Treeless saddle for xxxx wide cob, peoples thoughs, experiences on them

also have a barefoot treeless saddle (told it was almost £900 2 yrs ago by previous owner) which came with my appley cob.

It was/is fine for gentle hacking, but (in my opinion for ME) NOT for any schooling, nor for fuzzy's that get out of shape when being hacked from stable in the cold & want to get going sharpish.
Basically it was/is very comfy to sit in, put me in the right place etc, and fine for lobbing along in straight lines at trot/canter in the nice weather.
BUT: I cannot ride safely round bends at anything over a sedate trot, its like riding bareback - you try continuous balance for a 1hr+ hack when something is a little keen or sharp - its not that much fun after a bit.
I also could NOT be faffed to deal with an extra 'lift' having to be placed under the saddle to ensure it sat in the right place & cleared the spine too.
The dressage girths also naffed me off - with a 'round cob shape' you do need to be able to check girths - not easy to do up another notch 10 mins away from yard when cob is still keen to be getting on with work & you are on your own!

Just my opinion tho & will prob be shouted down *hides in back of stable*

I persisted for 6 weeks before caving in & getting a GP/whp saddle.
I imagine I might prob use it in the summer for pottering about, but not at present............
 
I have a Dream Team saddle for my very wide Highland - very comfey for both of us, good for anything except maybe serious jumping as pommel is a bit high.
 
I have a GP Total Saddle Solution for my extremely wide girl.

Because it's a GP we can do anything (that we can do) in it.

I'm a traditional person at heart and this saddle looks pretty 'normal'.

A horse has been round Blair Castle horse trials and Windsor Castle horse trials wearing a Total Saddle Solution.

I find it very comfortable, have done a couple of pleasure rides with it.

My horse approves, she lets me know when things aren't right ;)
 
Ok thanks guys, not sure which way to go with this saddle lark tbh. Some good points made thanks " Xmas furry" I don't know anybody local who used one to ask or have a try which is a shame.
 
thatsmygirl said:
Ok thanks guys, not sure which way to go with this saddle lark tbh. Some good points made thanks " Xmas furry" I don't know anybody local who used one to ask or have a try which is a shame.
Click to expand...

let me know where you are, if local you could poss borrow the one I have to try?
Or maybe pop over & try my neddy in it (when the snow has gone a bit more)
:)
 
I think it depends very much on you, your horse and which saddle you pick.

Most if not all of the saddles have weight limits and you have to buy specific pads to suit which can often add more than £100 on to your start up price. YOu might have to try lots of different saddles and pads before you find one (if any) that suit.

Lots of the treeless companies will loan you a saddle to try out.

My cob has a very short back. We tried the barefoot cheyenne which I loved but was too long for him and to small for my bum. Also tried a heather moffett model which I found too hard and a Ghost saddle which was too un-stable.

We now have a T4 cob plus treed saddle which seems to suit us both (touch wood).
 
just got a dream team one for my mare she is ish 16.3 5yr old she seems to love it main problem is getting girth tight when on her any ideas?,
 
My friend has gone the treeless route, partly because her cobs are so wide and it's easier to get a saddle that fits. She has heather moffett ones, and they don't slip round when she's riding, although when she mounts, she has to have someone holding the stirrup the other side. She's been using these saddles for several years now, with no problems.

My own saddler has a very low opinion of treeless though, and told me that they offer the horse little support, and you have to ride correctly and engage your hips, otherwise you can end up putting pressure on your horses back, which over time may result in the horse developing a sore back and even muscle atrophy.
 
Hi. I don't know much about treeless saddles but I have a Kent and Masters cob saddle (leather version of the Thorowgood), these are really good because they have changeable gullets so you can adjust them to fit your horse.
 
I have a Barefoot London - at the moment with the pad, dressage girth and leathers pack they are in the region of £700. I bought mine from Horse & Harmony and there were happy to let me have a trial.

My treeless is the most comfortable saddle apart from the big Western we have for hacking. I also school in it. I will only jump up to 2'6 and not on Stinky as he jumps 3' plus over everything.

I bought it originally for Stinky when he was three as I knew he was going to change shape so much. I also have a working hunter treed saddle which is a Saddle Company as I do high level showing on him and am now on my second one. Stinky is not too wide, has withers but a huge shoulder, typical of a gypsy cob.

I have used my treeless on both our current and past Clydesdale and they go very well in it, Cairo never went better in fact.

You will either love or hate them and the Barefoot has three pommel sizes and it sounds like you will need the one for flat table top backs. You do need to make sure it suits your horse and get the correct pad and I recommend that you don't touch any of the cheap treeless on ebay. Barefoot are the cheapest of the good brands.

I have my horses backs checked annually and have never had any problems, but I have the correct pad and pommel on my saddle to ensure it fits.
 
My 15hh heavy weight had a treeless for 5 years. The first one was a Randols from Germany and it was FAB!!! It fitted like a glove and I was extreamly happy with it!! Then stupid here got some money so invested in a new Barefoot and it was useless!! Way too long for his back and caused endless trouble in the few weeks I used it. I sold that and because I'd been a complete idiot and already sold the Randols I ended up going back to a Thorowgood t4 Cob which I have to say has done us ok!

I have now got a Libra cheap treeless for hacking but don't use it very often as we do more jumping now and those shape treeless are not good for jumping.
 
Had a treeless for a few months now. Even though the convert from tree'd was interesting to say the least (for me not the horse :p) but worth it in the long run.

The only thing I will say is, the stirrup bars are a bit far back -.-
 
mon said:
just got a dream team one for my mare she is ish 16.3 5yr old she seems to love it main problem is getting girth tight when on her any ideas?,
Click to expand...

Get flexible or find a helping hand!! Lol!! I've yet to find a way of doing up a treeless girth safely...unless you are my very tiny friend who has an Icey and she can swing herself under to do the girth up without falling off!!! Me on my large cobs generally has to get on carefully from a mounting block then scout around for someone to do the girth up properly!!!:rolleyes:
 
I have a heather moffet fieonix suber panel one. You don't need special pads for them. I have had mine for a number of years now and love it. Prior to that I had a trekker talent. It rubbed my mares back. The only thing I don't like but can live with is the dressage girthing system. Old age and infexibility mean I can't tighten it whilst on board. I can mount mine from the ground if I have to and it's never slipped when being ridden not even on those leap sideways in canter moments.
My advice would be to try as many as you can.
Dilbert tried my heather moffet but found it too hard, she has a delicate little botty poor dear lol.
I am in the East Midlands if you want to try mine. Sadly unable to drive at the moment due to injury....ice not horse related grr.
Oh and I don't do jumping...
 
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I have been using treeless saddles for 8 years. I've never had any problems.

I have ridden up to 25 miles with a Torsion on my Arab and a Freeform on my Ardennes X.

Makes you can trust are:

Solution, Heather Moffet's saddles, Trekker, Startrek (all these don't need a corresponding numnah)

Freeform, Barefoot, Torsion (older ones only), Ghost, Libra, Freemax (all these DO need the corresponding numnah).
 
WOW make saddles up to 9X wide. I use a WOW saddle on my normal width WB, but my fitter also fitted one to a cob who had previously had to be treeless as saddles "don't come in his width!" He was a 7X wide, so they go even wider!
 
i bought a cheap treeless saddle to try last year - was less than £200 with a gerogeous pad - love it on my changing -shape -monthly -cob and am looking to invest in a decent leather one this year :D
 
I've used a treeless on my very wide cob for 3 years and whilst she goes very well in it, it has totally knackered my back!! She is wide in the wither and has a huge barrel also. So much so that I realised after a period of not riding her due to the snow that it is impossible for me to sit up right and get my legs down either side!!! As a result, my pelvis tips forwards to compensate, putting a lot of strain on my lower back. I knew straight away on getting on that this what has caused my back issues!!! It must've been gradual over the years as she regained topline and width so I didn't realise. I have had a barefoot cheyenne and have now got a IV horse synthetic one but same sort of style to cheyenne. I think if you have a horse like this shape, you need to get a treeless with a twist, such as the heather moffet or maybe an ansur, although I've not ridden in one of these. I know some horses can be wide in the wither but not have a hugely wide barrel so may not be the same problem. BTW - I'm quite a broad built person so the problem is not related to my tiny frame!! :-)
 
Where are you? I've got 3 good treeless saddles I'd let you have a ride in if you're near me. I've been trained to fit treeless saddles. (For a bit of petrol money since the cost of getting about is crippling me!).
 
I have had a barefoot cheyenne (sold with my last horse) and currently have a ghost. I find it comfortable, no slippage at all on current horse, and I can manage to do the girth up when mounted (only if no one is around to do it for me!). I can also jump in it (not big though, I am a wimp!) and it is great for hacking and schooling.

I do have a treed I can use as well (Wintec wide) but TBH I find that it hurts my backside now!!
 
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