fitting a treeless saddle

mightymammoth

mightymammoth

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To those who have a bought a treeless saddle how did you know it fitted or how did you get it fitted? Has anyone had a traditional saddle fitter fit a treeless saddle?

I want to get one but don't know enough about the fitting and obviously don't want to potentially damage my horse or waste a lot of money.

I can't take him anywhere as very difficult to load and no transport. Just wondering how others managed?

thanks
 
Companies such as TreeFree Saddles or Barefoot are very helpful if you email them :) The key things you need to know are what length base you need, what treeless pad you need (some have "shims" to help fit the saddle to withers or muscle wastage) and where to position the saddle (it's not the same as a treed saddle - they often sit forward of where you'd want a treed saddle to sit).
There are also a few excellent and very helpful Facebook groups where you can post photos and get feedback.
 
I have trialled various treeless over the years. What type of horse do you have I might be able to point you in right direction of which makes might be worth trying.
 
I'm authorised sensation fitter but each make will fit differently. Key things are to check even contact with the back, no undue pressure along the spine or either side of it, I have also noticed a lot of treeless seem to press about a half inch area at front and back

Most decent makes will have fitters available
 
I've had experience of HM fitters and also the Tree-Free people, who are both committed to making sure that you get a good fit. As others have said, it is vital to take as much care with fitting a treeless saddle as you would with a conventional one; there is huge potential to do damage with a badly-fitted or unsuitable treeless saddle simply because there is no tree to lend any additional support.

A particular thing to watch for is where the rider's weight goes on the stirrup insets. On a treed saddle the stirrup bar is set into the tree, thus the pressure of the rider's weight is diffused throughout the saddle on a much larger weight-bearing area. In a treeless saddle, that concentration is going to be on a more fixed area unless the saddle has sufficient protection. An endurance friend who does a lot of riding in treeless saddles advised me that you need to take as much, if not more care, with the pad underneath, as you do with choosing the actual saddle.

You can get a pad (gosh wish I could remember the name - someone on here will know!!) which you can put underneath a saddle to tell you if there is undue pressure in any particular place. Can be used on treeless or treed. Might be well worth doing. Gaaarrggh, the name of the blessed thing escapes me. Think you can hire them.

Anyone??
 
I had my solution fitted by one of their technical advisors. She was brilliant and I was able to hire the saddle for two weeks to check I was happy before buying.
 
mightymammoth said:
kez81 there are a few pics on this thread http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/foru...y-from-Derbyshire-chesterfield-area-(photo-s) thanks
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Ah ok great, he doesnt look like he would be too awkward to fit. What sort of activities are you looking to do with him as this will also affect the type of saddle you will need. For example the Barefoot/ Treefree style ones without knee rolls are hopeless for jumping but the ones with are good for small jumps but not really jumping big tracks (although having said that I have hunted in my Dartmoor Treefree Exmoor saddle!). These saddles ride diffrently to a conventioanl treeless saddle which can take a bit of getting used to especially if they have stirrup bars set well back as they can leave you feeling a bit "swimmy". The length of the flap and girth positioning and thickness can affect fit too, for example I tried a copperbeech and whilst it was very well made, it was very bulky on my shortbacked arab and the girth straps fixed so low i struggled to find a dressage girth that was short enough whilkst still doing up well above his elbows! I also found the girth straps too thick for my liking. I tried a similar barefoot with shorter flaps and thinner girth straps and it fitted him better. One thing that bugs me about these types of saddles is they often claim you choose a saddle based on your dress size and not the length of the horses back, this is totally wrong as if the saddle truelly spreads the riders weight across the whole saddle, you could get pressure in wrong place if saddle is too long.
The FlexEE and Solution and Trekker Flexible saddles ride more like a traditional treed saddle and are suitable for most activities just like treed. I have tried all three. The Trekker I found not to be as flexible as I thought it would be and it is also expensive, I liked the Solution but couldnt justify the cost so I went for a FlexEE. The FlexEE is actually not treeless! It has a leather tree which is actually a really old fashioned way of making saddles that has been updated for modern times! Pretty simple to fit if you know how to measure for the correct gullet plate, you just pop the right size in and off you go. If it tips you back or forwards or your horse has some muscle wastage behind withers or to spine, then you may need to add shims to the saddle cloth (you dont shim the saddle itself!). I use a FlexEE on my youngster and my kids pony and have done all sorts in it including horseback archery although for endurance I still go back to My Dartmoor Treefree as I just adore it!

One of the places people go wrong with treeless is not speaking to the sellers directly for fitting advice. If the seller says use this type of pad etc, ok they might be trying to flog you more gear but thats because its what works!

Personally having tried many different types and brands of treeless over the last ten years, my top three based on quality, value for money, flexibility of use and customer service are the Heather Moffet saddles, Dartmoor Treefree and Solution. I would avoid like the plague Easy Trek and DreamTeam based on customer service alone never mind saddle quality! Also avoid anything that cannot be traced, I have cut open lots of saddles over the years and some of the treeless ebay bargains are downright nasty (so are some well known Brand treed though!).
 
thanks kez81 for the detailed reply.I hack only 2 or 3 times a week, no jumping. I like the idea of the tree free. The solution and the heather moffet look good but bit out of the price range.
 
mightymammoth said:
thanks kez81 for the detailed reply.I hack only 2 or 3 times a week, no jumping. I like the idea of the tree free. The solution and the heather moffet look good but bit out of the price range.
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Tree free are brilliant, really well made and the customer service and aftercare are brilliant, there is a reason they don't come up for sale second hand very often!
 
mightymammoth said:
yes and there not far from me so will fit it for me :)
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Oh you must not be too far from me then! I really do recommend giving them a call, such lovely people and if you do something stupid like leave saddle on stable door for horse to try and eat, the repairs are quite reasonable!
 
kez81 said:
Tree free are brilliant, really well made and the customer service and aftercare are brilliant, there is a reason they don't come up for sale second hand very often!
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I love mine - got an absolute bargin as spotted it second hand on ebay for £200 - didn't know the make at all, asked about on here and got it based on peoples recommendations and love it as does my very fussy horse
 
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