Barefoot and ghost saddles decision help!

[ClaretCarrot]

I'm planning on getting a treeless saddle. I'm only at the research stage but i'm struggling with choice. Firstly my budget is reasonably limited, so a barefoot saddle would be pushing my budget. Definitely cant spend more. I am fussy and I dont think I could cope with second hand unless its practically new and immaculate.

I have 2 horses. 1 is a short backed 14.3 who is very round and has no wither. He has old injuries which currently limit the amount of activity I can do on him. He has a tendency to tense his back up and shorten it further but it does improve reasonably well with warming up gently for about 15m. He has been extensively vet checked, I have no aspirations for him other than to get him to lose weight and gain fitness for his health. I think a ghost quevis would suit for its lightness and shortness. I have tried using just a bareback pad but i'm not at all confident without stirrups.

The other is 15.2 with a normal wither and a normal length back. He has a weak back which he had when I bought him. He literally had a saddle mark imprinted on his back for the first 6 months. It has improved but there is still visable muscle wastage beneath where the back of the saddle sits. He has been also been vet checked and physio etc. I would like to have a saddle I can jump in. Nothing massive. 80cms would be my bravest height. I was thinking a barefoot saddle for him. A Cherokee or nottingham for the knee rolls.
What is the difference between cherokee and nottingham?
I could keep my treed saddle for competing in SJ or XC but for every day riding I want something I can pop a few jumps in without having to change saddle.

Ideally i'd like to just have to buy 1 saddle that would suit both, but I have a feeling the barefoot would be too long on the first horse, and the ghost wouldnt be ideal for jumping the second horse. Apologies for the crazy lady long post. Any advice greatly appreciated, along with any suggestions of brands I havent thought of. I wont be able to buy the 2 saddles at the same time, so my budget cant be doubled by just buying 1. It will take me many months to save up for the second one. Thank you!

 

[Artax]

I'm afraid I don't know about those two brands, but didn't want to read and run. I don't know if thise will be useful to you at all, and do ignore if not. I thought about treeless for my tricky one however, having tried a total contact saddle, I would recommend seeing as you want to jump. It was invented by a showjumper and is a showjumping "saddle". It may not suit you, but you can always have a look. I school in mine too.

 

[Amicus]

is there a reason you want to go treeless?
I currently only have treeless saddles but if my horse had a fitting treeless saddle I think I might have just stuck with it. As it is I've got a solution saddle but really had to scrimpt to own it and bought it second hand with some aesthetic damage - however its a brilliant fit and has been on a few different horses. Fit really should be the priority and I do think there's a certain amount of you get what you pay for with treeless saddles. In the past I tried/trialled/used a Dartmoor Tree Free (Ok but prone to slipping), two types of the Heather Moffett (one of the horses definately didn't like it and the other I didn't like) A Total contact (couldn't really see how it wouldn't damage the back long term...) and one of the Barefoot saddles (had slipping issues).
The Solution saddles are the only ones I would whole heartedly recommend you could probably get one for £500-600 second hand but you'll obviously find lots of people happy with their own choices - I think there was a good thread about trialling the ghost you could search for.
Sorry not sure this is a very helpful but really I just wanted to say if fit is an issue then I'd try hard to forget about aesthetic perfectionist and buy the best fitting saddle you can afford and go second hand.

 

[Wagtail]

I am very happy with my ghost saddle. So stable and comfortable. I did a lot of research before buying and Ghost seemed to avoid most of the problems such as pressure points from stirrup bars etc. They are very reasonably priced and you can buy interchangeable seats for different disciplines.

 

[FfionWinnie]

I think treeless are fine if you are only light hacking but in my own and many others experiences, problems arise if you are working the horse hard.

 

[Amicus]

I have happily evented up to 110cm and hunted twice a week although admittedly only for a season without any back issues (apart from a falling in a ditch issue no fault of the saddle) in a solution saddle. Although I have heard of issues of this type and of treeless saddle companies ignoring and sweeping them under the carpet. Very fair point to watch for...

 

[FfionWinnie]

I think it depends on the horse to a degree as well. Some horses will put up with anything and some have a very low tolerance for discomfort. I've just bought a solution for a not bothered by anything type of horse and I think she will be fine with it combined with the fact I am not her only rider and she will normally be ridden in a treed saddle, on average she will probably be ridden only a couple of times a week in the treeless. For my other horse while initially it seemed great, the pressure issue is apparently cumulative and it did not work for her long term. I agree about issues being swept under the carpet/ignored but that is the case with pretty much everything when it comes to buying a product, the manufacturer won't be telling you about the failures only the successes.

 

[ClaretCarrot]

Thank you for the replies. I'm in Ireland and saddle fitters are very few and far between, and most of those that are here generally have a very poor reputation. (A friend got one who arrived out with a wintec gullet gauge, selected a gullet with it, and sold my friend a wintec saddle. Hey presto thats the level of effort that went into it)

So getting a treed perfectly fitting saddle is unlikely. Plus my first horse can change shape dramatically in the space of 2 weeks even over the winter. He isnt fed any hard feed, he can gain weight and wither fat pads from just the grass in winter (nightmare)

If my original post wasnt long enough already... i have some additional Q's

If i'm 5'6 and 147lbs, size 12-14 depending what clothes shop I go to. I assume I would be standard size in Ghost and size 2 in Barefoot? Some sites seem to put me right between the 2 sizes.


I had also looked at solutions saddle, but an old thread (here I think) put me right off. Basically shoddy leather etc for massive price. I'll look into that again. There is a preloved one I saw online recently

 

[Wagtail]

I have the Ghost Piccalo which is the small size. It doesn't seem small. My horse is 15hh and in a 6 ft rug and I think the standard size would be a bit big looking on her. I am 5'10 and currently 130lbs but when I got the saddle I was 140lbs. Some people find the thigh blocks uncomfortable on the Ghost saddles when they do rising trot though, especially if they ride short.

 

[FfionWinnie]

If you go for a solution I wouldn't personally buy new again as the second hand value and market is really poor. I sold mine at a huge loss and bought another one where the owner made an even larger loss (and it's hardly been used is the new type in almost new condition and was for sale with the price being steadily dropped since July!).

 

[BlackRider]

I've got a barefoot London, which my horse loves and he finds really comfortable.

I did try a solution saddle, but 30 mins hacking in it for 4 days did so much damage to his back he needed 6 weeks off (and yes it was professionally fitted).

I'm also a fan of the heather moffat finesse, its really lightweight, rides like a treed saddle, you can jump etc in them, and they're not too expensive.

 

[pennandh]

Haven't used the English styles (I have a treed VSD at the moment), but I have a Barefoot Nevada (which comes in size 1.5 only) for my 13.1hh Highland and it's lovely. It does long hacks, small jumps, barrel racing... Also fits various other horses I've borrowed on occasion, though for anything very high-withered I'd want to buy a spare pommel insert in a narrower fit.

Don't think I've ever seen a Ghost treeless saddle, so I can't really comment on that front, but I have ridden in a Solution saddle and hated the feel of it. Admittedly, it may just have not been quite the right size/model for me, but it rather put me off them as a brand.

 

[ClaretCarrot]

Thank you for all the replies. Lots of food for thought. With so many love/hate stories I guess i'm just going to have to be brave and just pick one and sell it on if it doesnt suit!
Thanks again