Could I ride in a 15” treeless saddle?

I hope it fits! I’m going to have to go for 15” or 16” when I eventually decide to spend the ££££ for a Tor as my mare is only small and definitely doesn’t take more than a 15” Torsion (measured zip to zip pommel to cantle) so would imagine would take a similar size in Treefree saddles.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
I had one of these! They are excellent little saddles and are handmade in Devon (my County!) by Johan and Andrea Ulvedes of Viking saddlery.

They also do the "Tor Ryder" saddles which are absolutely fantastic and easily the most comfortable saddle I've ever sat in.

I had a 17" Exmoor Treefree. It was a little large for my 12.2hh Exmoor I had on loan at the time, but it was OK'ish. Sort of. It was fine on my 15hh cob which is who I bought it for, and I did use it on my 13.2hh coblet as a riding-on saddle but as she's short-backed it really wasn't the best fit for her.

So I tried a 16" Treefree Exmoor which I bought from a friend. It was WAY way way too small!! For me. Fitted the pony OK, but it was more like a cub saddle and wasn't anything like suitable! I am 5'3 and am nine-and-a-half stone.

I think you will find OP that this 15" Exmoor Treefree will be way too small for you. That is my honest opinion. I think you would find it miniscule and only suitable for a child TBH. Apparently because they are hand-made from scratch all of the Treefree saddles can be, shall we say, unpredictable in the sizing of them! Unfortunate fact. But they are damn good little treeless saddles and also Johan and Andrea have a Royal Appointment now as they are tasked with repairing the side-saddles for the Royal Mews! This doesn't surprise me, they are good at their jobs and this is very well deserved. I've had excellent after-sales support from them too.

Hope this helps. Please feel free to PM me.
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Yeah, I have a Tor Ryder that I bought directly from Johan and Andrea for my short backed Highland in 2021. It is a rather excellent saddle. Mine is 16", and it feels roomy to me, so I hope this one will work well enough. I don't feel like investing big bucks into a saddle for my just-backed PRE quite yet, and the Tor fits her too. Don't know if I want to ultimately go trad treed saddle, stick with the TreeFrees, buy her a Western saddle (lol), an endurance saddle, one of those cool Iberian saddles..... Anyway, it's just a pain when I wrangle someone else into riding the Highland, and both horses go out together.

This should be here on Wednesday. I will let you all know if it was a good idea. Felt cheap enough to try.
 
Update (haha...if anyone cares)!

Saddle appeared on Wednesday, and I rode both horses in it. Obviously not at the same time. It fits me perfectly well, especially for just trail riding. It might not be ideal for jumping but it's not like I am doing that anyway. Glad I took a punt on it. It came with the pad too, which costs like £80 new, so that's also a win.

Ostensibly, the guts of it should be the same as the Tor but it's a bit different. It works on both horses, but it definitely has a nicer fit on Fin than Hermosa. Maybe unsurprising that saddles with names like Exmoor/Dartmoor are designed around the body-type of a native pony. The Tor, however, sits beautifully on Hermosa, so that's what she'll use 90% of the time. However, she'll have to deal with the Exmoor on days that someone larger than me rides Fin. At the moment, that's once per week, and we don't go that far. If he ever got a real sharer or loaner who can't ride in the Exmoor, that would be an issue but it's very much classed as a Future Problem That May Not Happen.
 
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