Effects of saddles

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Calypso16

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I am currently studying at college and for my year project I have decided to look into different types of saddles and their effects on the horse and their way of going. If anyone could tell me what type of saddle they use and how they feel their horse goes into it that would be fab! Thankyou :)
 
Presume you mean say, treeless v air v different padding? rather than brands? I have only ever used convential saddles and tend to go towards the Albions or my saddlers own bespoke saddles.
 
I have always used traditional saddles, but have a couple of western saddles for beginners and children. One day due to a shortage of saddles I put a western on my pony and she went a lot better in it. Usually she would rush down hills but I was able to give her long reins downhill, I think as I was able to keep my weight more forward off her back as we went down hill it was easier and more comfortable for her. All my other horses refer the traditional saddles. Hope that is helpful :)
 
Barefoot Tahoe treeless for hacking/schooling
Solutions Treeless Jump for jumping/hunting

Horse goes wonderfully in both, free shoulders, loose paces & most importantly - ears pricked :)
 
My horse doesnt like saddles

Ive had three different saddle-fitters out, all say it fits him but he isnt happy with it on at all.

Bareback, however, he moves like a dream and is so responsive. Im going to try a bareback pad to see how he is with that. I'd love to find a saddle that fitted him, that he was comfortable in, so then we could crack on and get some work done! (I wont hack out without a saddle, and schooling is kept to a minimum because he's a tad unpredictable at times, and tbh I need the security of a saddle)

Sorry - ramble over :)
 
I like Albions, find they fit the type of horses I like well generally (round types!) and I like the way they sit you closer to the horse (lots of others I have tried make me feel perched way above the horse). :)
 
I am usually one to say traditional saddles all the way, however 43 saddles later and we still couldn't get one to fit her.So I brought her a leather treeless dressage saddle (looks like a normal without the need of treeless pads) and she has never moved better! She is so free through the shoulder and rides a hell of alot straighter.

Saying that I did hear on the weekend that continous use of treeless saddles buggers up your horses back??
 
I don't see what you useable information can get from our subjective opinions of how our horses, who will be be diverse in schooling, nature and conformation, go in different saddles? I had a friend who was going to do a biomechanics study on horses comparing dr saddles to gp saddles - assessing joint angles, stride length, and other mechanical outputs (force plates etc), which would have been interesting had it come off.
 
I have a Solution Treeless saddle and love it. I was very sceptic when it came to treeless saddles having always used treed, but my horse wasn't happy at all in his treed saddle. I'd had four different saddlers out to him all said the saddle "technically" fitted but he just wasn't happy. I rode him bareback for ages as he was happy, tail swinging instead of swishing, ahe'd be soft, round and uphill. Put him a treed saddle on and instant dislike.

I started looking at treeless and decided I needed something legal to compete in under FEI rules and something that looked traditional. The Solution is both of these and more. He now goes like he did bareback with a saddle on. It fits all year round, regardless of whether he loses some weight or puts a touch on. He jumps better than he's ever jumped and hunts better than before. Plus it's comfortable for my backside and we have been of several hour hacks with no tension in his back on return, unheard of before, and my bum isn't sore in the slightest. My mum now has one for her horse and two friends have their horses in one after trying mine and seeing how much better their horses went. I'm a convert and wouldn't put a treed saddle on a horse again.
 
i think your topic is way too wide - have you had any advice from your tutors on this?

It's like asking - "cars - what is best?"

You really need to narrow it right down - possibly air v flock, treed v treeless, close contact v normal panel.

Then there is very little useful data to be gathered from an open forum - you need really to talk to fitters as a horse will go better in a well fitted treeless saddle than a badly fitting treed one - but might go even better in a well fitted treed saddle.

So you need to start from a point where the saddle is as well fitted as a saddle can be THEN compare with a well fitted saddle with only one change - ie treed for non-treed, flaired with non-flaired etc - in fact really the only true way to compare for example flair v flock is to do it with 2 identical saddles on the same horse/rider combo, and have them do a month in one then a month in the other, with assessment by a competent instructor, physio and vet to determine if there is any noticable negative or positive effect from one than the other.

I really think you need to be a lot more specific on this "different saddles and their effect on horse and way of going" is just way too wide.
 
sane_and_sensible said:
So you need to start from a point where the saddle is as well fitted as a saddle can be THEN compare with a well fitted saddle with only one change - ie treed for non-treed, flaired with non-flaired etc - in fact really the only true way to compare for example flair v flock is to do it with 2 identical saddles on the same horse/rider combo, and have them do a month in one then a month in the other, with assessment by a competent instructor, physio and vet to determine if there is any noticable negative or positive effect from one than the other.
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Screw that, if you want to get really useful, useable data, you need a biomechanics study (and probably a PhD in it too :p). Now that would make nice data - you would be able to get empirical data to indicate things that we talk about as concepts - lightness of the forehand, evenness of the strides and symmetry of the movement (not flexing one joint more than the other etc), freedom of the shoulder, straightness etc.

Completely not feasible for what you have the facilities (and probably time) to do, but it would make a lovely data set, assuming all the other controls were in place...
 
JFTD said:
Screw that, if you want to get really useful, useable data, you need a biomechanics study (and probably a PhD in it too :p). Now that would make nice data - you would be able to get empirical data to indicate things that we talk about as concepts - lightness of the forehand, evenness of the strides and symmetry of the movement (not flexing one joint more than the other etc), freedom of the shoulder, straightness etc.

Completely not feasible for what you have the facilities (and probably time) to do, but it would make a lovely data set, assuming all the other controls were in place...
Click to expand...


:D that would be even better - and would genuinely make a good study!
 
could you possibly do a case study on your own horse? Ride in your usual saddle and possible burrow a treeless and record your findings?

You could then use the opinions on here to back up the results
 
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