Do any of you use treeless saddles?? Help please

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charlie55

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Since Jack has been on box rest he has put on quite abit of weight, which means my saddle no longer fits. Fingers crossed now he can start being ridden (walked) he will lose some of his flab
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Poor bugger has been stuck in for 12 weeks so i really dont want to get on him bareback, what do you guys think of treeless saddles??

A friend of mine has a treeless dressage saddle that i can use, do i need to get the saddler out to fit it? Silly question probably, but my boy is slightly cold backed, and if a saddle doesnt fit, your dead
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Ive never used treeless before so i have no idea....
 
Which one - there are some that I would not put on a rocking horse. Avoid the cheapies you see on ebay.

I have the Barefoot - it is great and I use it on both my traditional cob and OH's clydesdale. It is the best of the cheaper end, but is still £500 odd new.

You will either love it or hate it - they are like marmite. You need a good seat as they show up any weakness in that area.

Fit - you must use the correct pad for the saddle. I didn't get mine fitted, but did the obvious checks that it was not sitting low, was wide enough - my model has three different pommel widths. I also have their backs regularly checked and there is no signs of soreness. Some saddlers will fit them, but many refuse to do so.

They are great for horses that constantly change shape - I bought mine for Stinky when he was rising 3 as I knew he was going to fill out so much over the next few years.

I prefer it to anything for hacking as it is so comfortable and also school in it. Ony thing I don't do is jumping but Stinky jumps everything like it is 3'. That said, one of the teens on the yard took Farra jumping the 2' in it with no problem.
 
Well depending on the type of treeless might provoke a different reaction.
The treeless I had, i could feel my girls back through so with a cold backed horse perhaps this could go either way in terms of his reaction.
As most treeless completely mould to the horse the chances are it could fit, but they do not suit every shape so as very high withered horses for example.
 
Im sure she has a total solutions saddle...
Hes is a huge chunky warmblood with a flat back. If he really dislikes it, im not sure what il do as bareback isnt really an option with him, unless i stick a very thick pillow to my bum lol

My own saddle is an x wide too so nothing can be done to that either, he just needs to lose some weight...
Hopefully within 3-4 weeks hes own saddle will fit him, fingers crossed.
 
I'm a big fan of the Heather Moffett saddles. The newest model, the Vogue is beautiful, puts you in the correct position and is comfortable to ride in.
If you Google it you should get lots of info on her saddles. They come in GP and dressage
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OK, to answer your specific question, which is do you need a fitter to come to check if a Total Solutions saddle will be ok on your horse...
I would say put the saddle on and have a look for yourself. Check the length and if the seat sits level. Make sure you use the numnah supplied with the saddle, it will probably be a high wither one. Don't expect to have to get 3 fingers clearance at the wither, but the saddle should still clear his withers when you are sat on. Also get your friend to walk beside you as you ride and check that his shoulders have plenty of room to move. If it looks as if it needs some extra padding, hopefully your friend has some you can experiment with. With a bit of luck, on a flat backed horse, you won't need it.
If in doubt then yes, pay for a TS fitter to come and have a look for you. Or at least a fitter who does treeless, one who fits treed saddles may not know what to look for.
 
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