Let's Do The Twist!
By Jochen Schleese

There is sometimes a lot of confusion between waist and twist of a saddle - position, function and width of each of these. The twist is built into the saddle tree right during manufacture, whereas the waist is more of an optical 'illusion'.

The narrowness of the waist is easily manipulated - this is actually the seaming running down on either side behind the pommel which you see when looking down on your saddle from above. It can be stitched narrow or wide, but has actually no influence on what you feel between your legs. The twist is what you actually feel between your thighs and under your pubic bone - and paradoxically enough, it is usually very wide (especially in the traditionally made "male" saddles) while the seat itself is very narrow.

This reflects the actual anatomy of the male pelvis. For women (despite "child-bearing hips") the twist 'usually' is more comfortable when it is very narrow and the seat of the saddle is wider to accommodate the wideness of the seat bones (but this 'feel' is very much subjective, and has nothing to do with what you look like physically from the outside) - there are very slim-hipped 5'6" equestrians who ride most comfortably in an 18" saddle that looks like a frying pan. The articulation of the hip bones is also something which differentiates male and female anatomies and influences the feel of what is between your legs.

The width of the twist can usually only be altered after the fact by taking apart the whole saddle and reworking the tree; it is best decided on during the initial manufacture of the saddle. Basically what we're trying to say is that you buy with the eye (a narrow-seamed waist looks more pleasing to the eye), but you ride with the feel (which is the twist). Who cares if it is narrow, medium, or wide - if it feels right for you and works for you and your horse!

Part of the confusion may be in translation of a term that is not generally used in English, but means the same thing. For example, the literal translation of "kopfeisen" (gullet plate) is 'head iron' - which is becoming a little more known today, but still not commonly used. The same could be why there is now this confusion about waist and twist. The twist is what you feel between your legs, but the 'appearance' of the twist (which we refer to as waist) is the seaming on top. You could have a narrow twist (which is determined by the tree - and has nothing to do with gullet width or panel placement and width) which looks wide because of the seaming and vice versa. Width is subjective in any case - you have to ride what feels right and works for you. A manufacturer can use 'norms' to determine that generally, women 'should' feel better in a narrow twist, but this is not always the case.