Leather treed saddles?

mynutmeg

mynutmeg

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Has anyone used the Heather Moffett FlexEE tree saddle? I'm looking at one for my mare - she does not like a solid tree, makes that pretty obvious but I'm sturggling to find a decent treeless that I like, fits both of us and that I can afford. I like the idea of the extra support given by the leather tree but it should still have the flexibility that my mare likes.
 
My equine chiro lady has one and is very enthusiastic about it. She has recommended it to a friend who also loves the way it frees up her horse's action, so I am now tempted to give one a trial myself.

No, I don't sell them or have any connection with HM, I just want the most comfy saddle for my horse!
 
I don't have a FlexEE but do have a Fhoenix Vogue which me & Pony love! :) Hoping to try a FlexEE GP at some point though as I'd like something a bit more suitable for jumping! :) (Vogue is a dressage cut one!)
 
Thanks for the replys, I have a friend who has a friend with one so I'm going to see if I can borrow his to try with my mare. Solid trees are simply not an option, I borrowed a friend's to try with her recently as I am getting so frustrated trying to find a good treeless that suits both of us and without even girthing it she started pulling faces at me :rolleyes: and it was about the right size and shape for her, didn't even sit in it in the end as she made it so obvious.
 
Sounds like she has pain or remembered pain at the very least.

Has she been scoped for ulcers? If not you could try a course of prascend to see if her behaviour improves.

There is no reason for her to behave like that with a good treeless saddle as there is nothing rigid to dig into her so something else is wrong to my mind!
 
I honestly can say that in four years I've not found a pony or horse that can't go in the RIGHT treed saddle - there are alternative options out there, not saying don't go for treeless, not at all (though I'm not a huge fan), but there are traditional saddles that are completely different to the majority you find in tack shops, for instance Balance International, Swain Semiflex and the Native Pony saddles that I fit.
 
TigerTail said:
Sounds like she has pain or remembered pain at the very least.

Has she been scoped for ulcers? If not you could try a course of prascend to see if her behaviour improves.

There is no reason for her to behave like that with a good treeless saddle as there is nothing rigid to dig into her so something else is wrong to my mind!
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The saddle I borrowed to try was a treed one and yup she had a while in a saddle that she grew out of - I was pretty novice at fitting etc and it took me a while to work out what was wrong and that the she's grown out of the saddle and it was pinching. She grew and filled out a lot in the first couple of years I had her. She was originally fitted to a wintec wide gullet, grew out of the white and then grew out of the next tree as well (she's definately an x-wide girl but has withers as well)

She goes well in her treeless that I use at the moment and is happy in it but it's a little small for me so am looking for something a little bigger that will fit me better. I'm pretty tall with long legs so really need an 18'' seat. I'm also not the smallest person in the world so like the idea of a little more structure in the saddle to protect her back.


sbloom said:
I honestly can say that in four years I've not found a pony or horse that can't go in the RIGHT treed saddle - there are alternative options out there, not saying don't go for treeless, not at all (though I'm not a huge fan), but there are traditional saddles that are completely different to the majority you find in tack shops, for instance Balance International, Swain Semiflex and the Native Pony saddles that I fit.
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I know eventually I'd find a treed that would fit her but within 3 months she'd have changed shape drastically - the first place she changes weight is on her shoulders and she puts a fair amount on during the summer and then looses it in the winter. This is one of the reasons I ended up going treeless because she changes shape so quickly without a solid tree I don't need to constantly worry about her being uncomfortable. I would love her to fit a treed saddle and be comfortable in it as there are some that I love and I adored my old treed saddle I had for my horse before I got my mare but she simply won't take one - she even objects to treeless saddles that have the wither arch type things in them! (not that she's fussy and awkward or anything:rolleyes:)
 
mynutmeg said:
I know eventually I'd find a treed that would fit her but within 3 months she'd have changed shape drastically - the first place she changes weight is on her shoulders and she puts a fair amount on during the summer and then looses it in the winter. This is one of the reasons I ended up going treeless because she changes shape so quickly without a solid tree I don't need to constantly worry about her being uncomfortable. I would love her to fit a treed saddle and be comfortable in it as there are some that I love and I adored my old treed saddle I had for my horse before I got my mare but she simply won't take one - she even objects to treeless saddles that have the wither arch type things in them! (not that she's fussy and awkward or anything:rolleyes:)
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This is partially why I ended up with a treeless - with the addition that I simply couldn't afford to replace a treed saddle that often! My bank balance doesn't stretch that far!! And as much as I enjoy riding bareback, I'd rather have the option not to :p
 
For horses that change seasonally it's not hard to fit to the wider summer shape and shim for the winter. Just another option for those who do prefer treed saddles :)
 
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