Should side saddle die?

Yann said:
As to high heels the choice is entirely yours, you can't ride in them though;)
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Tell that to the cowboys - have you SEEN the heels on proper "riding" cowboy boots ? (you get "walking" and "riding" styles ;) )
 
I used to ride side saddle years ago on a Highland mare. she was wide and very comfy and it felt very comfortable, we used to do dressage and also canter and jump.

it does make you sit very well and also feels surprisingly safe. but you need the right horse for it.

I think it looks very elegant so why not? If it offers choice and allows women whose culture would not permit them to ride astride, then why not.
 
Side saddle is one of the few things that I have not tried with my mare. but would love to have a go at. It looks so elegant, and is exceptionally safe, my mum used to go out hunting side saddle on her 17.2hh ex racehorse, and as my mum is only bout 5" it made it safer for her. I have always been told that to ride side saddle is safe and easy to learn, and two girls at my local riding club show their native ponies side saddle, and they look soooooooo nice!!!
 
Hmmmmm *sucks a thoughtful tooth* Well it is true that there was a time when well-bred English ladies would be prevented from riding astride by social pressure as it would be seen to compromise their virtue, it wasnt a matter of choice or physical necessity. In that way it could be seen as a relic of a social structure which held women constantly in check, and only saw them in terms of their sexual reputation, but I'm sure most of us would see it now as a living piece of equestrian history (and I mean that in the nicest way :) ) which is well worth preserving.
Incidentally I LOVE side-saddle and wish I could afford one!
 
Yes but if you go far enough back sidesaddle actually was an early move towards independence in women. Before that they had to ride pillion with a man whereas sidesaddle gave them the ability to control their own horse and ride out alone :eek: So in fact it gave them an element of liberation :)
 
Esther.D said:
Yes but if you go far enough back sidesaddle actually was an early move towards independence in women. Before that they had to ride pillion with a man whereas sidesaddle gave them the ability to control their own horse and ride out alone :eek: So in fact it gave them an element of liberation :)
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Nooooo ....! having to ride sidesaddle to demonstrate virtue etc is not liberty :(
 
Esther.D said:
Yes, but it demonstrated a woman was counted capable of controlling a horse BY HERSELF & WITHOUT A MAN that is surely better than being thought incapable of even that?
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is that similar to saying that when they finally allowed married women to be in gainful employment, even though she earned considerably less than her male counterparts, "that is surely better than being thought of incapable of even that?" ;)

This is of course only interlectual discourse - remember we like each other :D
 
Each is a small step towards equality, and should be celebrated as such.

But the main thing is to remember that equality is about choice - not being made to feel that one action is right or wrong.

So... the right to be a working mother is great - but only as long as the freedom to choose to stay home is not frowned upon (or disallowed) as being 'oppressive'.

Same is true of riding astride and sidesaddle - it's not oppression when it's chosen, freely.
 
hackedoff said:
Could I point out to all those women out there who vote, have an education, walk down the street unaccompanied, wear trousers, earn the same wage as their male peers, or even communicate with complete strangers via the internet (!)that all these privileges and more were brought to you courtesy of guess who?....I find it very depressing when women slag off feminism while lying back (ooer) and enjoying all the benefits it has brought them. Feminism is just Human Rights by another name and has nothing to do with limiting other people's choices.
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I don't think it's the feminists of the past we are rejecting, but what they have evolved into. I am very happy & grateful for what has been achieved by previous generations, but that doesn't mean I have to either hunt for things to change just to carry the torch, or live in mourning for the lack of radical change that can I can make these days (in my own community - excluding the difference that can be made OS). We have already reclaimed the night, and the dawn is shining upon most nations with the bright light of equality & diversity. (eww - I can't believe i wrote that!)

I am very comfortable in my place in society. I can stand up for my rights as a citizen, and I really don't see how a sidesaddle is opressing anyone. No one is force to ride in one. Infact many women I chat with are itching to try them, but they cost 4 to 6 times as much as my horse new/reconditioned. Maybe it's the price that's opressive, and not the saddles. ;)
 
There you go, we can all nail our colours to that banner, march on London and demand cheaper side saddles for all!

After all it is limiting the choice of all women who want to try side saddle, :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ;) it doesn't affect men.

I'll drink to that one!

When are we off then ;) ;) ?


excluding the difference that can be made OS). We have already reclaimed the night, and the dawn is shining upon most nations with the bright light of equality & diversity. (eww - I can't believe i wrote that!)
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Entreat.....neither can I! :D :D ;)
 

Side saddles were a form of liberty to women.... RICH women, I don't think most women back in the day got time out of the daily grind to go riding, aside or otherwise.

Okay, so I am a little synical (not just about wealth distribution but about "feminism" too, but I won't dare get into that one!)
 
entreat said:
I don't think it's the feminists of the past we are rejecting, but what they have evolved into. I am very happy & grateful for what has been achieved by previous generations, but that doesn't mean I have to either hunt for things to change just to carry the torch, or live in mourning for the lack of radical change that can I can make these days (in my own community - excluding the difference that can be made OS). We have already reclaimed the night, and the dawn is shining upon most nations with the bright light of equality & diversity. (eww - I can't believe i wrote that!)

I am very comfortable in my place in society. I can stand up for my rights as a citizen, and I really don't see how a sidesaddle is opressing anyone. No one is force to ride in one. Infact many women I chat with are itching to try them, but they cost 4 to 6 times as much as my horse new/reconditioned. Maybe it's the price that's opressive, and not the saddles. ;)
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Feminism isn't trying to ban sidesaddle. Its probably a case that one person wrote one article that does not represent the views of her 'sisters'.

I'm glad you are happy with your lot. Unfortunately there are still millions of woman around the world who are oppressed, so thankfully some of us are still Feminists and can argue their cause when they are unable to do so!

I'm afraid that only pockets of the world have moved on.
 
There are millions of people around the world who are still oppressed. :( It's not just a woman thing....

Oppression has many forms - even apparently successful men in this country are bound by some forms of oppression. Paid paternity leave for dads anyone?? ;)

I don't have issues with feminism as such.... but I think it can sometimes blind people to the wider picture. Women are not the only group of people who suffer.
 
Esther.D said:
Yes, all the time, then I feel really guilty because he is more concientious than me and ends up doing more than I do :eek:

Plus we have a hoover phobic collie (no idea why?) :rolleyes: who is traumatised even if outside in his kennel when you hoover (no idea how he knows you have been hoovering but creeps about the place in a traumatised manner for ages afterwards) so hoovering has to be organised carefully round here :rolleyes:
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We go to the other extreme! A St Bernard who lays fair and square in the way of the Dyson, and when asked to move says, "Make me!" :D [All 10 stone plus of her]
 
i know a lady, who has a leg replacement, she has an icelandic that finds it hard to find her own balance with the lady and stay tolting.The horse was in professional training for 4 months for the tolt last year and was brillait in tolt...but off course this didnt help much with the horse balancing itself under my friend so I started riding her horse with a side saddle a couple of times a week about a month ago and the tolt has improved alot and the horse copes with it alot better now than she did before.
 
Stella2 said:
is that similar to saying that when they finally allowed married women to be in gainful employment, even though she earned considerably less than her male counterparts, "that is surely better than being thought of incapable of even that?" ;)
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Well yes as devil's advocate I would say that that was indeed an improvement, every little helps...but then I am an eternal optimist ;) If these tiny steps hadn't happened years earlier then we would have had far further to climb when we did go for greater equality - after all Rome wasn't built in a day!

In fact on that topic - in the 19th century women and children were prevented from going down the mines etc etc....in THEORY this was a good move, better working conditions for all and reducing the need for tiny children and pregnant women etc to work in appalling conditions....HOWEVER what about the thousands of families who ended up in the workhouse due to loosing the wage brought in by the women and children...without these laws it would have been a VERY long road to today's working conditions, they were not ideal at all and caused a lot of suffering - but could these Victorian workers and employers have moved to today's working conditions, pay, health and safety etc in one leap without the intermediate steps? Just a thought.

Personally I go with Chev on this one, I am unhappy with oppression in any form. Personally I think occasionally if we stopped fighting some of the really petty legal cases over equality (I mean the REALLY petty ones you hear about..not the wages, conditions etc) and looked further afield and put our time and money into people who are REALLY oppressed and working in appalling conditions then the time and money would be better spent....*ducks for cover* :p

[/QUOTE]This is of course only interlectual discourse - remember we like each other :D[/QUOTE]

Of course - remember I am an academic..it is my JOB to argue black is white and back again with no hard feelings :D
 
Feminist? How 1960s: I'm not a feminist (I'm my own woman; always have been). Mother taught me well! Dont follow any trends (wear what I like), never have done as I'm told by anyone, go my own way, do my own thing. (Husband has to put up with this - well within reason but he's the same). Unfortunately, I have to work to keep my pony and other animals. After all that said, I wouldn't really like to be categorised!
 
I loved Tangles quote on the subject of riding side saddle!!! Personally I'd be timid to even t r y to ride sidesaddle, especially over a fence. It would take a real WOMAN & GENUINE GOOD RIDER to ride gracefully in one of those saddles, wouldn't it???????? Just my 2cents worth on the subject.
 
LOL - I did a couple of try-out sessions when I was "down south". We had a short session in the am, and then in the second pm session they had us hopping over a small jump :eek: (only Blok height). It was not as hard as you'd think - but the looking graceful was a different matter ;)
 
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