treeless advice for difficult horse...

[akashapachamama]

Im looking for a treeless for my project horse who is cold backed amongst other things....
I was thinking about the torsion duo because it is designed for remedial horses, has a low stirrup position to prevent excess pressure... althought there isnt a gullet on these saddles. any opinions or alternatives??

 

[Oberon]

I imported a Torsion from Germany in 2002. It has been a great saddle for many different horses.

Would I buy another Torsion? No. It was all well and good back in 2002 when treeless was unheard of round my end of town. Nowadays there are plenty of other brands who hae continued to improve in design. Torsion seems to have just stood still.

On the upper end of the scale there is:

Solution - well made and designed but expensive (£1200)
Heather Moffett saddles - well made and designed and the maker is available for advice on another forum (£600 - £900).
Mondial Holistic - beautiful and well designed but not very well known as expensive (£1200).
Trekker's newer ones - well made and designed but pricey and not available second hand in this country (£1500).
Startrekk's newer ones - ditto the above £1400).

Cheaper end of the market:

Barefoot - well made and designed, a bit ugly (£300)
Torsion (£400)
Trekker's older model - as above (£300)
Startrekk's older models - as above but not available in this country second hand (£850)
Ghost saddle - not well known as they look odd but popular with those who've got them. Not available second hand (£550).
Libra - very cheap but actually very good. (£125 - £225).

Which saddle suits your horse would depend on the shape of the horse.

 

[Theresa_F]

I can recommend the Barefoot - I have the London model which is not as bulky.

However, I did sit on a Total Solutions saddle at HOYS last night - wonderful and if money is no object..........

In short, Barefoot is probably best of the cheaper end in terms of quality and if you have a large budget, then the Solution saddle is amazing and one day I may afford it.

 

[Spinal Tap]

I had an Ansur (pretty much the same as Solution) saddle and it didn't suit my mare at all, I've known a few people try treeless and go back to treed for the same reason so do bear in mind that these treeless saddles aren't 100% guaranteed to be successful - even the expensive ones. Best advice I can give is do your homework, don't believe every bit of sales pitch you read and get the saddle you choose properly fitted - if possible have it on trial. Good luck