Are saddles a THING in Equestria?!!?

[Widdershins 9,960]

   Was doing a quest in the Legends of Equestria while back. Some stallion wants you to help find the saddle he intended to give his wife as a present for 'Hearts & Hooves Day.' Seems to carry with it a few odd connotations...

  For One: I'm no expert in horse care, and no doubt the show writers wouldn't think much beyond it being just something that counts as a horse's gear, buuut... I'm pretty sure a saddle has to be leather. Quite certain there are screenshots taken of some mare's fancy dress that seems to incorporate a sort of cloth saddle as part of it for some reason. But if its a part of casual wear intended to sit out & away from the main body of the attire, then surely it must be of strong material in order to hold its form.  Aaand there's the even more curious question of where a nation of horses gets a supply of leather.... leather is supposed to be treated skin....

   Point Two: A saddle is intended as a seat. Why bother having a cloth section of a dress shaped like a chair to fit humanoid riders that clearly don't exist in this world? It would be like having an armchair-shaped top hat! So either its meaningless design having somehow sprung out of the creative ether ... or there are articles of the design made for the express purpose of allowing a rider... when the only potential rider is another pony...

 So my question arises twofold: Are saddles a thing in Equestria? And, if so, what possible use are they for?

 Sure, fashion can be inexplicable and weird, but weird fashion tends not to stick around. Sure, it could be used for "personal experiences" but the relation from wearer to rider would be far too off to implicate anything... I mean, collars, bits & reigns I can see being just the same as any other accessory, but a saddle covers almost the entirety of the back. A saddle is utility & function and would hardly be comfortable enough for piggyback rides.

[Johnny1226 14,674]

I think they are a fashion statement and seem to be designed in many different ways to suit the particular ponys taste 

[hollow-shades 129]

Maybe we are thinking to deep into this, but maybe saddles in the MLP universe aren't really used for riding, but rather, as a fashion accessory.

If you look at the Saddle Arabia delegates, you will notice that they are wearing saddles- however, their saddles are patterned and a bit too big for actually saddle-ing.

Edited September 15, 2017 by Flinp

[Babyyoshi309 1,829]

Saddles have been mentioned several times in the show. But it is likely just for fashion.

[ZethaPonderer 2,199]

Fashion may be one thing.

 

I always thought ponies wearing saddles in the show usually use it as a bagpack to carry items throughout their adventures. That would make sense otherwise using a saddle for anything else is just handicapping the pony with unnecessary weight. Especially in the first three seasons. So it's not that its entirely necessary for saddles to be fashion for horses.

[Widdershins 9,960]

 Yes, but fashion How? 

  You know the age old adage of "There's no accounting for taste", but as @Flippin' mentioned, if it was just another thing to put a pattern onto, then there's no reason to have it rise off the main body of the work to fit into a sturdier, more harness-shape. After all, if you just wanted a back-cover why not a simple saddle blanket or satchel/ side bags as we often see in the show already.

9 hours ago, ZethaPonderer said:

I always thought ponies wearing saddles in the show usually use it as a bagpack to carry items throughout their adventures. That would make sense otherwise using a saddle for anything else is just handicapping the pony with unnecessary weight.

  Well, to serve as extra storage it would need something akin to pockets, right? I do suppose added weight can be waved away with the excuse that ponies seem quite durable. If Pinkie can be basically made of bubblegum... But that still leaves the question of a part of fashion needlessly getting in the way of mobility. ...though Whalebone Corsets & bell-shaped gowns did just occur to me just now...

  Still, I cannot but help to think that some visual aids might help in this discussion.

    I do suppose that would classify more as a back-blanket and simultaneous method of showing their nations colors while abroad. As thick & elaborately decorative as they are, I can easily see that extending into the more pronounced saddle design that somehow also comes closer to the human world's more utilitarian saddle design.

    And who better to serve as a prime example other then the pony particularly named after saddles, Sassy Saddles!

 While I do wish I had the picture bigger... that saddle looks significantly more elaborate & unweildly. If anything it looks like a piece of gem-studded armor and, if I may unleash my inner Rarity, is a massive fopah in fashion, if not design! That's like strapping a solid-gold wrestling prize-belt over a ballroom gown! A huge chunk of metal worn over cloth? I find it chafing to even wear a three-inch belt buckle over my jeans! That's less of an accessory like a decorative sash and more of half of a breastplate of armor haphazardly strapped ontop over weaker fabric! 

[ZethaPonderer 2,199]

Perhaps the saddles are becoming like fashion-esque armor pieces that ponies can use for protection while having style (showoffs ) alongside being a handy bagpack. I know in the episode Dragonshy the Mane Six wore saddlebags.

[Justin_Case001 4,896]

16 hours ago, Widdershins said:

...though Whalebone Corsets & bell-shaped gowns did just occur to me just now...

LOL!

So, I'm going to ride the crazy train of headcanons here, because...why not?  It has been theorized that the magic mirror in EG is not a portal to another dimension, but is in actuality a time machine.  Fans have actually pointed out a bunch of intriguing clues suggesting that the EG world is tens or hundreds of millions of years in the past, and that humans went extinct in this universe, and then sentient ponies evolved as the dominant race.  So, if this is true, then perhaps saddles existed in the human world for riding purposes, as one would expect, and then ancient ones were uncovered by pony archaeologists, and it caught on as a fashion statement.  Yup, that sounds good to me.  An air tight theory if I've ever heard one.  Yessiriee bob, I do believe I've cracked the case and written the final word on this subject. 

[StormBlaze 992]

if anyone has the "Art of MLP" book, then you can see the early designs featured saddles. AJ is drawn by Faust a lot in Bridles too. So tack is a thing in Equestria, just not used in a practical sense. Its a fashion thing. Royal Ribbon is one background pony that's seen wearing one a lot. Also a number of Rarity's dresses feature saddle detailing. 

[Widdershins 9,960]

@Justin_Case001 Well, because you know I'm that kind of guy...

   There was that one episode where the fossils of a "Ponysaurus" was dug up, indicating an alternative evolutionary line had taken in this world. But, doesn't quite rule humans out, earlier show renditions did have main human characters after all.

  Though... why would JUST that make it through to modern culture? I guess you could say the same about technology like trains, but still somewhat of a stretch.

 @StormBlaze  The whole notion of fashion as an excuse still doesn't sit well with me though. I kind of see it like building a tiny little house out of fabric onto the side of your ballroom gown. There's simply no reason for it and it would get in the way. Though... th-that does also describe Beehive Hairdos... bell-bottom pants... bead curtains... Piercings in general...

   Maybe I just don't get fashion!