Best Treeless Saddle...?

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jackiesansom

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I'm thinking of purchasing a treeless saddle for my youngster as I know he will change shape etc and don't want to end up spending a fortune on various saddles over the next few years!

I want to be able to jump in it as well as school/hack. Does anyone jump or possibly even hunt in theirs?

I also prefer a traditional look - your suggestions please!
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It very much depends on your horse's shape. The obvious answer would be a Heather Moffett Fhoenix. They are about £650 - £800 on ebay. If you need something a little cheaper you could try a Freemax (£300 - £450). Easytrek are nice looking and cheaper still - but I am unaware of their quality as I don't have one of them.

Things to remember with treeless are the girthing must be right to aid stability. Play around with different lengths until you get the right fit. Elasticated is a must. Also you need to make sure you get the recommended pad for under the treeless. At a pinch a Polypad is fine in the short term.
 
And treeless saddles still need to be fitted to the horse. They dont suit every horse.

The cheaper ones are hard to jump in and the stirrup bars are very far back, which can be an acquired taste for the rider.

The more traditional looking ones tend to be the most expensive.
 
It's worth having a search on this, there have been some really good threads in the last month or two. I would also say the Fhoenix, although as with all saddles, they don't suit all horses. Yes, there are a lot on EBay, but bear in mind that there are new models out with improved panels and that should be easier to fit.
Heather M recommends the Barefoot London for anyone who can't afford one of her saddles.
 
I would say try as many as you can before you commit yourself to buying one. There is a huge difference in saddles and one may not be right where another is.
In my opinion a good quality second hand one is far better than a cheaper new one.
I hated the torsion. The trekker rubbed my mares back. Finally settled on the fhoenix which I love. I have had no stability problems at all on my typical round no withers native, I can mount from the ground if I have to without it slipping.
Watch out for how the stirrups are attached. Some have a bar but others have a closed ring which I feel is less safe.
I disagree about elasicated girths being a MUST. I have two girths one is elasticated and barely ever sees the light of day The other is non elasticated neoprene which I find much much better.
 
I have a barefoot treeless dressage saddle, and it seems to suit us fine. It doesn't have the traditional look though, so maybe the fhoenix or a total saddles solutions one is better for that. My friends boss events in her total saddles solutions saddles up to Int eventing so they can't be bad!

Mine (although it was cheap in comparison, was not exactly that cheap!) hasn't ever slipped, although I have never got on from the ground as I don't do that anyway! It does have closed rings for stirrups, but that problem is solved by some quick release stirrup attachments which are probably quite a good thing anyway.
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I bought a Torsion on impulse - big mistake. Very expensive and I never use it. Horses go quite well in it, but most of my friends who have tried it find it uncomfortable.
 
Thanks guys for your replies they have been really useful!
I do like the look of the HM ones but boy they are pricey!

I will keep you all updated
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