Just caught this on the front page of Yahoo. Apparently there's an idea floating around for an airline seat shaped like a saddle. I think the pained look on the lady's face says it all.
OUCH.
Okay, it's fairly obvious I have some horseback riding experience and have spent plenty of time in a saddle. I will say that I do not want to ever ride in that seat. One of the directors of the company that is unveiling this new saddle seat claims that this is perfectly acceptable because "cowboys ride eight hours on their horses during the day and still feel comfortable in the saddle." I've ridden for an hour + and feel comfortable in a saddle, and could have easily kept going.
WTF NO. THIS SEAT LOOKS NOTHING LIKE A SADDLE.
Dude, weird hump in middle of seat is not equal to saddle. I suppose if I'm trying to perfect my equitation, this seat works. Kind of. I can't bring my legs back as far back as they need to be (heels should line up with my hips and shoulders). The seat back is also tipping her forward - she can't bring back her shoulders. But ... perfect equitation is PAINFUL! And it's not something I want to do for 8 hours!
Guy has clearly never ridden before. That line about the cowboy riding comfortably for 8 hours is pissing me off, so here's my rebuke. First of all, eliminating leg room is a minus. In a saddle, there's plenty of room to stretch out your legs. Stirrups hang from leather stirrup straps that are attached only at the very top of the strap and have plenty of room to move. Shove your legs forward, kick them out sideways ... easily able to relax your legs. I would seriously like to lean back too, past 90 degrees. There's a nice little upcropping on the back of a saddle called the cantle that helps to support the butt and the hips. It's really high on the western saddles, so yes, a cowboy could lean back on that the whole day and spend a comfy 8 hours in a saddle. Not, you know, sitting ramrod straight in that awful seat back. My elbows are supposed to be tucked in, but I don't think cowboys spend all day sitting like a prissy English rider. I'm sure they move their arms around, scratch their heads and butts and all that, while getting the blood circulated. And they also move around in the saddle! Turning around, checking on their cows, shifting their weight back and forth to match the rhythm of the horse's pace .... I suppose if I'm flying in this seat, I could stand up and down and make posting motions like I'm trotting, but that'll look stupid. (I know, cowboys don't post in a western saddle, they'll slam their balls into the pommel. Still, as bad as it looks, it's much better than trying to make cantering motions with my hips. That would look really inappropriate ...)
Saddle seat fail.
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