# "After market" poleys, or knee blocks?



## Griffith361 (May 3, 2012)

Just curious, does anyone know if there's a way to add Aussie type poleys to a regular all purpose English saddle? Or of not, would just re-stuffing the knee rolls serve the same basic function? I'm a western rider but my English saddle fits my horse better and I need some extra 'stick' for my crazy horse lol
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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Even if you _could_ do it, which I doubt, you'd probably spend more trying to retrofit an English saddle than it would to buy a used Aussie.


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## ligoleth (Sep 9, 2011)

Aussies are a better choice, like speed racer said. 

They are built like a dressage, with the deep seat, which I find is really helpful, as some english saddles (as I have come to find) tend to put you more forward. I prefer aussies without a horn, simply for my own safety. I've heard stories of my instructor sticking a bucking horse, and getting rammed in his crotch by the horn at least five times. 

Aussies can use western style stirrups or english-- I prefer english, as for some reason, I can fit my feet in them better than western now. (Before it was the opposite!)


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## Griffith361 (May 3, 2012)

Ya that's what I figured, just thought i'd see if anyone had ever heard of that first. I'd love an Aussie and have been looking but am in the middle of planning a wedding so, don't have the extra cash until April


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## ligoleth (Sep 9, 2011)

You can do it! I know English doesn't have that deep seat feel... But maybe you could borrow a dressage saddle from someone?

I know if it were me and I'd have to choose, I'd go dressage over an English saddle.
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## AnrewPL (Jun 3, 2012)

It would mean completely stripping the saddle back to the tree and rebuilding the front once the knee pads were put on (why Americans all call them ploys I'll never know, poly refers to the lack of a horn on an Australian saddle). Assuming the front of the tree was big enough to attach the knee pads securely they could probably do it; actually I think I have seen some really old ones that had the knee pads attached to the leather rather than the tree so it could be done that way to I guess. Additionally, most Australian saddles have a fair bit bigger, or more pronounced, pommel than the average English saddle and part of that is because of the knee pads, but if the pommel isn’t there it could make it harder to do. Anyway, assuming you could find a saddler to do it I wouldn’t mind betting that it would probably be cheaper in the long run to just buy an Australian saddle. 


I just had an idea, I ride in a wade saddle without bucking rolls, and whenever I'm getting on a horse I think might buck a bit I get a saddle blanket, not a pad, and fold it then roll it up so I had a kind of thick long roll. I would then tie it to the saddle strings at the front of the saddle with it over the seat behind the fork, so that when I got on I'd have the rolled up blanket between me and the fork and down the sides towards the front, (I think that makes sense), it would act like a make shift pair of bucking rolls. You could probably tie something like that across the front of your English saddle.


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