how on earth do you learn about treeless saddles?

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poo-picker

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Mar 18, 2008
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my god its complicated!!!!!!!!

i would love to go treeless but ive been looking through some websites and there seems to be so much information. and not to mention that according to some threads ive read there are some very dubious examples around that may cause more damage than good!!! it seems that a lot of people are jumping on the "new craze" and producing inferior goods. also it doesnt seem that they are an equivalent size to treed saddles. the few ive seen say that there standard size is equivalent to an 18-18.5" treed saddle. how on earth do i start to find one for my 13.2hh welshie. surely it cant be that difficult but i dont know which ones i can trust.:confused:
 
No_Angel on here is a treeless expert, I am sure she will be able to help you out..maybe send her a message encase she doesn't see this.. but I know she knows her treeless saddles inside out and her herd are of all shapes and sizes from a 12.2 pony to 16.something TB girls all of whom she can has had treeless saddles on I believe.
 
Read up about every model & manufacturer, email them with any questions, ask for the technical specs, find other users & get their opinion.
 
Stay with well known brands. I highly recommend Demo-ing any treeless you are interested in. Will save you money in the long run and you will be much more likely to find a Treeless both you and your horse loves.

What kind of conformation does your Welsh have? Do you have photos?
This will help let you know which Treeless saddles might work best.
 
wow!!! lots of info, thanks, keep it coming. :)

sorry i havent got a complete side-on photo of him. he has got quite good withers and back with very little wastage considering he hasnt been ridden for 8 mths. (i think the very hilly field he has been in all winter has helped).
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FeatheryFeet said:
Some manufactorers have their own advisors/fitters. I am slightly cynical about this. Would be nice to have an independent someone who had a range of treeless that would come out and let you try them out.
Nice job opportunity for someone perhaps???
Click to expand...

The problem with having someone who is totally independant is that they wouldn't have the in depth knowledge of someone who is trained by the specific manufacturer. I can see both sides of the argument though and, unfortunately, it can come down to the integrity of the person selling the saddle at the end of the day.

There is one reputable treeless saddle manufacturer who has one employee that I wouldn't trust to tell me that the grass was green. She will do almost anything to push her saddles including writing to horse magazines posing as someone who doesn't an interest in the company and extolling their virtues at length! You might say 'good on her' but I wouldn't trust her not to sell me something just to get the sale whether it was suitable or not.

I know most of the Fhoenix/Vogue agents and I would trust them 100% but then they are trained extremely well and are told that they are not to sell a saddle if it isn't suitable. I know of more than one that has advised against the saddle if they didn't believe that it would suit the horse. I've not done the saddle training myself but have heard the saddle lectures (from someone who trained with treed saddles and who has forgotten more than I'll ever know) and I learned so much in such a short time.

I agree that you should stick to the well know or recommended brands, not buy cheapies from ebay and, probably most importantly, educate yourself.

Are you looking for saddles that look more like treed saddles or are you happy to go for something that looks different but costs a bit less? What sort of price range are you looking at?
 
to be honest looks are very low down as a priority. but i seem to quite like the look of the "unconventional" ones. my main priority is that it is comfortable for sisco and does not create any pressure points as he is still associating a saddle and rider with pain at the moment after being continued to be ridden after his accident, not by me but by his previous owner. my budget is about £300ish. :)
 
It realy is hard to 'shop' for these saddles, as, you can't just pop into a tack shop and check one out. I just got my first treeless saddle, a Sensation and it is actually what brought me to this Forum. I "googled" 'sensation saddle for sale' and came here. I found 'lurking' in forums and reading alot of Posts was the best way to get information. Riders are quick to share their experiences, both negative and positive, with others, so, you get an honest review. No Angel helped me alot (thanks) to understand the 'treeless puzzle'.

Read ALOT of reviews, and when you buy, get something with a resale value, incase you don't suit it, then the loss wont be so great.

Thats my 2 cents; Hope its not raining tomorrow... I havent gotten to sit in my new saddle yet :(

Review to come...lol

Angie J
 
Yes avoid unbranded. You can buy secondhand off ebay and if not right can resell.
The girth and pad is equally as important as the saddle.
 
I think the complication and information comes from the people (reputable ones) who make/supply treeless saddles. They have usually found themselves down this road through their own personal saddling troubles. Many of them have other qualifications that help them understand the biomechanics and/or behaviours of the horse better than many SMS trained saddlers and the result is they want to pass on the benefits of what they've learned for the good of the horse.

Its a tough road but well worth travelling. We are unique in the UK because for many, many years we have be brought up to trust the comfort of our horses to anothers hands and though those hands may be qualified, there are many disatisfied owners who know their horses are uncomfortable but are not being listened to by the so called "experts". In many other parts of the world, horse owners have to teach themselves about saddle fit and it's a worth while excersise.

Ask loads of questions, read as much as you can, not only of current stuff but of saddling history. 2 websites that cover the known brands: newforests above and www.freewebs.com/alternativehorse.

A good forum to join that has loads, and loads of info with many helpful members is:
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/treelesssaddles/messages. You can view the messages but will have to join to post.

Good luck!
 
newrider.com
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