Thank you, Quill, for pointing out idiocy in the equine retail business…because there already isn’t enough in the non-retail sector of horse ownership. Pfft!
Who thought the Buddy Seat was a good idea? Who funded its creation? And who decided to make it part of Abetta’s line? Each and every one of you needs a baseball bat to the side of the head to juggle whatever little brain matter is in there into function. Clearly all of you were fully committed to its existence since it’s offered in an array of attractive colors. Buddy Seat On Ebay
Without even discussing rider safety – since I’ve already admitted to not being particularly child friendly – and strictly from a horse health and soundness standpoint, you can’t possibly have a clue about horses if you think it’s appropriate to put weight over the horse’s loin. Here it is: In action
Hooves 
I’m totally getting one of these for my 10 month old.
Man, that horse looks pissed off. But what if I told you some mouth-breather had invented THIS? http://www.saddleonline.com/Western-Saddles-Double-Seat-Saddles/c2_44/p1522/Gorgeous-Unique-Double-Seat-Western-Saddle-W-Tack/product_info.html?osCsid=9i62p6f359ng3jj1pu6s66gc75
OK, now I’ve seen everything.
WT…?!
http://www.freedmanharness.com/freedmanharness/cornelliilaselleadeux.htm
Here’s another, this time of the English flavor.
OMG! Really? Wow!
These things have to be some kind of bizarre joke.
Who the fu^^ety-&#ck has $2500 to spend on this spawn of a demented Disney imagination?! Cavalry seat?! True double tree?!
Stupid picture not even a helmet anywhere in sight. Why is it so uncool to even wear safety gear. Stupid people that have children irritate me.Don’t understand why you would have your child behind you anyway. I like how companies have figured out a way to make money from stupid people.
Only in the horse world.
My first thought on seeing the buddy seat in action: That thing puts that kid at the absolute PERFECT spot to get launched SKY HIGH when that horse decides to buck!
Doesn’t it just? If I didn’t know it was socially unacceptable to wish such a thing, I’d pay to see it.
This is where little-person stunt people make bank.
Ha! That’s exactly what I thought too! One good buck’ll send that kid flying!
As for the double western saddle, in what fantasy world does ANY horse have a back long enough for that thing to even fit on it, much less for it to be comfortable/safe for either horse or rider! Seriously, you would literally be dangling from my horses tail if you tried to ride in that thing on her…just a regular cutting saddle bonked her in the hips so much when she’d bend that I switched her to English (or in reality, I switched to riding bareback, lol. Hey, it makes us both happy 🙂
evolution gets so little chance to work on humans any more, life saving medical techniques keep people alive through their reproductive years just to name one change, that we should not criticize those technological advances that allow evolution to operate freely in thinning out the gene pool.
Maybe the designer should get a Darwin Award?
LOL! You’ve got a point.
I think we should take the warning labels off of things (for the common sense warnings anyway) and let nature take its course.
At first when I saw this I was like “Oh cool, something to stick on a pony to lead your kid around in. Great!” Then I realized it was meant to go behind the saddle and was floored.
I trail ride a lot and I see these used often. The horses seem to not care and the kids look very confortable. So I’m not going to complain to these folks about their use of the ‘buddy’ seats.
I’ve seen a lot of horse not seem to care that they’re in pain or discomfort. That’s the nature of the horse. As a prey animal, showing weakness gets you dead. Sometimes it just gets you punished repeatedly by the human, so it’s easier to survive by shutting off and just going along.
Just returned from a friend’s barn. She had a boarder sign over her horse…long story, not important. My friend asked for my input on the horse, who had a history of being reprimanded and punished for every slight, including being jerked in the mouth every time the previous owner thought his head got too high.
Five seconds of longeing was all it took for me to realize the horse had shutdown. He was about as interested in life as I am in gnawing off my left hand.
Point being…I don’t think ‘the horse doesn’t seem to mind’ is a valid excuse for something we know to be true…the horse’s back is not designed to carry weight and the weakest part of the horse’s skeletal body is the loin, therefore it’s either ignorant or down right abusive to put a rider astride the horse’s loin. And again, that doesn’t even account for the safety issue of the child.
I can vouch for that. The mare I lease has been ridden in a poorly fitted saddle for a long time and I’ve finally gotten the money to get my own. One that actually fits her. We’ve been searching for a while and we think we’ve found the one. I think it fits well, but my instructor is double-checking during my lesson tomorrow (I have zero experience with saddle fitting, so this has been a learning experience). And of course the first saddle I have to fit is not on an easy horse, but a slightly sunken, butt-high, high-withered, wide-shoulder old mare, haha.
Anyway, my mare never lets us know she’s in pain. If she’s showing outward signs of pain, then it must be really bad. Putting my fingers between the old saddle and her shoulders about crushed them. She’d been putting up with that pain without the slightest complaint. That’s why you need to learn about the horse’s body. Much of the time, they simply won’t let on that they’re uncomfortable, so you have to be able to spot it on your own.
I can vouch for that. Some horses are real sensitive, but repeated abuse can shut them down. The old guy I have right now is the most stoic, aloof horse I have ever known. When dealing with the vets, I have to always include this fact when discussing a diagnosis.
The Big Lick people all say the horses don’t mind- after all, if they were actually in pain they would not go round the ring like they do, would they now?
My cousin has one of these that she has been using for her daughter since she could sit upright by herself. It makes me cringe every time she posts a picture of her two year old, without a helmet, behind her on a trail ride.