torsion GP treeless saddle - anyone reccomend?

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Perce

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as title.
anyone tried one?
will they fit anything, with appropriate pad of course?
How comfortable?
can you jump in them?
how secure do they feel?
How do they look?
would it be suitable for starting a youngster (polish warmblood/trak)
anything else I should ask?
 
I have a Torsion I imported from Germany in 2002 and it's a great saddle.

It's never let me down or anyone who's borrowed it either.

It's absolutely hideous (brown and tan suede and nubruck) but I'd never part with it (even though I've had a few offers over the years).

However - as most of the other treeless companies evolved in their designs...Torsion appears to have stagnated.

A friend bought a lovely, leather one brand new a few years ago but I've never been impressed by it.

IMO there are better (and often cheaper) treeless out there nowadays.
 
Ugly and uncomfortable looking, I ride and jump in a HM enlightened equitation saddle, very very comfy and in April she is bringing out a synthetic version at about £400 new!! Have a look at her web site
 
that's why I am asking!
I am about 5'10 and bit" and my current saddle is an 18" for my long gangly legs!
I wondered if it would do the job for my youngster.
Not doing very well so far on the reccomendations though :-(

Anyone?
 
ve been searching and saw your post.
is there any particular reasons you don't like the newer Torsion?
And is there anyone out there who would like to 'like' it?
this is a massive reduction for a saddle .
I am hoping to start my youngster but am not sure if his previous lameness problems may come back so am reluctant to buy an expensive saddle that may become useless to me after a year/month/week.
I'm wondering if I would be able to use the Torsion on my mare also if need be. I rode in a treeless on her for a while and it was very comfortable for both of us but don't know its make!
 
Perce said:
ve been searching and saw your post.
is there any particular reasons you don't like the newer Torsion?
And is there anyone out there who would like to 'like' it?
this is a massive reduction for a saddle .
I am hoping to start my youngster but am not sure if his previous lameness problems may come back so am reluctant to buy an expensive saddle that may become useless to me after a year/month/week.
I'm wondering if I would be able to use the Torsion on my mare also if need be. I rode in a treeless on her for a while and it was very comfortable for both of us but don't know its make!
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I am disappointed in the new Torsions in that they haven't grown or changed design over the years.

As the 'original and best' I would expect them to have evolved and be market leaders.....

You can get the same quality saddle in a cheaper brand.

My friend's one slips for a start.

Having said that - I wouldn't expect a Torsion to do your horse any harm. So for that price I would get it.
 
of course the problem is that you can't try them.
I wouldn't dream of buying a treed saddle over the internet as would want the saddle fitter out but would be keen to hear if i could do just that with this torsion?

Will it fit any horse (with appropriate pad) and would I need a saddle fitter to fit the pad?
 
Not everyones cup of tea, but one of my saddles is a Torsion - love love love it. several o fmy horses move so much better too, even though they had well fitting regular saddles.
 
You can hire the saddles from Torsion as I did for around £60 a week to try them. This was about six years ago though.
 
Perce said:
of course the problem is that you can't try them.
I wouldn't dream of buying a treed saddle over the internet as would want the saddle fitter out but would be keen to hear if i could do just that with this torsion?

Will it fit any horse (with appropriate pad) and would I need a saddle fitter to fit the pad?
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No saddle will suit every horse.

But....every treeless I've bought for my two horses has been over the internet and I've never had a problem.

At the end of the day you can always sell them on easily.

You DO need the appropriate pad. I only use the Equitex (can sometimes get them from eBay second hand). But I did use a Polypad with my Torsion for a few months until I could afford an Equitex (and included a 25 mile ride) with my Arab with no issues.

This is my beloved Torsion in action.
obitebay1.jpg
 
I used a torsion when I backed my youngster then went onto Dream Team saddle as I felt a bit safer. My mare went brilliantly in them but I changed her onto a Free n Easy as soon as she stopped growing as I love these saddles and have them for my others.

If anyone is interested I'm thinking of putting both my Torsion and my Dream Team up for sale. Probably for about £300 each.
 
I've had around 20 treeless saddles now :o and 4 of these have been Torsions (GP, Duo and 2 Close Contacts in different sizes)

I really like the quality of the Torsions, I am using an older model Duo on my horses as after all the saddles I have tried it's the one that suits me best.

The newer plastic pommel blocks come up very narrow though, the older wooden ones are slightly better, but you can use Barefoot interchangeable pommel blocks in them (and treefree ones if you can get your hands on them) or stuff them with soft material (I use pillow fibre) but the close contact models seem to hold their shape better with the stuffed pommel, the standard flap models can collapse at the pommel (flatten out at the wither) and it can make them laterally unstable, not had that issue with the close contacts though.

Use a good quality pad. Equitex pads can flatten easily and made the saddle feel wider, but if you don't rely on your stirrups much (and I would strongly urge learning to rise to the trot from your thigh when using treeless, it saves pressure on the stirrup bars and helps to keep your lower leg more stable without knee rolls and with set back stirrup bars)
and you have a well padded horse they can be a good choice.
Pads that can be shimmed (padding added into the pad) are useful to tweek fit.
I am currently using a Christ Lammfelle pad with my saddle, but have found a new supplier of treeless pads that works out cheaper so will be trying one of those soon.

Barefoot sheepskin seats can be used on the Torsions as well, they can make them feel slightly wider in the seat, but they take up excess space and they are nice and soft. (I tend to have princess and the pea syndrome so I have to use a seat saver)

Overall, I like the Torsions, nicely made and wear well. :)
 
Mitchyden said:
I used a torsion when I backed my youngster then went onto Dream Team saddle as I felt a bit safer. My mare went brilliantly in them but I changed her onto a Free n Easy as soon as she stopped growing as I love these saddles and have them for my others.

If anyone is interested I'm thinking of putting both my Torsion and my Dream Team up for sale. Probably for about £300 each.
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One saddle (and vendor) I would 100% NOT recommend is DT.

Beautiful saddles - but (IMO) over priced, poorly made and have made two of my friend's horses sore. One quite seriously so (even with a lightweight rider and light use) needing months off and physio due to part of the brand new saddle breaking and digging in.

I can understand this happening as a freak accident - but due to difficulties with the vendor about it, I would not use them at all.

This (of course) is my own opinion and cannot be considered the opinion of HHO or the media that owns it;)
 
as a follow up to my original post i tried to buy the torsion from Robinsons as advertised in the sale but unfortunately the bargain saddle never actually got to the sale! apparrently someone bought it at the full price the day before! mmmmmm...


the night before the sale started it suddenly came up as OUT OF STOCK and after several phone calls and emails.
I was left feeling rather misled and having wasted hours researching and desperately trying to contact Robinsons..................
The people I spoke to were all lovely but when push comes to shove...
it was advertised as a sale item ..and it was not in the sale...the whole experience has put me right off the company I am afraid.

I was left feeling that it was never going to be in the sale in the first place...just a tempter to get everyone looking and ordering other stuff while doing so....of course I expect I am just being a cynic and really some one witrh lots of money rushed in the night before and said,, ooh, before this gets sold for £250 tomorrow I must have it for the ful price,,please please please..."

anyway has got me looking at treeless saddles...which is good,
but also given me an uinreasonable price frame (£250) to look for. ..

anyone tried a Dream saddle from the DreamTeam range? they look nice but...
 
Perce said:
anyone tried a Dream saddle from the DreamTeam range? they look nice but...
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No no no no!

If you were annoyed by Robinsons - then steer clear of the DT vendor
thumbsdown.gif
.

Two of my friends bought one each, brand new.

Neither one was in use after two months.

One of the horses had to have the whole summer off and physio due to part of the saddle breaking and pushing into the horse's shoulder. This was in light use with a very small rider. The vendor fought tooth and nail rather than honour the warranty.

Steer well clear.

Keep an eye on eBay for a decent second hander of a safe brand (Heather Moffett/Barefoot/Freeform/Freemax/Torsion/Sensation/Solution/Trekker/Startrek/Treefree/Dartmor/E Z fit)

Libra saddles are very cheap also, but they are safe.

You can get away with using a Polypad for a bit - but long term, you need to invest in a proper pad too.
 
Perce said:
as a follow up to my original post i tried to buy the torsion from Robinsons as advertised in the sale but unfortunately the bargain saddle never actually got to the sale! apparrently someone bought it at the full price the day before! mmmmmm...


the night before the sale started it suddenly came up as OUT OF STOCK and after several phone calls and emails.
I was left feeling rather misled and having wasted hours researching and desperately trying to contact Robinsons..................
The people I spoke to were all lovely but when push comes to shove...
it was advertised as a sale item ..and it was not in the sale...the whole experience has put me right off the company I am afraid.

I was left feeling that it was never going to be in the sale in the first place...just a tempter to get everyone looking and ordering other stuff while doing so....of course I expect I am just being a cynic and really some one witrh lots of money rushed in the night before and said,, ooh, before this gets sold for £250 tomorrow I must have it for the ful price,,please please please..."
..
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thats funny because Im sure I read (maybe on here) that the Bates (?) saddles they had on sale at the same time also turned out to be only one saddle that sold at full price the very day before the sale...lol :D

(I rang to order something else, and they had none of those either (less than 2 mins after the sale started) and I dont believe they had any at all in the sale either. I bet if Id have questioned closely I would find out they sold at full price the day before lol.)
 
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"I rang to order something else, and they had none of those either (less than 2 mins after the sale started) and I dont believe they had any at all in the sale either. I bet if Id have questioned closely I would find out they sold at full price the day before lol.) "

capriole - such cynicism!

i did notive the really good bargains seemed to have gone OUT OF STOCK the night before..
..ultimately it just p;s people off but i guess it gets enough people checking out the sale and buying stuff they didn't really want or need so it works.

Oberon,,thanks again!
I shall now proceed to have a look through your comprehensive list of suggestions.
i have started checking on ebay, but I'm not a fan as my experience, again, tends to be of wasting a lot of time on things I don't get..

will be putting post on ebay tips next!
 
Torsions are lovely saddles - but - not everybody likes them or their looks. They do NOT fit every horse. They feel very secure and comfortable to ride in and our horses move very freely in them.

18" Torsions are massive. Torsions are not measured in the same way as 'normal' saddles.
 
Perce said:
capriole - such cynicism!

i did notive the really good bargains seemed to have gone OUT OF STOCK the night before..
..ultimately it just p;s people off but i guess it gets enough people checking out the sale and buying stuff they didn't really want or need so it works.
Click to expand...

I know, and from one so young too :( lol :D

I didnt check the night before, so not sure if the items were out of stock already, but seems a bit co-incidental ;)
Nah, I didnt bother buying anything else I just left it...
 
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