But wondering about other people's experiences. I read several reviews where they say that "short legged" riders love the outside knee blocks but "long legged" riders have a harder time getting their leg position where they want their leg to be. Interesting enough, my friend is short legged and I am long legged.

I have very long legs, in particular a long femur. I have external blocks on my saddle and absolutely love them.
They have saved my bacon more times than I care to count. Mine are the short, high blocks. I have found that
long legged riders don't do well with the long blocks as they tend to position the rider in a fork seat.

OH....I did not want to read that.....I do not need another saddle, I do not need another saddle, I do not need another saddle.....................................

....okay...I will try and test ride in one ....I may have some saddles to sell if I fall in love with external blocks.

I have used saddle of both types. I think the fit of saddle is more significant than type of block.

Velcro. For me that's the way to go. When I was saddle shopping I did try some with external blocks and I was surpised that even with the rather large blocks they seemed to work for me (short, big thighs *sigh*). BUT I've had velcro blocks on my last two saddles and I don't want to go back!!!

My horse is very wide with a round barrel and I have big thighs, unfortunately. Most saddles of the rack come with knee rolls that just don't work for that combination. So, in my Sommer saddle I just got rid of the (velcro) blocks and the Philimar I have now came with smaller blocks that I have velcroed to just the right spot.

redsoxluvr wrote:I have very long legs, in particular a long femur. I have external blocks on my saddle and absolutely love them.
They have saved my bacon more times than I care to count. Mine are the short, high blocks. I have found that
long legged riders don't do well with the long blocks as they tend to position the rider in a fork seat.

Yes, I have long legs and always have issues with not enough room behind blocks, whether external or under the flap. For a while I had a Black Country Vinici with the standard long external block they put on it, which is more shaped than many. Anyway, it's a smaller block, and my knee was always popping over it, so I had one built with a 1.5" forward flap and a thigh block that ends just above my knee and I love it because I can keep my leg very much on the horse without the bulk of the flap coming up over the block.

OTOH, I have my current horse, who is on the smaller side for my leg, in an older Black Country that has a smaller regular knee roll. That is actually working out to be a bit of an advantage in compensating for my leg length vs. her barrel size because there is a little more saddle between my knee and the horse, if that makes sense.

One of these days I'd like to try a Hennig, as their external blocks look like they have more of a forward angle to them, so I think they would work better with a longer leg. Many of the Customs look similar.

How the saddle fits you and the horse is far more important than the type of knee block IMO.

I have a long femur, and an old arthritic hip injury, so most dressage saddles with deep seats and knee blocks are flat-out painful. After riding in a bunch, I ended up with a Laser 747. The knee blocks are relatively nominal for a dressage saddle and narrow enough they don't interfere even when I'm riding in shorter stirrups. And while the seat is a bit big for me (deliberate choice, for my confirmation), it isn't very deep and is less constricting for my hip because of the extra room. It's a bit like sitting on a comfy couch. I never expected to be really comfortable in a dressage saddle because of my hip and legs, but the Laser has taken the place of the jumping saddles I prefer for long trail rides.

I rode in a ton of saddles to find the right one.

Here's my saddle. As you can see, there is plenty of room for your knee to go where it's comfortable.

I've never tried them - I'm still using my Wintec Isabell with the Velcro blocks under the flap. When I start saddle searching I may have to give the external blocks a try.

Silverado wrote:Just curious, I have not ridden in a saddle with "outside" knee blocks and a friend has told me how wonderful it is to ride in. I have two dressage saddles that I am very happy with (Albion SLK and McRider Evolution) and have no plans to go saddle searching again. But wondering about other people's experiences. I read several reviews where they say that "short legged" riders love the outside knee blocks but "long legged" riders have a harder time getting their leg position where they want their leg to be. Interesting enough, my friend is short legged and I am long legged.

I have a long thigh, but I love my movable internal blocks. I tend to have a saddle that has a more forgiving flap. For me, one key is having a large enough seat size so I don't get all smushed up against the blocks. I tend to like a medium knee roll, too large= jammed in.

I personally wouldn't change saddles over just this one thing. Course, I also use a jump saddle prob 50% of the time, so I can adjust to different leg lengths and conditions fairly readily. Its something to think about though, I never thought of the external blocks like that.

I tend to also like a more conservative look- much like Micklem bridles my eye just isn't used to these things.

Hayburner wrote:I've never tried them - I'm still using my Wintec Isabell with the Velcro blocks under the flap. When I start saddle searching I may have to give the external blocks a try.

I don't find the Isabel and the Pro with the giant thigh blocks all that different. I think I'd have to come pretty far up out of the saddle to have any need for such big thigh blocks, but do like knowing they're there if I need them.