Poleys Rule!

I just want to say how much I LOVE my Aussie saddle! I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that poleys are the most awesome saddle invention ever, after the girth and stirrups.

Poley are those things sticking out of the saddle just below the pommel. I've also heard them called thigh blocks.

Their function is very simple. They hold you in the saddle. If your horse trips, spooks, or stops suddenly you don't go anywhere. It's awesome!

It's like riding in a super-deep dressage saddle, with the added bonus that unless you topple directly off the side, you're not going to fall out.

Case in point. It's no big secret that I'm out of shape and I don't have the velcro butt I used to. Crossing a small creek the other day, Cherry decided that (after going into the water) that she just didn't want to be there and lept out onto the opposite bank, where she abruptly came to a stop. In an English saddle, this would have been quite unseating and if I was bareback I would probably have fallen off. In the Aussie saddle, however, I didn't even lose a stirrup. My thighs were snug against the poleys and my leg and seat weren't going anywhere.

Another time, we were cooling out, just ambling along on a loose rein, when some killer quail suddenly advanced from the bushes in attack formation. I was just sitting on Cherry, not really riding, when the quail attacked us. (And by attacked, I mean rustled in the bushes a bit before calmly walking out of them.) Cherry, sure the quails' mission was to slaughter and devour us, jumped sideways, spun, and got about 3 steps away before I'd come to my senses enough to tell her to knock it off. Again, if I'd been riding bareback, I would either ended up hanging off Cherry's neck or laying on the ground as an offering to appease the evil quail. In the Aussie saddle with the awesome poleys, even though I was totally disengaged and not paying attention (bad idea, I know), I kept my seat.

I love my bareback pad, but when "exciting" things happen, the Aussie saddle is the tack item of choice.