Free n Easy saddles - opinions?

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Ginge Crosby

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On the lookout for a new dressage saddle. My boy is a bit of an odd shape, so in the past i've struggled to find something that fits. I've had the offer of a free n easy dressage saddle, but i'd never heard of them. Wondering if they are as good as the website makes out? Does anyone have one/had one, thoughts, opinions etc? thanks in advance!
 
Horses for courses. If they suit the horse, they seem to work really well, but they don't suit everything.

It's the only saddle that our grey arab didn't like (he's got a wide, long flat back with a forward girth groove). However it did suit the lass we sold it to (little wide arab with a normal girth groove) and it would have suited our old TB (wide, big withers, big shoulder, normal girth groove) had he not been virtually retired when we bought the saddle. I think they tend to not do so well on the very short backed horse or those with forward girth grooves.
 
I saw the other thread and it seemed to be quite negative. Someone in know has one for each of her horses (she'd had Wow saddles previously) the fit was fantastic, she had the GP saddles, and having done some low level endurance riding one of her horses in the F'n'E saddle... Was incredibly comfortable! Really liked it, and the seem very very adjustable, I'd love to get one, keeping my eye in eBay in the hope I can get a bargain... Sadly my budget hasn't stretched far enough yet!!
 
EstherYoung said:
Horses for courses. If they suit the horse, they seem to work really well, but they don't suit everything.

However it did suit the lass we sold it to (little wide arab with a normal girth groove) and it would have suited our old TB (wide, big withers, big shoulder, normal girth groove)
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my tb sounds like a similar shape to your tb. I would be in a 'try before you buy' situation, but i don't want to spend £60 on getting a fitter out, only to find it doesnt fit. Plus I have to sell or part ex my current saddle to pay for this one, and i'm worried about ending up going from the frying pan into the fire....

Reading that other thread has put me off a little, plus another forum had alot of negative things to say about them, something to do with the rider weight being carried by two bolts inside the saddle?? And as i'm not exactly a lightweight (12 stone) its something i'd worry about.

I could get it fitted and try it. Its one of those awkward situations where if it fits it could be the answer to my problems, but if not i've wasted my money and the sellers time.
 
It's worth a try and it does sound like yours would be the shape it would suit.

Just another thing - some of the older ones developed cracks in the panels over time (the design was changed in the later ones) so you need to check that they are all in good nick and showing no signs of stress. One of my friends had one of the older type and the panel cracked.
 
I love mine. Only saddle ever to fit my wide, short backed 14.1 Arab, and me, all 5ft7 of me....

We ride up to 100km in ours before it was stolen. I now have another one which I love just as much. My horse is stupidly sensitive, and this was the only saddle to solve his back pain, though I suspect any panel saddle would have done the job, so look at reactor panel and orthodox also.

They are very very widely used amongst the advanced endurance community - where they suit, they suit extremely well I think, and endurance is about the best test you can get of saddle fit!!

Like all panel saddles, the panel is connected to the saddle at various points - free n easy uses six bolts, other saddle use other mechanisms. The panel, which is made of solid plastic, over a memory foam pad, sits under this. There is no pressure from the bolts, due to the way the plastic bends and disperses. I've had a pressure pad under mine, and can definitely confirm this! Plus, when I first got it, I put it on my own back, and got oh to sit on it! As soon as you strip one down you can see how it works. That's another nice thing with panel saddles, you can get right into the inner workings!

It is heavy, though the endurance version is lighter. I think you'll find that with all panel saddles, the nature of the mechanics means they are quite heavy - not as heavy as a western saddle, but heavier than traditional. Not sure why they haven't thought to make synthetic!

Free n easy is invented by les sparks, he's really really helpful, and will come out for free if he can fit you in with a round. He's based in midlands, but came to me in Surrey for free both times I had him out. He may be able to come by and let you have a try.

When I tried mine I could tell the second I put it on, my horse's paces totally changed. I took him out for a half hour hack, and he felt like a different horse, so I think if it suits you'll know immediately!

The set up of panel saddles is that you can self adjust them too. Which I do as my horse muscles up over the wither after his winter off. I can loosen it by millimetres if necessary, which, when you're riding for seven hours makes all the difference!

Depending how much you want to spend, other hard to fit horses such as pres have found success with semi flex?
 
Semi flex i had loads of problems with my horses back, the difference is unbelievable.
I have both the jump one and the dressage one.
 
I had one briefly. It was great to fit to my horse and very comfortable for him but I have stiff hips and found the wide twist hurt my hips. Well made, and lovely leather but didn't fit me! If you are more flexible than me it might be what you need!
 
My share horse had one of these - it was so heavy, I could hardly lift it. Really struggled using that saddle, and it just added a lot of weight for the horse to carry.
 
Hi can totally recommend fne saddles had a very difficult horse who could only be ridden in a free n easy saddle! I have a black fne dressage for sale if anyone is in the market! Literally used half a dozen times!!
 
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