Experiences of riding first time treeless ?

m3gan

m3gan

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To those that were bored enough to read my previous post about my saddle problems welcome back .To new peeps thanks for reading. To cut to the chase , my saddler said that my present saddle was too big for my boy and too heavy. If you are still reading this, said saddler did not have any 16" saddles for me, my friend very kindly lent me her treeless saddle. This is a Libre, and the first time for me in one, suffice to say it is an entirely different experience compared to a treed saddle. The first ride felt like I was on top of a pancake with stirrups and it was an interesting ride, but managed to keep on top despite ned getting impatient to get home fast and then freaking out at a group football session on route to home, we got back okay.

Today it felt better, apart from the difficulty of the dressage girth needing tightening after I was mounted, how do you do this without being a contortionist ? Aside from that after a two hour ride I felt like I had experienced a work out, my hips and legs felt quite tired, is this normal? Also had problems with saddle slipping to the right, which was happening with normal treed saddle. But I did think that ned did go better in this saddle.

I would like to hear of your experiences with treeless saddles .Thank yo for reading.
 
Your experience of treeless was better than mine!
I tried one on my cob, took him out leading another horse.
Now this horse has little wither but I was assured this would be fine.
Fine my foot! Hadn't gone much more than a mile on the road, found the saddle rocked from side to side I tightened the girth more than I liked. Further down the road I looked back to see if a cyclist had caught up with me and next thing the saddle was slipping over to the side.
Fortunately horse was very kind and just stood as I was rather unceremoniously lowered to the ground. Straightened the saddle and had great problems keeping it straight so never bought it.
 
The only time I've ridden in a treeless saddle, I got (to quote another post on HHO) a sore daisy😳!
I won't be repeating that in a hurry!!!
 
I'm on my 6th hack today in mine :) I have a Barfoot London, its very very comfy. Yes I feel like I'm having a workout, but its getting better! My saddle hasn't slipped at all, but pony is quite high withered and slim plus I don't have to do the girth up once on.

I'm very pleased with mine, Ben seems to move better too/ I had a Libra one years ago but hated it, was uncomfortable and rubbed by leg.
 
The thing with treeless saddles is that none of them will fit or suit every horse or every rider. My sisters horse had a freemax - I Hated it with a passion; the freemax no where near fitted my horse.

I have a barefoot Lexington, which me and my girly both love. But I can see a lot of people wouldn't like it.

If you want to go treeless - don't buy cheap, try as many different saddles as you can and get the appropriate pad with the saddle. A poly pad under some of the Torsion style saddles is not enough and wil not create spinal clearance.

Treeless will not suit everyone, but it is a revelation if you do find one you and your horse like :)
 
I have several different treeless saddles! My old torsion is similar to the one you are trying. It's a bit like sitting on a big cushion. There are no knee rolls and it does feel rather insecure. I have a very short coupled horse and ended up buying a solution saddle for him - it cost a fortune but is worth every penny. It is like a conventional saddle, doesn't slip and I feel very secure in it and sit much better. I also have a sensation hybrid which I really like as well. Now when I ride in the torsion i don't like it nearly as much as the other saddles.
 
It was around 10 years ago. The horse felt more responsive and freer in his paces.
I couldn't understand why my back didn't hurt once I got off, which was a massive issue for me at the time.
No brainer.
(It was a Solution - I have stayed with that brand.)
 
Thank you for all your replies. I will have to continue with my workout saddle for a while longer until I can get another saddle. I hear good things about the Solution saddles but couldn't afford a new one. I do think my ned could possibly have some muscle wastage which makes him favour one side, and would be why saddle slips to the right. I am hoping that a different saddle will not slip. Any recommended saddles which don't slip?
 
Saddles don't slip if they fit really well, so impossible to say for an individual horse. I'd also just say that I see plenty of horses and ponies where the owners thought that all treed saddles would slip, but once you get it right, you get stability. It is possible!
 
I would recommend a call to Better Saddles, because they stock a range of treeless and treed saddles and will visit for fittings. They tend to have some second-hand saddles for sale. They also do a hire service, taking the cost of hire off if you decide to keep the saddle.
I've ridden in a lot of treeless saddles. My first treeless experience, riding in a Bob Marshall, converted me immediately. I thought my cob was well fitted in his Wintec, but it felt as if he had grown two hands in the Bob Marshall. His back lifted, his stride lengthened and we both felt very happy.
I am very keen on Dartmoor Treefree saddles, as long as they are carefully fitted to horse and rider. If they aren't, then the fact that they have a solid pommel and cantle can cause real problems. I found mine very stable and sat some sticky moments on my young Arab in it without it shifting. However, on my roly poly cob it did sometimes sit slightly to one side, but I think that was as much my position as anything and it never became dangerously unstable. For some reason I find them nicer to ride in than Torsion saddles, but I can't put my finger on why. I have finished a gallop in the Treefree and found my hand would fit under the girth, but it stayed nice and still.
Freeform saddles are great. A bit easier to fit maybe because there are no solid parts. I ride all three of my differently shaped horses in mine and it's stable and comfy. I'm thinking of selling it, but it might be too long for your horse. It's the "Short Back" version, designed for adults riding ponies, so might be the model for you if you like them.
I have a Heather Moffet Fhoenix Vogue and I love it. Again, you need to get the fitting right, but various pads are available which are used to make sure of this. I've read that HM herself recommends the Barefoot London saddles as a cheaper alternative to hers.
I love the new Solution saddles and would have one if they were within budget! I have several friends riding in them who think they're brilliant.
I have ridden in a Libra saddle and I hated it. Although it looked superficially similar to the Dartmoor Treefree I couldn't find a good riding position in it and it wasn't stable.
Whatever you do, avoid cheap tat from EBay. :-))
 
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I'm a treeless convert :) I've never ridden in one of the "pad" types though, i.e. torsion, etc.

First experience was years ago in a Freeform. Weird, but not bad. Ridiculously comfy, but it did slip and the girth had to be winched up to try and keep it in place.

Second was a one-off ride in a Barefoot London. Not much of a twist (probably didn't help that it was on a polish draft built like a brick outhouse!), but not a bad saddle.

Third was HM Fhoenix, which I used for 3 or 4mths. That one put me off treeless and I went back to a Thorowgood. Perched, unstable, slipped all over the place.

Current one is a Solution. Fantastic saddle - doesn't feel too much different to a treed, only you're closer to the horse and can feel them better. Secure, comfortable, and rarely slips even on a loose girth. I don't think I could go back to treed now, I love not having to worry about the nag changing shape :)
 
I really tried to get on with the Barefoot Lexington. The first ride, I thought there was potential and that we just needed to get used to it. The second and third rides, my horse had decided that the trot and canter were gaits she shouldn't do anymore. And I was finding it really sore in my lower back. So we gave up on that idea. Even with the pad, the spinal clearance wasn't great. I wondered if they're not really meant for horses with shark fin withers.

Shame that there does not seem to be anyone in Scotland who has a stack of different types and who will come to your barn and fit them.
 
I had a torsion and found it very comfy and secure. I have ridden on 3 horses with it two with withers and one round cob with no withers. Only ever had it slip once and this was on the cob when someone else did the girth up for me. I have trouble doing up the dressage girth so bought a treed saddle for when I'm on my own
 
Tinypony said:
I would recommend a call to Better Saddles, because they stock a range of treeless and treed saddles and will visit for fittings. They tend to have some second-hand saddles for sale. They also do a hire service, taking the cost of hire off if you decide to keep the saddle.
I've ridden in a lot of treeless saddles. My first treeless experience, riding in a Bob Marshall, converted me immediately. I thought my cob was well fitted in his Wintec, but it felt as if he had grown two hands in the Bob Marshall. His back lifted, his stride lengthened and we both felt very happy.
I am very keen on Dartmoor Treefree saddles, as long as they are carefully fitted to horse and rider. If they aren't, then the fact that they have a solid pommel and cantle can cause real problems. I found mine very stable and sat some sticky moments on my young Arab in it without it shifting. However, on my roly poly cob it did sometimes sit slightly to one side, but I think that was as much my position as anything and it never became dangerously unstable. For some reason I find them nicer to ride in than Torsion saddles, but I can't put my finger on why. I have finished a gallop in the Treefree and found my hand would fit under the girth, but it stayed nice and still.
Freeform saddles are great. A bit easier to fit maybe because there are no solid parts. I ride all three of my differently shaped horses in mine and it's stable and comfy. I'm thinking of selling it, but it might be too long for your horse. It's the "Short Back" version, designed for adults riding ponies, so might be the model for you if you like them.
I have a Heather Moffet Fhoenix Vogue and I love it. Again, you need to get the fitting right, but various pads are available which are used to make sure of this. I've read that HM herself recommends the Barefoot London saddles as a cheaper alternative to hers.
I love the new Solution saddles and would have one if they were within budget! I have several friends riding in them who think they're brilliant.
I have ridden in a Libra saddle and I hated it. Although it looked superficially similar to the Dartmoor Treefree I couldn't find a good riding position in it and it wasn't stable.
Whatever you do, avoid cheap tat from EBay. :-))
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Thank you Tinypony for your advice, it is such a minefield with saddles, it is reassuring that you say it is only ill fitting saddles that slip, as I was beginning to wonder if it was ned or me . I seem to have been unfortunate in the last saddle fitter who fitted this saddle for my boy because now present saddler states that it doesn't fit. Ned is an Arab with flattish back and fairly short coupled, I am size 10, so maybe the saddle you are thinking of selling might be suitable? Thanks again x
 
The first one I rode in was a new share horse's Randols (which I have never come across before or since) which was very similar to a barefoot but a bit lighter on the pocket. Having been out of riding for a year or so it didn't feel too bad while I was sharing her but took a while to get used to a treed saddle again afterwards.

I have also ridden in a Heather Moffett Flexion SBS (older fhoenix style) which I loved but horse didn't. A barefoot cheyenne which neither I or the horse was fussed about and i found moved about on both horses and I really didn't like the Libra i had for a short while at all and promptly sold it! Have ridden in a couple of others but can't remember off the top of my head what they were.

I now have a traditional treed saddle as have found that is what my horse prefers. I am open minded enough to try anything and regularly ride my Mum's horse in her Freeform (which suits her pony brilliantly and is a fantastic little saddle!) and would definitely try a solution if I felt I needed to, but for now I'm not going to try and fix something that isn't broken as I am sure you can all appreciate!! :)
 
I have a HM phoenix saddle and I love it, horse loves it, he moves much more freely in it, I have been using it for several years. I have jumped in it (only about 2' as horse doesn't really like jumping) and felt very safe in the saddle. Heather now has a synthetic range of saddles retailing at under £500 new, her web site also explains the way the saddle works etc. definitely worth looking at her site if you are interested , they come in GP and dressage
 
I got a Barefoot saddle about 5 years ago and never looked back. The saddle is the only one not to slip. My Fell loves it.

One of the tricks is to tighten the girth in phases. I put the saddle on and do up the girth then walk fast or trot a little the allow the horse to settle, before it gets tightened a bit more. Then I get on.

The thing with the Barefoot is to mount from a block/other object and not from the ground.

As others have said too, the right kind of pad should be used which means spending a bit of money initially but it is best to do it right from the outset.
 
I have a Torsion and a Libra and liked both from day one. The Torsion was easier to get a feel for straight away, the Libra did feel a bit odd on the first ride but by the second I loved it. Definitely gives you a more splayed seat! But my muscles adjusted pretty quickly and it's very secure. It's super comfortable for long hacks and more importantly my older mare goes really well in it. She is very hard to fit.

I use the Torsion with their pad and a Haf with the Libra. I see Polypads have brought out a (cheap) treeless pad but I really don't think it looks suitable. A decent pad with correct padding and spine clearance is even more important than the saddle itself imo.

ETS, I may be being really thick here but why is a dressage girth a problem? I just lean down and adjust as for an ordinary girth?
 
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Native Pony said:
I got a Barefoot saddle about 5 years ago and never looked back. The saddle is the only one not to slip. My Fell loves it.

One of the tricks is to tighten the girth in phases. I put the saddle on and do up the girth then walk fast or trot a little the allow the horse to settle, before it gets tightened a bit more. Then I get on.

The thing with the Barefoot is to mount from a block/other object and not from the ground.

As others have said too, the right kind of pad should be used which means spending a bit of money initially but it is best to do it right from the outset.
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Hi,

Thank you for the tips about the girthing, I will try your suggestions tomorrow. Which Barefoot do you have? I have seen some on ebay and wondered if any would be suitable , not sure that I would risk it without seeing first .

(thanks to all for replies)
 
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m3gan said:
Hi,

Thank you for the tips about the girthing, I will try your suggestions tomorrow. Which Barefoot do you have? I have seen some on ebay and wondered if any would be suitable , not sure that I would risk it without seeing first .

(thanks to all for replies)
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Mine is a Barefoot Cheyenne (German made). I got mine from Horse and Harmony.
 
I thought I was going to die! Haffy is a troublesome flat back, no withered, giant shouldered horse, after 5 saddles we tried a treeless. Ohhh my, hacking here is very hilly, the sort of hills you couldn't get a vehicle up or down, going down hill was the most scary experience - not for me at all I'm a lover of all things knee roll
 
My Torsion spun round on pone while I was leaning across to fasten a gate, dumping me in the mud in front of a load of very amused hikers :eek:
 
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