Hi ...?

    Thank you for your kind and lengthy email. I would like to answer all your questions in more details for better understanding. However, that would require much writing on my part, which is somewhat difficult for me since I have begun learning to write in the English language only five years ago. Please, forgive me if I will not address all the issues.

     I have had no previous experience with horses before I came to work with horses as my profession (14 years old). I have made my living for most part of my life (35 years) by riding horses. I have never owned a horse for pleasure nor I have ridden one for the sake of entertainment. I had to give up riding about five years ago, when I have taken up the farriery as a full time occupation for financial reasons. I do not own a horse nor I have been once on a horse in the last five years. In order for me to be able to ride at least to 60% of my capacity, I need to ride minimum four to five horses or four hours per day.
    Since the riding was my profession and I was paid for my riding and not for my reputation, I have had no need for any pictures or promotions. Before I became self-employed I’ve asked for job, I got on a horse and I was hired. There were pictures taken of me riding, but people kept them for themselves, since I did not want them and had no need for them at that time. I do have some pictures when I was riding rodeos, because it was customary to purchase the picture from the appointed photographer and I did not want to appear too cheep to give him the $2.00 for his trouble.
   The few pictures that I had of me riding got lost over the years of travels and I have only few photos of my family (not more that 30 and one is on a horse).

     Regarding the seat and the issue whether it is painful or not for the male and female rider, I can only speak from my experience. There were many instances when the fellow female riders asked me for help. In a reasonable guess I would have to say about 50. Just one example; In my first job in the US (71-73), I was working on a thoroughbred farm riding about 15 yearling per day, each about for the distance of 3 miles, hence I’ve covered about 45 miles per day on young horses.
    Before I came to that place, there was working a woman (about 32 years old) that was riding on that farm the same amount of horses for ten years. She thought of her self very highly and she was a fair rider. She had taken two-week vacation, while I started the new set of yearlings by myself. When she came back,she told me to make sure that I give her the easier ones, due to the fact that she was not in shape. Of course I’ve agreed and had no problem with it.
    After about three sets she was getting increasingly agitated and by the end of the day she accused me that I gave to her the harder horses to ride, since she had such problems with most of them. She insisted to ride next day the horses that I’ve ridden, to which I of course agreed. The next day was significantly worse for her and she was very upset to the point that she cried since some horses were completely out of control under her. She finally asked me what was the problem.

     Well, the problem was in the fact that she completely forgot that theses horses were only two weeks under saddle and in her days it was normal for them to go very poorly in that stage of training. She could not understand why the young horses can appear so experienced when I am riding them and she was also very much frustrated with her incompetence, stating that it is absolutely devastating to find out after 20 years of riding that she doesn’t know how to ride.
    I have showed her that the foundation of riding is in the seat and that she cannot sit hence she cannot ride. I have helped her to take up the correct position but she could not do it, because the pain that she felt in her crotch bone. That was the first time I have encountered this problem with women and that was over thirty years ago.
    Since then, I have helped about 50 women in riding and just about all suffering from the same. I have seen only one woman that was able to sit correctly, however and unfortunately she did not have the heart of a rider, hence her progress was limited. As far as men are concern, I have seen during my lifetime less than ten that were able to sit correctly. Most of them sat on their cheeks.

     If a man encounters problems with his genitalia while sitting on a horse, it is more likely because of an incorrect position and sometimes because of incorrect equipment, specifically the saddle. Hence our discrepancies may be caused because of misunderstanding of the seat, or better said my and your perception of it.
    I have more articles coming on the seat that will help to clarify in more details the exact position. One of the key factors is, that the crotch bone is tight against the withers or pommel, in which case it seems to be more painful for women, especially when riding bareback. In the beginning the deep seat is painful for everyone in the hips, for men and women alike; hence most folks sit as on a chair.

     In reference to your last question, in basics one should use a suitable horse for a particular purpose and work, which is for most part ignored by most people.
    Today’s warmbloods are for most part the remnants of agricultural horses, since their type survived longer than the military riding horses, because it remained in the practical uses between the two world wars.
    This also includes the Lipizzaners, which in today’s form are for most part the lighter type of carriage horse, rather then the died off military type of riding horse. I have a picture of a bay military type of Lipizzaner on my article on that breed. The breeding of horses is also collapsed, since there no large enough places to keep the breeds in existence.

     I hope you will find my reply satisfactory, despite my poor English. Thanks again for your interest and support.

     Sincerely,

     Lee

Written by Ludvik K Stanek a.k.a Lee Stanek