Help with Treefree saddle please

[planete]

There is an Exmoor Treefree on eBay and I am wondering whether it would be suitable for Woody and myself. The vendor says it is actually a 15” with a girth and stirrup hook in the forward position. The size is right for us but I do not know when you would chose to have a girth in a forward position. As to the stirrups it really depends how far forward they are. I have ridden happily in an Ideal Jessica but very unhappily in an Isabel Wirth and am right now fairly comfortable in a Torsion. Experiences and advice please.

I was trying to insert a picture of Woody for conformation but not used to my new IPad yet and failed. He does not really have a girth groove nor a prominent belly and all saddles tend to slip backwards on him. Thanks!

 

[planete]

Bumping…

 

[Caol Ila]

I have a TreeFree Tor and my horses have a forward girth position, so I have to use a half moon shape girth on both, no matter what saddle they are in. Here's a crap photo of Hermosa wearing it.



TreeFree gave me an Exmoor to use for a few weeks while they were making that one. It's more aimed at endurance/trail riding, so the stirrups are a bit more forward. It puts you (well, it put me) in a little more of a chair seat, whereas the Tor has your leg in more of a dressagey position. The Exmoor was fine, though. I may buy one at some point depending on how Hermosa goes in this saddle (they are a lot cheaper than Tors). I'm on the fence about whether it's right for her.

 

[planete]

Thank you CI, I was hoping you would see this thread. After some Googling, the AH website advises using the rear straps on saddles for horses whose saddles slip back which would imply that forward girth points are probably a bad idea on Woody. Unless I can get the Torsion perfectly balanced for him and me (still experimenting with forks/ no forks and shims) I will have bite the bullet and buy a new saddle from Treefree.