Can someone explain treeless saddles to me please?

sleepykitten

sleepykitten

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I have a rather wide mare who I currently ride in the saddle that came with her 5 years ago. Its a synthetic job by a company called the Comfort Saddle Company or something like that, and was made to measure.

It fits her perfectly and she is very happy in it, however, i hate it!

I would ideally like a nice leather saddle but have no idea what to look for as she is so broad, and have been looking at treeless saddles instead, but me being a bit "old skool", I must admit I don't understand the theory behind them!

Can anyone explain it to me? Or failing that, anyone know of any leather saddles I can get to fit my large girl?

Sorry for being thick :confused::confused:
 
Theory behind it... well no tree means it has no hard bits to dig in anywhere and can wrap around any shape. Doesn't need restuffing if your horse changes shape. Some use a complicated system of pads, others do not. No hard bits = horse able to move his shoulder blade fully = potentially better stride, and rider more able to feet movement.

Downside is they can be ugly and there's not a lot to stop it from slipping sideways if the horse hasn't much wither.
 
From the treefree saddle site (they make the best treeless saddles IMO)
"....desire for a more natural riding experience, so the rider can enjoy that natural bareback riding experience without any physical discomfort for the horse or rider.This meant that the design had to be flexible and give the rider the same control over the horse as a conventional saddle, with no hard parts causing discomfort to the horse, but also at the same time supporting the rider’s weight and relieving the obvious pressure that a saddle gives to the channel along the horse’s spine."

things to look out for with a treeless.
make sure you can get and do get a very supportive and made for the saddle numnah
make sure that the saddle doesnt (as a lot of cheapie ones do) have stirrup leathers bridging the top of the horses back (like one long leather) - completely undermines the pressure benefits of the saddle if they do!
most are not great for jumping and cantering (as you arent supposed to put much pressure into the stirrups), nordo most look right for dressage

If looking at a treed one instead, consider Ideal H&C saddles as they are designed for very wide flat backed highland and cob types. Lovely saddles. Come up quite wide too in sizing, my cob is an XXW in a Thorowgood synthetic cob saddle but only XW in the Ideal.
 
A good treeless saddle distributes pressure enough that it doesn't cause pressure points. It DOESN'T spread pressure as evenly as a good treed saddle.

A treed saddle protects the horse from the rider but can be restrictive and it can also be very easy to get the fit wrong.

Ideal, Saddle Company, Native pony all specialise in very wide horses . But there are other brands that might suit.

Why not get a saddler out to try lots and see.
 
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