Well..I bought my first saddle a couple weeks ago. Its a chisholm trail saddle. Very well made,comfortable for both myself and my horse. After a few rides in it though I have discovered something that may be of interest to a newer rider. Im a beginner rider and I am still working on maintaining my balance in a faster trot. I am doing very well with my hands and have a good seat however when my horse steps it up it does take a bit for me to not loose my balance and settle into the trot. I found the trail saddle too flexible for me. My legs began moving around way too much, making it more difficult to stay in the seat properly. I was getting extremely frustrated and couldnt figure out how I was loosing my leg position so much. I tried a roping saddle that I had used on the lesson horses and found my problem. The trail saddle just didnt offer the leg support I needed while Im learning. My horse is extremly sensitive to cues..takes just the slightest touch of the leg or rein and he responds. I went to the saddle shop today and bought a Billy Cook roping saddle. Road him today and it was amazing. Everything felt right and I was able to ride him in a much faster trot than I had been able to since I got him. My horse is a mover, very quick and wants to go so it was frustrating to me that I couldnt stay with him in the trail saddle. He's an extremely good boy and would slow down or stop when I was getting off balance. He could have easily dumped me but he took care of me and I'm sure I was frustrating him abit.(thank God he's a well trained ranch horse) I dont know how many beginners there are on this site but its a thought to keep in mind. While trail saddles can be very comfortable for both you and the horse, dont rule out a good roping saddle to help you feel more secure. Its definitly heavier but Id rather struggle abit getting it on than struggling during the ride. It was a costly way for me to learn but am so much more confident now!......anyone interested in a nice trail saddle????!!!!!!

Ya might otta keep that extra saddle. You could need it in the future for other riding purposes or for another horse.

Glad you found one you like Kalo555!
What I'm about to say, will probably get some critism...but if you REALLY want to learn balance, I mean to the point where it becomes second nature, learn to ride bareback. At a walk at first of course, play "around the world" on the horses back, first with the horse at a stand, later at a walk, then trot. work your way up through the gates as your balance progresses.

A saddle can either be a crutch, something that is depended upon and almost always needed. Or it can be a tool/aid to enhance one's abilities and aid during more rigorous activities.
Learning to ride bareback will improve your overall riding abilities and natural balance, making you more "one" with the horse.

First off CONGRATS Kalo!! Secondly I have to agree with Mustang.... riding bareback helps you keep your balance much better and I think you can "read" your horse better after riding bareback. This is exactly how I plan to teach my kids to ride.

I had a Morgan that I loved to ride bareback. He preferred it that way too. We eventually got well enough in synch with each other that we started jumping bareback.

First off, I don't think anyone should imitate me. As the legal disclaimers say, anyone that listens to me, does what I do, quotes me, or tries to even imagine it will likely spontaneously burst into flames. That being said, I would like to add a couple of things. First is the issue of balance. I grew up a roper and gathering cattle on local ranches. I thought I could ride. After I got married, i learned that I couldn't ride near as well as I thought. When I got married, my wife was a barrel racer and also did lots of English riding. She loves to jump. She jumps almost daily. She belongs to a local fox hunt and goes to hunts twice weekly. They ride long distances over rough terrain, and jump over whatever they come to (except what is dangerous). She can out ride me hands down, always could. For the first few years we were married, I ribbed her constantly about riding "a saddle from the wrong dang continent" or "what the heck do you do after you rope a cow-brute in that silly little saddle, where are you supposed to dally?" Fast forward a few years...I wore out a saddle I had rode almost all my life. It was built before 1952. I had heck trying to find another saddle that I liked. I experienced the same things with balance that you described. My wife agreed to help me with my problem. I hate to admit this and will hate it more if she finds this post, but she made me start going over her jumps in an English saddle WITHOUT the irons (stirrups) attached and no reins. I had to keep my arms either outstretched or my hands on my hips while going over the jumps. We did use a really, really broke horse. I lived in constant fear that one of my roping buddies would drive by and see me going over jumps in an English saddle! Or, maybe I was afraid the guys would see my wife "giving me lessons." BUT, I learned a whole heck of a lot about my own riding and balance. Do I think everyone should do this? Not particularly, you might very well ride better than I did to begin with. I have no interest at all in jumping or riding English, period. I don't even really care to saddle a horse unless it involves cattle. I enjoy roping and team penning, another abomination to most ropers around here, but my wife does it with me and I don't worry about her fingers!! Besides, it really is a blast! My point is this...I blamed saddles for my balance issues, when it was really my ability to ride. Keep in mind that I was not a beginner. I had been roping since I was very young. I have lots of respect for people that learn to ride as adults. I doubt I could do that.
The second thing is stirrup leather position. I finally had a saddle made for me so that I could walk after being horseback all day and the maker took special care to build the tree and saddle so that the stirrups were hanging in the correct position for me. It helped tremendously with my riding and my comfort after putting in a full day. When I say stirrup position I mean from front to back, by the way. I found that many of the saddles I had tried and didn't like had the stirrup leathers and stirrups too far to the rear of the saddle. Sorry for the long post, I am pretty windy and full of...well, you know. By the way, these are just my opinions and yours are probably different and worth a heck of a lot more than mine.

Your right Mike. I like the saddle and quite possibly as I get better I may want to go back to it. Riding bareback Im sure will help. Alot of people at the barn enjoy it but it seems abit daunting for me right now. I also can see how a saddle could become a crutch but the way I was riding in the first saddle really set me back and was completely frustrating me so Im glad to have one now that keeps my legs where they should be as I concentrate on feeling the movement of my horse. Still getting to know him. He has a roll to him when he moves and is a comfortable ride. Its been interesting watching him settle into his new way of life. When I first got him I barely had time to get into the saddle and he was moving off. Head high and stepping out. He acts as if who ever used him before put some demands on him. (not critisizing..he was definitly a cowboy horse from texas). He is now relaxing and I think enjoying himself and is a patient teacher!

Alleyrider - Dont be ashamed of the English saddle! I am a former barrel racer who keeps an English saddle in my tack room. Has helped my riding tremendously...well it was...I havent ridden in it for some months now because I have been learning to do the "ranch hand" thing. I would get a serious razzing from my new buddies if I was to break out the English saddle, too! I am already getting it a little for penning and sorting cattle on a Thoroughbred barrel horse. But let me tell ya, he does a good job - simply by listening to me and moving when and where I ask him to. Problems start when something takes off running...He HAS been BRED to RUN PAST whatever it is, but he is learning. I should get double "points" for having to ride twice as hard to get the same results!! LOL
And Kalo - glad you found a good saddle - and I also agree with Mike - keep that trail saddle.

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I am already getting it a little for penning and sorting cattle on a Thoroughbred barrel horse. But let me tell ya, he does a good job - simply by listening to me and moving when and where I ask him to. Problems start when something takes off running...He HAS been BRED to RUN PAST whatever it is, but he is learning.[/QB]

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Nothing wrong with a TB if he does the job. The last team penning I went to I rode our 2000 pound/17 hand Belgian brood mare. People laughed at me, too......at first. They didn't laugh nearly as hard when we took their money home, me on the draft mare, my wife on our little old Mustang, and my roping buddy on his trusty old cutting mule (that's right, cutting mule). We have found the big Belgian mare willing to do everything asked of her. She is very cowy, willing to work, and is very comfortable to ride once you get used to her width. She carries herself very nicely. It's funny to watch her dive into the herd with her ears pinned as big and wide as she is. We raised a colt out of her and started riding her to sell her, but she has earned a home here, instead. My wife is currently starting her over jumps in English tack to fox hunt off of next year. Any horse that has a little try in them, "want to," and some heart can make a fine horse, regardless of breed. Shoot, ever seen Meridith Hodges on the RFDTV channel in a dressage ring on a mule?