#information was gathered from my momma the og horse girl TM and former equestrian rider

[ina-bauer20]

Howdy House of the Dragon fans! In the most recent episode you may have noticed that Aemond looks a little silly on his horse.

Some people are thinking it’s CGI or a stunt double. And while both of those ideas could be the case, the riding style would still be correct. There is actually a reason behind why it looks so silly to us! To my observation he’s most likely riding in an Australian saddle. Most of us are used to seeing people riding in English or Western saddle where the rider is straddling the horse (legs opening up at the hips) and thus their knees and legs are in more line with their body and further back on the horse.

In Australian saddles, the stirrups are further up the horse. This is why Aemond (Ewan) looks like he is ‘sitting’ on rather than straddling the horse.

Now for some ✨historical fun facts✨

Australian farm country had quite a rough terrain compared to the plains in the US and hills of England. It has many steep valleys and plateaus. The Australian saddle was created with that in mind. Historically its has padding and grooves to keep your legs in a particular place. There was also a lot of padding at the knees so the rider would have something to lean into while going down steep slopes. All of this to make sure the rider was well balanced and comfortable on long and treacherous rides.

Cue the Man From Snowy River scene:

Another fun fact! There was sometimes a special groove in the front to cradle dudes’ testes!!