Pro's and cons of treeless saddles?

ponies-R-gr8!!!

ponies-R-gr8!!!

Me and a fat ginger pony!
Jul 27, 2006
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Northants UK
What are the pro's and cons of treeless saddles?
Can the "one size fits everything" really fit any shape or size of horse or pony?
Are they worth the money?
Can you jump in them? Enter SJ competitions in them?
Can you do dressage in them? Enter dressage competitions in them?
Does your horse/ pony ride better in them?

Sorry for the million questions i just would like to know for when i get Phoebe as i wouldnt mind her having a treeless as they are supposedly lighter?
 
There's loads of threads on here about treeless saddles so you could find out a lot by doing a search. In theory they are great, adaptable, fit anything, no potential for the sort of damage/problems caused by unsuitable trees.

My personal experience is mixed, my old horse went really nicely in both the treeless I rode him in but my current horse doesn't seem suited by one of them, so no they don't fit everything. There's only 1 type of treeless currently on the market that's specifically designed for jumping, that's the one that doesn't fit my horse - typical! The one that does fit my horse slips so not great for jumping, although I have done it on the basis that it's safer than jumping bareback! Yes you can do dressage in them, though I haven't personally.

IMO a well-fitted treed saddle is absolutely fine, although treeless is also fine if the saddle suits your horse & is certainly well worth trying if you're having trouble getting a treed saddle to fit. It's not like some magic wand that will work brilliantly in every situation though.
 
I just like the look of "comfortableness" in a treeless saddle and they look light and as the pony i might be getting will be 13.1 i was thinking it might be a good idea?
 
With my horse I always ride treeless and someone once gave me a treed saddle to see how he went in it but he wouldn't even let me put it on his back! As soon as he saw it he started backing away from it and shaking his head so I decided to get a cashel which I did and have been very happy in untill my NH riding Instructer (Jayne Lavender) said that the clip which the styrups are atatched to was to bulky and was making my legs stick out to much so I couldn't get the proper feel of mayo. So now I'm looking for a new treeless non leather saddle that isn't too expensive. lol. Should be interesting;)
 
Puzzle is in a torsion treeless saddle. Its really nice looking and sooooo comfy ! puzzle can be ridden english / western and tree'd and treeless and he far preffers his treeless ! i use the tree'd saddle for jumping if i jump big and i use it for showing as im not too sure on the rules (really must check that out !:rolleyes: )

puzzle seems to be alot comfier in treeless and when schooling he loosens up much more :)

Deffo worth the money ! :D
 
im not a fan of treeless saddles, but i have seen horses that go very well in them. But like treed saddles they have to be fitted properly and this business of one size fits all is a load of rubbish IMO!!!
like everything they will not suit every horse, as IM has said i would see if you can try one out before you buy.
Below is a photo of a horses back that had a very well known brand of treeless saddle fitted, it was tried with most pads recommended by the manufacturer. The marks on the horses back were caused by pressure from the stirrup bars..
having said that i have also seen horses with back problems caused by ill fitted treed saddles but, never anything as bad as this.
This horse has a very very sore back and is not able to be ridden for some weeks yet.


saddleproblem.jpg
 
Some horses prefer different treeless saddles but I have a freind with 6 horses and her treeless saddle fits them all and has never been fitted and they all go well in them! I disagree, treeless saddles mold into the shape of the horse, not like treed ones that are rigid and will not mold to the size of the horses back!!
 
Gosh:eek: what brand of treeless that did that then? and what pad? :confused: what sort of horse and rider, what work were they doing?
 
I was wondering the same, Perdita! I hope it's not M's horse with the F... saddle?
Wouldn't the horse have shown some signs before this?

We use both, treed and treeless.
My TB has a very well-fitting treed saddle (County). I see no reason to switch him to treeless.
The QH has a regular treeless saddle (Torsion). We ended up with treeless after a long journey of finding something she liked, including having a treed saddle custom made for her...no treed saddle worked for her but she is happy as a clam in her Torsion.
Stirrup pressure is less of a concern with her though because we ride her Western (generally no weight in the stirrups as it would be for posting trot, etc.).
We have a third horse that we will start in a new kind of treeless that has a multi-point attachment system for the stirrups, etc. and I am hoping it will be sufficient with weight distribution to ride English in it. It does look a bit unconventional though because the stirrup run on a loop rather than with free-swinging leathers.
The dealer also told me that it would definitely not be suitable for my TB because of his prominent spine and withers and it would be a moderate fit for the QH so there are limitations of this as well. The saddle is best suited for low withered, flat backed horses like our third horse, which is a draft cross.

The reason we are going treeless with her is that we expect her to change shape a lot over the first few years and we wouldn't be able to keep up with buying her quality treed saddles every time she changes shape. We also don't have saddle fitters, etc.

I test-rode the new treeless on the QH (rode her English) and really loved it. She seemed to approve as well so I am hoping it will work well for the third horse.
 
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Treeless saddle are more likely to fit more types of horses than a treed saddle, they are not one size fits all , they still need to be fitted and appropriate for the level and type of work the horse is doing.
ive had quite a few types of treeless saddles for a few years now, and only had one problem with my cob getting a white mark on his back. Thos hes quite happy in his saddle still, and his back has no muscle wastage or soreness. Non of my horses have. I also had a horse who became unrideable in a treed saddle, who is quite happy treeless.
 
I disagree, treeless saddles mold into the shape of the horse, not like treed ones that are rigid and will not mold to the size of the horses back!!
Click to expand...

But they can be quite rigid, have you looked at all of them? Maybe you should look at mine - OK there is no tree but it is stiffened with a length of rigid rolled leather piping and is not capable of moulding itself to anything in particular. It's a well respected make (Ansur) and is very nice saddle, it just doesn't suit every horse. I'm not making up the fact that my horse got mardy when she wore it, just like Poohsmate was not making it up when he posted that picture. Treeless is a great idea, just not the panacea that perhaps we'd all like it to be. IMO there is no such thing as a saddle that fits absolutely any horse.
 
its true that some dont mould to the shape of the horse, but the ansurs do fit the more angular horse, ive had the konklsuion on my ex racer.
I dont think its a case that they dont suit the horse, more that the horse doesnt liek it, or the saddle feels different, im sure after having a treed saddle on a treeless feels quite odd, and some horses need to develop the back muscle to use a treeless saddle properly,they need to get usd to the different feel.
I do believe that most treeless saddle problems are padding problems.
i have had one saddle that just diddnt fit the shape of one of my horses, i sussed the problem and got her one that did fit, with different padding i may have made my fhoenix fit my welsh d. now she has more muscle on her back it might fit better.
 
Hi No_Angel. I'm sure you are right, but the point I tried to make is that treeless saddles are not necessarily like some sort of glorified bareback pad that is soft/floppy enough to adapt to any horse. You don't just plonk them on and go without a care in the world, whatever the propaganda says. There was a recent thread on EE posted by someone else having problems fitting a KK so I know my experience is not unique, but as I say that's not the point - with any treeless you don't assume that because it's treeless = perfect fit, no problem, and I'd be very concerned if anyone assumed that to be the case. I'm sure your tack room boasts plenty of pads to get the saddle off the wither/level/whatever so I hope you see what I mean!
 
my tack room does boast plently of pads yes, but thats because ive researched them and bought them.
Even with the not so solid treeless saddles, you dont just plop them on and go, there needs to be research into if the saddle will fit your horse.
Having experience with lots of treeless saddle, of different makes, and lots of different horses, not just my 6 but others aswell, i can say that treeless saddlles, of whatever make, do fit the majority of horses, with padding appropriate for the horse.
I know most people wouldnt think of just grabbing a treed saddle and slinging it on a horse, without checking for fit and maybe even researching the saddle first, i would expect the same from someone buying a treeless.

I think you have just been unfortunate with the kk, as i know plently of people, including myself, eho have had it on a number of different horses without a single problem.
 
I'm honestly very surprised the seller of the saddle that caused the above pressure points didn't tell the buyer about having to keep the buckles by your ankle.

I ride Mouse in a Barefoot Cheyenne & althought it took me 15mins to get the stirrups on so they sat in the right spot (clearly not technically minded!), it's all very comfy.

What did the rider look like if the horse looked like that??
 
They aren't totally 'one size fits all', one saddle can usually be persuaded to fit a variety of horses with careful choice of padding but they won't suit every horse.

I've jumped in an SBS happily, tried to in a Fhoenix but madam prefered bouncing sideways and peeing off across the field. Have done dressage and competed in my SBS, don't think anyone really noticed. My fhoenix would have looked totally normal with my show jacket on to hide the cantle.

I've got an SBS but mostly use treed saddles. My younger one is quite TB shaped and is IMO a shape that treed saddles suit better. Coblet should be ideal for a treeless saddle but she's just as happy if not happier in her saddle company saddle and I prefer it so we mostly use that. The SBS is handy to have so I can carry on riding when one of them decides to change shape.

I did have a fhoenix for a while and it made her far more sore more quickly than I would have thought possible for something so soft. She reacted worse to that saddle than she did when she had a treed saddle with a fault (took me a while to figure out what was going on) or a treed saddle that didn't fit (changed shape, bad mummy didn't notice until she got chewed on a few times :eek: ).
 
ponies-R-gr8!!! said:
What are the pro's and cons of treeless saddles?
Can the "one size fits everything" really fit any shape or size of horse or pony?
Are they worth the money?
Can you jump in them? Enter SJ competitions in them?
Can you do dressage in them? Enter dressage competitions in them?
Does your horse/ pony ride better in them?
Click to expand...

Pros and cons - search here and other forums for treeless saddles, you'll mind zillions of threads about their good and bad aspects....
They can fit most horses or ponies - much more than one treed saddle can, in any case.
Worth the money if you horse is hard to fit for a treed saddle, or you have more than one horse, or if your horse drops/puts on weight quickly - actually, at all!!!
You can jump/dressage in them. The SBS has dressage and GP version, as does the Fhoenix, also the Fhoenix has a new Jumping/Eventing saddle. Ansur have the jumping and dressage saddles as well.
Horses for courses (or in this case, saddles!) - some horses love them, some hate them.

I went 'treeless' as my 'saddler' is absoloute rubbish, and as my instructor says "couldn't fit a rocking horse" - I seriously doubt the quality or knowledge of the fitting of saddles now by saddlers if this qualified SMS saddler is anythign to go by! However, I know there are many decent and good saddlers out there, I won't go tarring them with the same brush ;)
 
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