Female pelvis showing shorter tail bone and hip articulation angle forward and to the side vs. male pelvis with a longer tail bone and straighter hip articulation, allowing the leg to hang straight down.
Anatomy in general is a crucial factor in saddle fit, as is gender. Men generally have it much easier when trying to find a saddle that fits, because saddles have been traditionally built by men, for men. While women may have an inherent conformational disadvantage, with exercises and muscular development (and a saddle which takes their anatomy into consideration) they could compensate and achieve a similar position on horseback to the male.
Especially in dressage it is difficult for women to achieve the classic “shoulders-hips-heels” straight line, due to the fact that the articulation of female hips is different than a man’s. It is painful to sit on the pubic bone, and as a result, most women collapse at the hip to escape the pain. The leg shoots forward, and time is spent fighting the position instead of concentrating on riding. The male hip sockets are much further forward, so that their legs can hang naturally straight down. Additionally, for most males, the upper leg (hip bone to knee bone) is pretty much the same length as the lower leg (hip bone to ankle bone), which means that their legs will hang down straight using a ‘normal’ stirrup bar placement. (For women, the stirrup bar generally needs to be extended to allow their legs to find their centre of gravity, since most females’ upper legs are longer than their lower legs, which causes them to hang forward and pull them into the chair position even more.
Position and balance of the rider are the key ingredients in all riding disciplines; in dressage more so than in other disciplines. Read the full article here.
~ Jochen Schleese CMS, CSFT, CSE, courtesy of Saddlefit 4 Life
