History Of The Dressage Saddle

Let's rewind to the 1700s when dressage saddles were very different to what we see today. Dressage saddles used in the 17th century were constructed from a wooden frame, and featured high cantles and pommels. The saddles in the 17th century were extremely similar to those that we see used today at the Spanish riding school of Vienna.

During the 1800’s the style of dressage saddles changed; when sports like show jumping, eventing, and fox hunting increased in popularity. Dressage saddles changed to have longer girth straps, an even higher cantle & pommel, a deeper seat, and longer straighter flaps, giving us the basic blueprint of dressage saddles that we see today.

The Dressage Saddle Of Today

Over the next 200 years as our knowledge on saddlery has advanced, dressage saddles have continued to change further, as the type of dressage horse has changed.

Dressage horses in the 1800’s used to be either Thoroughbreds, or Warmbloods with lots of cold blood; fast forward to 2021 and dressage horses are still mainly warmbloods, but they have completely changed from the cold blooded horse they used to be in the 1800’s. Over the last 200 years, Arabian and Thoroughbred blood was added into the warmblood breed; so as the stamp of the popular dressage horse changed, that meant dressage saddles had to, too.

Gullets have now been widened to allow more movement, and trees have been opened to allow the horse to develop more musculature. We now have dressage saddles in all different shapes and sizes to accommodate any breed of horse; from native ponies, to heavy horses, to Iberians, and warmbloods, along with many added extras for the rider including a close contact seat, knee blocks, and thigh blocks.