Hoobee disaster...

[ccooxxyy]

I have just come back from seeing a very sorry, sore horse..., who unfortunatly has been ridden in one of these half tree saddles. with mega pressure build up just where the half tree ends the horse was chronically sore and unable to flex his spine laterally whatsoever. It was obvious straight away this was a saddle related problem, seeing as all pain coresponded with pressure points of the saddle and the fact that the saddle pretty much bends in half!! The contact with the horse's back was also shocking. be warned...

 

[DollyDolls]

Never heard of a 1/2 tree saddle.......who makes them?

 

[spaniel]

They are uttery horrible 'saddles'. Not only do they not fit they are banged together by someone who obviously doesnt have a clue. tbh I could make a better job of putting a saddle together with few bits of foam and some staples.

Total rip off and IMO dangerous.

http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=66323

 

[Llwyncwn]

Never heard of a half tree saddle, sounds horrendous but Im no master saddler. Span, where have you been?

 

[spaniel]

LOL demolishing bits of the house, ripping off wallpaper and bailing out the bloody rain!!!

 

[Kenzo]

Can't comment on the individual case your refering to but I do hope the horse makes a full recovery.

On the the hand, just been looking at the Hoobee website...is it me or how come you can't actually see any images of these saddles though?

 

[Diggerdog]

Managed to find this photo...

www.hoobeesaddles.co.uk/imagewindow.asp?pic=gallery/Alfie.jpg

Certainly not something that I would ever put on a horse's back.

 

[alex79]

Have just looked at the pictures of the HooBee and am not impressed. It's obvious from the picture that all the pressure is on the centre of the horse's back on the spine. I'm no saddle fitter but you can easily see where the pressure is sitting. Surely these saddles have to pass some sort of standard before being offered on the open market?

 

[dixie]

I tried this saddle out !

And no, I didn't buy one. I showed it to our local Master Saddler and she laughed. It was very poorly made and not cheap either. It was actually quite comfy to ride in and I know someone who has benefitted with her hips etc. However what really put me off was that it had a little half tree which was medium sized whatever size the horse & I was worried about pressure points.

Very sorry to hear about this horse and hope he recovers soon.

 

[allijudd]

the hoobee saddle is actually based on a donkey saddle apprently....i know that it was at the beggining of the company they were being made by a master saddler however they parted ways.....

 

[hellybelly6]

I havent heard of these before, but looking at the picture, I would think there would be an awful lot of pressure on the points where the half tree ends, ie on the horses back.