Treeless Saddles? any good?

Treeless saddles are the same as treed saddle, some are good, some shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a horse.

I use a Total Saddle Solution treeless saddle, which costs about the same as a treed saddle.

The saddle you're interested in is an Indian copy of a Freeform Saddle. Personally, I'd use a Freeform, but not a copy, but that's just my personal opinion.
 
I had two horses get hollows at the withers and one got a mark on one side right under the stirrup bar, after a year in one of the top name ones on the market. I have challenging riding country, lots of hills, and I ride a lot, and for me they did not work. I couldn't trust them not to tip when I mounted, and always had to chuck myself into the saddle quickly or find a big step to get up from. They also caused me to sit tipping forwards, which I have no problem at all with in a treed saddle. I now use WOW saddles instead.
 
I have challenging riding country, lots of hills, and I ride a lot, and for me they did not work.
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I had the same problem when I borrowed a pony with a treeless saddle.

Lots of steep hills + no sideways stability = scary hacks!

However it wasn't a very good treeless so I have not written them off completely on that experiance.
 
I used a Barefoot Cherokee for my welsh mare and anglo arab gelding and loved it. Important to fit it correctly and also have an appropriate pad. They are different to ride in, I can only describe it in the sense that you feel you are sitting more in the horse :D When you sit in a treed after a treeless you feel very perched on top in comparison. I jumped quite high in mine and had no problems, mine did have knee rolls though. I also found it really really comfy :D You can certainly feel the horse move a great deal more, but I liked that.
 
I rode a barefoot treeless saddle on about 27 ponies in Mongolia last year. Good points - it will fit a range of different horse shapes/sizes. I was pleasantly surprised with how well it spread the weight across the stirrups. I suspect it would be fine for low mileage, irregular use.
Bad points - it was the most uncomfortable thing I have ever had the misfortune to sit on and you couldn't pay me to sit on one again!
:)
 
I had an Equinelibrium leather treeless saddle for my old mare(currently for sale on ebay if anyone interested :p ) It was lovely, really comfy and allowed her to have alot more freedom in her shoulders and stretch over her back. However i couldn't mount without a block or someone holding my stirrup because it was abit slippy then but never when riding.
 
My saddle (Total Saddle Solution) doesn't slip, never has. I use a nuumed high wither everyday numnah with mine. But I have fairly flat riding country. I don't mount from the ground, but I can, I choose not to. Before this saddle I tried a few other treeless makes, none of which have been mentioned and most of them slipped.
 
I have a freemax acavallo gp model for my broad cob and i find it very comfy,like riding on a cushion he strides out well but it makes you sit wider as your not perched ontop . i have found that it slips with a normal cottage craft type girth but doesnt with a broad leather with elastic one
we have a treeless pad to create a gullet and i ride anywhere from 1.5 hrs to 3hrs and we don have any rubs or sores we have had this since last summer.
it slips when i first mount from the ground when just saddled up as body heat from the horse hasnt made it mould to his shape but if i dismount and remount from the floor on a ride it stays put
he is also very hard to fit a saddle to as he is short backed with a dip and very croup high
 
Love treeless, but will only use the kinds that looks like treed saddles and has real panels underneth them rather than special pads.

A cushion type treeless ruined my wrist for the rest of my life as it slipped when I lost balance and the horse stepped on and crushed my wrist. Despite the girth being tightened several times, it staying in place when mounting etc.
Also I have yet to see a cushion type treeless that will be difficult/impossible to fold so pommel and cantle meet.. and if it can be folded, how will it divide the weight from the stirrup rigging and your seat? Rather ride bareback than using stirrups in a saddle that folds.

The one I got is cheap, and that shows from the seat being a bit disfigured afer my seatbones *lol*. I've padded that for me and made sure the underside hasn't gotten the same problem for the horse. But apart from that it'ds a good, steady saddle. Crows hollowed withers (from a treeless star trekk with a front that wasn't quite right) has filled up with the use of this saddle.

I mainly hack out so I've experienced jumps, spooks, hills, water crossings, gallops etc with different saddles. Both the star trekk (which is a great saddle as long as it fits) and this one (chezz iberico) has been steady on the horse and good.

Afraid this is the best photo of my saddle I have here.
cDSCN0047.jpg
 
Tricky isn't it? Whatever saddle, get it fitted and check your horse regularly. The worse damage I've seen from a saddle in recent years was the result of a professionally fitted WOW owned by a good friend of mine. On examination it was misaligned, causing her mare some significant back problems.
I use a properly padded Heather Moffet saddle and ditto a Freeform saddle (by Goldfinch, not a cheap EBay copy). I'm still constantly watching for patches when the saddle is taken off or any signs of discomfort. I really like the feel of the HM, but find they can be tricky to be sure if they are fitted properly.
 
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