I hear all the time that a chair seat is improper when riding a horse. I've seen pictures of what it looks like, so I feel like I have a general idea.However, I see riders constantly that ride with what I would associate with a chair seat. Most of the time, this is in western riding - and even western riders that are successfully competing. Sometimes the seat is really extreme.Now, I know there are differences between western and english riding, but I was always under the impression that a chair seat is bad because the rider has less control and it puts pressure on sensitive areas of the horses back. Does the western saddle just distribute the weight better?I'm not incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to horses, but I have ridden on occasion. I personally prefer to have my legs under me more as I feel like I have better balance and more control over what I am doing.So, what am I missing?
There are so many things wrong with this picture, but, there you are. A visual for everything you should not do, ever. ...in a nutshell, anyway.
I cannot answer for certain, but I can give what I have experienced. I ride with a slight chair seat (not as bad as I used to, but my legs basically won't allow me to get my legs perfectly beneath me while not standing in the stirrups, joints won't let me at this moment). I actually feel like I have better shoulder control, especially with horses in training, when I have a slight chair seat due to my legs being closer to the horses shoulder and I have a deeper seat (I've never found a horse to be in pain due to chair seat, now I ride gaited horses so we don't trot, it may be different if you do have to trot) which allows for better seat signals (in my experience).
