About Adaptive Horse Riding With Dressage Saddles

Adaptive horseback riding is a therapeutic style of riding in which a horse assists a special needs rider with his or her development. "Equine therapy" like this can be very beneficial to socially or physically impaired people because of the potential for hose-rider bonding and the physical activity it provides. Typically, however, this special style of riding requires special accommodations.

Therapeutic Riding

For people with special needs - especially developing children - working with an animal like a horse can be a great way to build social and physical experience. The empathetic but rarely demanding nature of horses makes them great companions in the way that seeing-eye dogs or other service animals are. However, because therapeutic riding by definition involves some sort of impairment on the part of the rider, special efforts need to be made to adapt the riding experience, both for the horse and the rider. To this end, the dressage saddle is extraordinarily popular and is likely to be used in all manner of leisurely, therapeutic rides.

The Dressage Saddle

The dressage saddle is a classical saddle style that allows the rider to keep a lower center of gravity than a more sporting saddle otherwise would. They accommodate long leg positions, and offer deep seats with large quantities of padding in order to keep the rider and animal comfortable. The depth of the seat, the extra comfort, and the accommodation for a more natural body position are all excellent qualities to have when preparing a horse for therapeutic riding. A rider in a dressage saddle is likely to be safer and more stable than in any other style of saddle. Given that a therapeutic ride is unlikely to include jumping, the drawbacks of this saddle-style are few.

Further Adaptations

Adaptations for impaired riders can include literally anything from seatbelts to mounting platforms and balance vests. There exists an entire line of equipment intended to help such riders, often featuring extra safety mechanisms like quick-release action in order to avoid the risks inherent in horseback riding.