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Portia

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Oct 16, 2004
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impartial advice and general information on treeless saddles? Am very seriously considering buying one for Mrs B; have consistently seen trauma from poorly fitting tree'd saddles, and wish to avoid her becoming one of the statistics.

Me being me however, I'd like to understand what's involved, why treeless are considered more comfortable, and how I go about sourcing the best fit for her (not available via my usual saddlery).

Suggestions on books, magazines, saddlers, web sites all appreciated! Many thanks - H
 
Impartial advice is difficult to come by!

I love my SBS, it's comfortable for me, comfortable for Saff and hasn't caused a days problem. She's got a good back with no atrophy and she's been in the SBS for 3.5 years now. I'm definitely going to buy a Vogue when I get the money.

That's just my opinion though from my experience and from seeing other horses ridden in the SBS and Fhoenix who have never had a problem. There are people out there who will tell you (and have told me!) that these saddles are wrecking horse's backs. Often these people have a vested interest, sometimes it's just a case that the saddle that they tried didn't suit their horse, sometimes there's a story behind the story that you've not been told and it's actually not the saddle's fault at all but something that was done, unwisely, by the owner!

Like anything not all treeless (or part treed or soft treed) will suit every horse or even every rider. It's a case of seeing if you can try different ones and see what you think.

In both treed and treeless saddles pressure testing has showed that what can make a big difference to the saddle is the way that the rider sits. More pressure was seen when a rider sits in a chair seat for example and a driving seat is a big no-no.

The best thing to do is to have a look at as many sites as you can, ask for opinions, have a look at the saddles yourself, try some out and then make an educated decision from all of that :)

One point that I would make is that treeless saddles DO feel different to treed saddles and more so when the stirrup bars are set back. You have to ride in it more than once to get a true feel for whether or not you'll like it because it does feel so different. I, for example, nearly ended up on my nose when I first got my SBS because I was used to having to pull my legs back in an effort to achieve the 'ear/shoulder/hip/heel' line. Doing that in the SBS (with the set back stirrups bars) meant that I was tipping myself forwards.

Which area are you in?
 
I really need to look into this, there's a hugearray of choice. treeless, soft treed... confusing or what! The Vogue does look nice BM, I agree, but it's soft treed? I read the blurb and understand what it means, just don't know which would be the right choice. The Phoenix looks good too, like the more traditional appearance, but it's not about how the saddle looks.

Guess I'm going to have to try a few out and see how they feel, what B (and I) think about it.
 
I've just ordered a freeform. I had done endless hours of research on the internet googling everything I could think of. I finally decided that the freeform was my first option as I wanted something that looked fairly normal (at least when you're on it).

I got one on trial for a fortnight (dont know if this was normal or if I was just lucky as there was no agent near me) but it duly arrived and although initially I had a problem with rubbing, that seemed to sort out with a different pad.

I found it quite strange to ride in and had a bit of bother balancing but apparently that is fairly normal. I certainly felt very comfy and secure and more "in the horse" rather than "perched on the horse". Arnie loved it from the minute it went on him and was a transformed horse.

Like FeatheryFeet, I have a bit of bother with the dressage girth but hopefully once my own saddle arrives I'll get used to it and be able to tighten it up from on board.

I also searched this site - first for general treeless then for every other make and name I could think of. Gradually I narrowed the options down so fingers crossed things will be fine when it arrives.
 
sarah76, on here does trials of treeless saddles, she maybe worth contacting
 
I have a Freeform and a Sensation G3, both look like ordinary saddles and are good makes. I think you get what you pay for and I personally wouldn't be happy with any of the really cheap ones. If anyone lives in, or fairly near to the Colchester area and want to have a look at either or both of mine, then I don't mind showing them off! My Barefoot Cheyenne is for sale on Ebay at the moment, simply because I got the bigger size and it's always been just too big for me.
 
best advice would be to try one first, do you have friend who has one for example.

i've ridden and jumped in the libra, torsion and barefoot. barefoot for sale due to upgrade.
ridden in the copperbeech.

you can ask on here and see what people say, it's like riding bareback with stirrups, you can ride all day and not look like john wayne when you get off. the only reason went treeless as 6 saddles later my pony was not happy, he has big shoulder. the bucking stopped overnight it was fantastic change for us. he still bucks and spins if scared and i don't go flying.

you can get treeless with knee and thigh rolls though i don't have any on mine.
 
Portia - my best suggestion for as impartial information as you can get would be to contact Marianna at Better Saddles. She has the widest range of treeless saddle models available anywhere in the world to try before you buy. She also sells a select couple of treed saddles. So, not biased one way or the other ;)

She will give you an excellent opinion as to what will suit you, your horses etc best. Look her up through her site.
 
Okay, I too have had the same problem - how to get impartial advice on treeless saddles?

What I would advise is that you contact your vet and ask if they can put you in touch with a good equine physio or chiropracter, then ring and ask what they think. Their priority is clearly a good back, so they are unlikely to mislead you and may be able to provide good general advice on what to look for in a saddle.

I asked the chiropracter my horse sees, and she had her misgivings. She reckoned they needed another 10 years to work out some of the logistical problems and issues of weight distribution.
 
HashRouge said:
What I would advise is that you contact your vet and ask if they can put you in touch with a good equine physio or chiropracter, then ring and ask what they think. Their priority is clearly a good back, so they are unlikely to mislead you and may be able to provide good general advice on what to look for in a saddle.
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I'm sorry, but I totally disagree with that!
I have to question the assumption that every equine physio/chiro etc out there has done all the research and trials into different treeless varieties that I would consider necessary for a truly unbiased opinion.

Yes, a good physio/chiro's priority will be the horse's back, but if they have little or no experience of (or curiosity about) treeless they won't be best placed to give you advice.
 
My lad had muscle wastage and high withers and the Thorowgood T4 high wither was perfect for him then, after 6 months his top line was much improved, but no longer felt that his shoulders were moving as they should so tried out a barefoot cheyenne, the difference was amazing, he was going forward so freely, felt strange to me though and missed the knee pads. Ordered the barefoot cherokee which comes with adjustable knee rolls and got the wide pommel insert. Horse loves it, which made me pesevere, groin pain because it is quite a stretch and was finding the pommel in the way when trotting, anyway adjusted my position, the groin pain stopped and now I love it too. I just think that they do take some time to get used too, mine has the channel and have the grandeur pad and have no problems with rubbing. Like another poster I do not like the dressage girth system as find it impossible to tighten from the saddle. Highly recommended.
 
Drifted said:
finding the pommel in the way when trotting, anyway adjusted my position, the groin pain stopped and now I love it too. I just think that they do take some time to get used too, mine has the channel and have the grandeur pad and have no problems with rubbing. Like another poster I do not like the dressage girth system as find it impossible to tighten from the saddle. Highly recommended.
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when you ride treeless you need to alter your position, not many people are aware of this and yes the pommel will get in your way. you will find that you ride a bit longer if you have the type with no knee or thigh rolls as it allows your legs to hang. you need to be sitting on your bottom not the pelvis as you would with a tree, it is a bareback position and it will take a little while for your legs to adjust. you may find they appear further forwards than normal but you will get the head, hip heel position once muscles have readjustaed.

i liked the looked of the cherokee and did think of upgrading to that, but chose the libra, my pony rides bigger than he looks anyway and definately does now with the spinal clearance. he has low wither so i could remove if i wanted to.

the girth system can be easier for you by working your horse in hand for 5 or ten mins prior to mounting, as then it has warmed up and will go up a few more holes. it is then less likely to slip if you do not have a mounting block (advisable for any mounting treeless or not) it's the same way as western cinching/nh mounting. warming the horse first/asking permission to get on.
 
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