Straw poll on saddles, please answer!

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soloequestrian

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I'd like to know which non-traditional saddles you've heard of/ looked into/ tried/ bought.
The ones I can think of are
Wow, Solution, Torsion, Heather Moffett (Enlightened Equitation), Balance, Free'n'easy, Flair/Cair. I'm sure there are more than that!

Any and all opinions on them are sought!

Thanks!
 
I've used a cair wintec. Was perfect for my old horse but didn't fit the new horse so had to go back to regular flocked. That's as exciting/adventurous as I've been.
 
I have a Solutions for R and he loves it. I bought it following two years of back problems. To be fair I tried it on F as well and he was not at all keen.
 
Ridden on Barefoot,Heather Moffet (which I LOVED!), Freeform, Torsion Libra and a few others that I can't remember the names.....but I bought Trekkers as the price was nearer what was in my pocket :)

Yes, I do like my treeless saddles :)
 
There doesn't seem to be a poll??

I have used

WOW
Sue Carson
Flair fitted Frank Baines GP

I must admit I though the WOW was like sitting on a bicycle seat and I felt very detached from the horse :confused:
The Sue Carson was a bit big for me, which possibly caused the seat to seem a little hard and unbalanced?
The FB had been altered 'after market' and apparently done incorrectly (there was a crease in one of the pockets?) however the saddle was lovely to ride in once I had reflocked it with lambs wool :D

I have seen (and really like)
Balance International
but never ridden in them :)
 
I have 2 Solution saddles, Freestyle and Jumper, and don't ride in anything else if I can help it:) I am not totally averse to treed saddles, but I can fit my treeless to any horse which makes them much more versatile, and imo they are better (if used properly:)) for the horse's back.
 
I have WOW saddles and properly fitted (as with any saddle) they are fantastic. So much research and development has gone into making them and you can tell- they are so good for the horse.

I have ridden in balance saddles but dislike the round pads that connect the panel to the rest of the saddle- it doesnt spread the pressure over a large enough area for me and i have seen horses with sweat marks corresponding to the round pads and no where else. Possibly indicating excess pressure in these areas. They are also very heavy.

Cair i hate, for many reasons. Its hard, doesnt move/mould with/to the horses muscles, the foam pad compresses quickly leading to the points of the tree being very close to the horse. The saddles that cair panels are put in also have odd shaped trees imo.

I have heard of some of the treeless saddles but dont know much about them in practice.
eta- except to say they are not one size fits all like some people think and they need to be fitted to the individual horse just as a treed saddle would. Also, some treeless saddles dont allow the spread of pressure very well because there is no tree, which isnt good for novice or heavy riders
 
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Sorry, probably shouldn't have put 'poll' in the title - just trying to get an idea about opinions on non-traditional saddles.
 
I have owned a Heather Moffett SBS saddle, it was incredibly well made out of beautiful quality leather, it was very comfortable for me and the horse, but it didn't matter what numnah/pad/girth combination I used it wouldn't stay where I put it.

I now have a Total Saddle Solution GP saddle, the quality of the leather and workmanship are not a patch on the HM saddle, but, both me and my horse find it comfortable, it stays where I put it and being more forward cut, I can jump in it.

Both the above were second hand, being tight I wouldn't have paid the new price for either.
 
I had a Heather Moffatt treed saddle which I really liked, but now I've got a WOW which I totally love. I've got dr & sj flaps.
 
I have heard of Wow, Torsion, Free'n'easy and Cair, though only know much about the first and last of these. Have ridden on a heather moffat and hated it! This may have been the horse as w she was very unbalanced and a strange shape, but I didn't like the shape of the saddle and how it influenced my position etc.
 
I had a barefoot cheyenne, and I now have a ghost. Both were good, but I like my ghost because it looks more traditional, stays put better, and is comfy for me and ponio. My ghost has two seats with it, normal and dressage, and dressage one does well for showing. Use the other seat for all other riding, including jumping. The saddle also fits every horse who has tried it - it comes apart so you can fit it to your particular horse. Can you tell I love it?! it was also a reasonable price.
 
I have a Heather Moffett Phoenix and find it very comfortable. It's easy to fit and suits my very wide and flat Highland and my high withered 16hh girl. They do take a bit of getting used to if you're used to a treed saddle but for flatwork and hacking I would recommend giving it a try.
Can't comment on how it compares with other makes, I'm afraid.
 
I have used free'n'easy for the past 6 years and before that used reactor panel saddles for about the same length of time. I love both saddles though I feel the free'n'easy moves with the horse a little more than the RP.

I have never heard of either of these saddle doing any damage, they cost about £100 to get fitted professionally. I have heard some utter horror stories about treeless (mainly torsion) and WOW. My friends horse has a WOW panel deflate on her during an endurance ride, she dismounted as the horse felt unlevel when really the saddle was just sitting down at one side. The saddle has rubbed all the hair away, took a few weeks to get him back in full work :(
 
I love my WOW saddle - it doesn't crawl up Star's neck, or slide down her left shoulder. Very comfy, but people either love them or hate them. No middle ground.
 
I have a barefoot london and a heather moffett fhoenix. I love my barefoot london and so does my horse.I have not yet ridden in my HM as only just got it. I did try my friends before I got mine and it was lovely to ride in.

It did take some initial setting up to get to fit right but once I had sorted shimming, padding and girths it fits and it has never slipped even when mounting from the ground. Its the best thing I could have done for my horse after all the problems fitting a treed saddle.
 
My friend recently bought a Dream Team (the company that make Torsion, I think) treeless saddle for her cob mare, and she loves it.
 
Have ridden on a barefoot cheyenne and it was like riding on a barrel - so not really a fan. Currently ride in a Kings dressage saddle converted with Flair and am really impressed with the fit and how easy it is to adjust if he puts a bit of weight on in the summer. Horse is a wide/extra wide fit and a cob.
 
Yep all of the above, plus Quantum saddles :D

Opinions on the above =

Wow- If I could find a trustworthy fitter, would be happy to try one and own one, but the fitter is the maker/breaker with these. Still not convinced by Flair though because of the overlapping panels.

Sue Carson- Wouldn't touch. As above with the flair, plus the quality of the saddles really isn't great IMHO.

Treeless saddles- a little bit uneducated, but don;t appeal as it is very difficult to have any sort of "twist" in the seat, without causing pressure points elsewhere. Also believe anything with stirrups attached must cause pressure points somewhere.

Quantums- Like the concept, but think they are blooming ugly, and not convinced by the fitting after watching one (admittedly from a distance) being fitted. However, would be willing to look in more detail if I had the money to "experiment" with.
 
I love my Free'n'easy but they do not suit all horses. My little arab mare goes fantastically in hers but same model saddle on an arab gelding I ride was just wrong! Where the horse is the correct shape for one this is my pick of the bunch everytime!

Gelding mentioned above has successfully competed 120km in a Popdium and more recently a Torsion. Whilst I am not a huge fan of treeless (I find them quite wide to sit on) it works for him.
 
I love my 2 Reactor Panels and the horses go very well in them too. I have had them for about 5/6 years now and have them adjusted as the horse changes shape. I've never had the slightest problem with them whatsoever. I also have a Free and Easy which the horse goes well in, but is not nearly as comfortable for me (this is, however, one of the old, very first Free and Easy saddles, and I believe they've improved loads since then). I'm a firm believer in paneled saddles such as these. (For the benefit of OP, but simplifying greatly, ReactorPanels and Free and Easy are a very similar concept)
 
I have had two Balance saddles for my wide cobs and found them brilliant. The first one I bought second hand as recommended by my instructor (at that point I had never heard of Balance saddles) and my boy went brilliantly in it and I found it comfy too. After he tragically died I sold it on ebay for more than I had paid for it to a lady in USA who was absolutely delighted with it. I managed to save enough to get a new one for my youngster which again I was very pleased with but due to issues unconnected with the saddle I've now sold him and again sold the saddle very easily. So from a purely mercenary point of view I find these saddles are very sought after and definitely hold their value. I am looking for another horse at the mo and will definitely look to another Balance saddle.

I have also used Reactor Panel saddles, but many years ago when they first became popular. I found that they didn't suit my Welsh D as his extravagant shoulder movement seemed to push the saddle back on the pad but a little Araby mare I had as well went like a completely different horse when I rode her in one instead of a 'conventional' saddle and became a joy to ride instead of a complete pain!

My personal opinion is that different styles suit different horses and when something new comes on the market suddenly it is going to be the answer to everyones problems and ALL horses will go better in it, but that sadly isn't the case. I seem to remember there was a great rush to get saddles converted to Reactor Panels at one time and then that got superceded by Cair and then the trend became treeless.........horses for courses as the saying goes!!!
 
I ended up buying a secondhand freeform classic. It's fantastic. My horse is flat backed & was difficult to fit. Even the anti slip pads couldn't keep a thorowgood cob plus on her ! I've had no trouble at all with slippage with the freefortm. I use the equitex orthapedic pad underneath. My horse moved much more freely in it. I have her back checked regularly to monitor any damage - I'm oober paranoid coz I am a lardass ( but losing it !) There are weight limits on certain treeless saddles, depending on what discipline you are doing I think, so check manufacturers recomendations ! The freeform has monostrap leathers which are a bit weird, but you get used to them. Many people have mumped about the stirrup leathers stretching too much. You can change the position of the stirrups - they are velcro'd on underneath the seat pad - you can get the seat in about 6 different styles, so it's extremely versatile. It looks a lot more traditional than your usual treeless. I LOVE IT !
I had a shot of my pal's Dream Team saddle. It was really comfy too. That would have been my second choice though !
 
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