Heather Moffat Treeless saddle - urgent opinions sought

[Meowy Catkin]

I have had terrible problems with treed saddles recently he is fitted with a wide fit with a slight dip, went upto x wide in summer and is now almost a medium all in the space of 9 months! I have had his saddle adjusted twice in teh last year and flocking redone. Last time I was told it was fine and i was being paranoid - his winter coat now shows two lovely white marks where the stirrup bars would be! So I think treed saddles will no longer work for him.

Hi Hackedoff.

I totally understand your saddle fitting problems. It took me a year and three (qualified) different saddlers to find a saddle (and girthing/non-slip pad) that actually fitted my horse and didn't slip to the side or rub and cause white marks on her back.

I don't see how the stirrup bars could cause pressure points on the horse's back with a treed saddle because there is the solid tree and the flocking between the horse and the stirrup bars. Are there lumps in the flocking at those points or is the tree broken? Something is causing the pressure marks and regardless of eactly what it is, the saddle doesn't fit the horse any more.

I am also surprised that your horse has changed shape so much. Despite losing weight, his ribs have not altered but as I haven't seen the horse I'm only going by what I have seen with my horses.

I didn't get on with treeless saddles, so I also recommend that you try one before you buy. The main problem I had was with the lack of sideways stability. My mare can be spooky and I live in a hilly area and I didn't feel safe in it.

I ended up with a wide close contact treed saddle. It wasn't what I had in mind but it fits the horse and I feel secure in it. The saddle that the previous saddler had fitted was a medium and it was too narrow and caused white marks on her back. They went away with her moult/coat change after I got the wide saddle.

I think that you should try a different saddler (can people recommend a good one in your area?) and be open minded about what he/she suggests. I also think that you should learn as much as possible about saddle fitting. You will then be able to ask questions and judge the saddler's answers from a more knowledgeable place. It will make it easier for you to see if the saddler is good or not.

 

[Spinal Tap]

Hi Hackedoff.
I don't see how the stirrup bars could cause pressure points on the horse's back with a treed saddle because there is the solid tree and the flocking between the horse and the stirrup bars.

Treed saddles can pinch some horses under the stirrup bars, my friend has just bought a new saddle for her horse because the old one did this. If I put my hand palm downwards on his back & pulled it under the panels of the saddle, my hand would get stuck under the stirrup bars. This would have created pressure points when a rider was on his back. He didn't get white hairs and never appeared sore because of this but you could see an area of muscle atrophy which corresponded with the stirrup bars & he found it hard to lift his back when schooling. Hopefully the new saddle will be an improvement

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Ok, that makes sense.

 

[Bowen4Horses]

As CCP says blood flow is only restricted to the point of tissue damage if the saddle does not fit.

Genuine question here (not trying to cause an argument- just a discussion)- the job of the tree is to be the saddles skeleton to give it shape and also to help distribute pressure. A well fitting saddle spreads the weight over a large an area as possible to minimise the pressure in any one area. If the semiflex trees rise at the front and back when the rider sits, surely more weight is concentrated over the middle of the saddle when this happens? i.e. pressure is increased in the middle. And if the points flex out and in then does the front of the saddle not have potential to sit too low, as the points flex out. Also meaning that higher up the points dig in to the side of the wither?

Im not entirely sure how this semiflex tree works?

i'm also a bit confuzzled... and also not trying to cause an argument because i actually really rate the BS 'normal' treed saddles. i'm keen to find out more about the semi flex ones...

if the front and back rise up when there is a rider in the saddle, it must mean that there is less weight at the front and the back and therefore more weight in the centre? also, at the point at which they rise there would be pressure points. surely? this is one of the issues i have with treeless too... a friend of mine rode in a treeless and it kind of 'folded' up around her.

better half, can you explain this so i understand?

 

[Bowen4Horses]

Treed saddles can pinch some horses under the stirrup bars, my friend has just bought a new saddle for her horse because the old one did this. If I put my hand palm downwards on his back & pulled it under the panels of the saddle, my hand would get stuck under the stirrup bars. This would have created pressure points when a rider was on his back. He didn't get white hairs and never appeared sore because of this but you could see an area of muscle atrophy which corresponded with the stirrup bars & he found it hard to lift his back when schooling. Hopefully the new saddle will be an improvement

also, if a treed 'adjustable' saddle is adjusted to very wide it can happen... as the stirrup bars sort of stay in the same place whilst the tree flares outwards... that doesn't make sense, sorry... if i had a tree in my hand, i could show you...

 

[Spinal Tap]

also, if a treed 'adjustable' saddle is adjusted to very wide it can happen... as the stirrup bars sort of stay in the same place whilst the tree flares outwards... that doesn't make sense, sorry... if i had a tree in my hand, i could show you...

Nah, that makes a lot of sense! My saddler has fitted a couple of Saddle Co saddles I've bought off eBay to my horse & he's had to prize the stirrup bars out wards because they could have dug in otherwise. My heart has been in my mouth when he's done it because I've had visions of them snapping off but they have been OK

 

[ElvisandTilly]

Hi Hackedoff, I love my saddle from HM but I had to make sure fit was right as you can get pressure points with treed or treeless if not fitted. The saddle fits me perfectly and is good on my old bum!!

My horse moves brilliantly in it but many people that have ridden in it don't like the feeling of no support as the saddle is so flexible you feel all the horses movement and it can be a bit like riding bareback, so if you have a weak seat in a treed saddle then this will feel even weaker and unstable in a treeless. The HM is much more secure than a barefoot saddle though!

I have not had any problems with is slipping. My horse was asymmetric (he has leveled out in the treeless saddle) and treed saddles always slipped to the right which ever we tried from M2M to using a wow korrector pad and this has been resolved in the treeless. Whatever weight he is and fitting the saddle fits. I just keep an eye on the fit and change panels as needed. I have replied on EE to your post there too.

Even if you buy the HM and don't like then the prices are good for second hand. Good luck in making a decision either way!