Treeless saddles ? Your opinions, experiences please.

Rode in a treeless on an PRE stallion a few years ago. They're pretty good. Obviously you do sit differently in a treeless than a tree'd saddle because there is no "twist" to speak of. Good for opening your hips and stretching your hip flexors :D

I liked it tbh and would consider for my PRE filly if we have the same problems finding a saddle to fit, although now I have used Lavinia Mitchell, I would rather have a bespoke treed saddle!

Anyway, they have come a long way and I rather like the Heather Moffett Vogues, having sat in one at the breed show last year. Actually, those don't feel like the barefoot treeless ones at all, much less look like them. They feel more like a treed saddle.

I always worried about the spine, but tbh, for a breed that is as flat backed and sometimes whitherless as these, I think it worked.

Are you looking at one for your gorgeous new one: :)
 
I have a barefoot Lexington on my girl and really love it. The newer barefoot a have panels underneath to help provide spinal clearance. My barefoot has a really deep comfy seat and I've now started during some endurance in it (I find it really hard to be comfy in a saddle).

A lot of it is going to be what suits you and your horse(s). I've always got on well with treeless with my mare - but she is a very strange shape (as am I lol) and the treeless seems to suit us :)
 
There's a question akin to "how long's a piece of string?" :D

There are so many different variables - type of saddle, type of horse, type of rider, type of riding, not to mention budget and personal preferences - that the only true way to answer this question is for you to identify some saddles within your price range that you like the look of and get someone affiliated with the company (or someone you know who has the same saddle) out to let you try them.

Generally the key points are:

1) Don't buy super cheap. There's a reason they're that money and it's cause they're generally rubbish.

The cheapest treeless I'd go for is a Libra Trec and only if you plan to use it for light hacking and schooling only, with a decent pad, a balanced rider and a horse with minimal spine/withers. Incidentally I have a Libra on my youngster and love it but will be upgrading when I want to start doing more fast work and jumping. I will keep the Libra as a spare though as it's such a useful piece of kit to have around.

2) If your horse has a prominent wither or spine, you will need to get a saddle designed for this type and these don't come cheap. That means something with a gullet and panels to lift the saddle clear of the spine and withers, and this may still require additional padding to get decent clearance and weight distribution meaning you may wind up feeling perched.

3) If your pony is a roly poly type, you'll find most treeless saddles will fit well, but your hips will get a workout and you'll need to be balanced, as if a treeless saddle is going to move, it's these types that it moves on.

I personally love treeless and have owned a treeless saddle of one type or another for over 11 years now. I started with a Fitform, upgraded to a Freeform, got a Diddi Pad for its conventional looks (but couldn't get it to sit right on my pony so sold it), got another Freeform (they're definitely my favourites but sadly don't come in a size to suit me and my current pony), tried a Heather Moffett SBS (the original treeless saddles that she made which are no longer in production), tried a Heather Moffett FlexEE (and loved it but didn't buy one because of the distribution problems at the time - now resolved so likely to be my next saddle), and bought the Libra last year.

A friend of mine has a Heather Moffett Vogue and that's gorgeous too. I also like the look of the new Solution saddles and am lusting over a Sensation saddle (with a purple seat...)

www.bettersaddles.co.uk is a good place to start your investigations and the lady that runs that site will come out to your yard (if you're not a million miles away) with a variety of treeless saddles for you to try if you find something that you like.

Good luck! :)
 
I have a variety of treeless saddles! They have come a long way over the years. I started off with an original torsion which i still have. The most important thing with the torsion style is the pad. This can cost over £100 but you must have a decent pad. Also they are not suitable for a heavy rider. You need to have caged stirrups as the stirrup bar is closed so will not release. I now have a solution saddle which I love. It is much more like riding in a conventional saddle and I have to say I feel a lot more secure in it. I also have a sensation hybrid which came from Canada. I love that one too! Whatever you do - don't buy a cheap one off eBay.
 
I tried - Copperbeech, Easytrek (:eek:), Torsion , Trekker and Robinsons Roamer before I found my Barefoot Cheyenne, and we haven't looked back.

he moves so much better in a treeless, and as he changes shape a LOT (he is a cob after all ;)) it was the best solution for us.
 
I have a Solution Freestyle which seems to suit both of my horses really well. The other bonus I have found is that it is vey good for my bad back and I never get stiff riding in it even if I haven't ridden for some time. Yes they are expensive - but I now only need 1 saddle for both horses.
 
I have a solution dressage - like Pascal, I have the same experiences re. my own bad back. I wouldn't feel happy about riding in anything else now, for me or my horse.
I think the question is difficult, though. There are vast differences between makes of treeless saddles,some are horrible and some are sublime
 
I have a Torsion treeless saddle for my Highland, which is lovely and comfy and the pony moves well in it. It does look a bit big and clumpy but it so comfy that it is forgiven :) I had a wee try of a Barefoot Cheyenne on my pony but neither of us liked it, so I definitely think you would be sensible to try a few out if you can.
 
I've only tried the Libra Trek but didn't get on with it at all! I do have slightly dodgy hips and just found it so uncomfortable, and it slipped forward terribly on my pony. Saying that, lots of people love them. Horses for courses I suppose.
 
I had a Libra trec and liked it, only sold it as I bought a treed saddle (had been saving up). It's suitable for wide, table backed horses but needs to be girthed up tight and even then I would do minimal canter in it and wouldn't hack as question the stability of it!
Very comfortable though and physio checked my horses back after, absolutely fine and had been using a few months.
 
I had a Libra Hackabout recently, bought second hand. It was surprisingly comfy and pony liked it, too. My bum was too big for it though so I sold it on. No slippage with mine, either, even without stirrups.
 
That's for a mare with high withers/thoroughbred build:
- I have used a Startrekk dressage but white hairs came under the stirrups when we started doing hacks of 2 hours,
- have had a specialist saddle fitter out to try the Heather Moffett Vogue but mare bucked at canter during the test ride and was bracing herself (I think that's because saddle was sitting too low at the back).

A traditional well fitted treed saddle is what works best for us, I think that's because of her build and I am 11 stones so probably a bit too much for treeless with stirrups.
 
Been very interested in tree vs treeless for a while for my cob, I've never used a treeless is the position more 'bareback' position giving the longer leg and slightly more back?
 
I've got an old, slightly dog-eared Torsion that has been my faithful always fitting saddle for the last eight years. Had a HM Fhoenix but wouldn't have another after it categorically did NOT fit the pony despite modifications, pads etc. Have also had a barefoot cheyenne - v similar to Torsion but the size 0 that I had wasn't as stable laterally. Would love a Solution if I ever had the ££, and have tried a Freeform. The SB in the freeform wasn't short enough for the pony's back so we didn't get one but I liked it otherwise.
 
Regarding them slipping... you do have to have a well balanced seat or else it WILL without a shadow of a doubt, slip. If you collapse a hip, put too much weight in one stirrup, have a twist etc - all very unforgiving in a treeless despite how tight your girth is. Sort out your twists, we all have them, and you will be fine.

Suggest lunging bareback with no stirrups at sitting trot until you can stay on without holding anything!!! :D:D:D:D

(yes, I had a very unkind teacher... :D just kidding)
 
kaiserchief said:
www.bettersaddles.co.uk is a good place to start your investigations and the lady that runs that site will come out to your yard (if you're not a million miles away) with a variety of treeless saddles for you to try if you find something that you like.

Good luck! :)
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:) Not quite, but 3,500 and on another continent is probably the same.;)

Thank you everyone. It is just something I am considering, I have never used one, and some seem really cumbersome and not at all attractive to my eye.

This is for a 14h very petite mare. I do have a saddle for her but it is a show saddle and I don't really want to trash it for everyday use.

We do not tootle ;), Ella does not do tootling even in a walk ;) mainly corto or largo - so no posting, she is not permitted to trot or canter under saddle out on everyday exercise, we mainly do trail but also gaming and extreme racing, so I need a saddle that is going to stay put on, not move around at speed or when mounting.

Does the weight of the rider have much bearing? (I am only 125lbs on a good day - what's that in English can't recall)
 
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Most treeless saddles have weight limits and you are well under them!

I have a collection of treeless saddles mainly Freeform and heather moffatt. I prefer the English look. There are treeless western saddles too
 
Horrible, amorphous, blob-things! Hate every one I've tried, and most have either made the horse uncomfortable or been so imprecise that the horse can't "hear" me when I'm asking them things with seat. And you're about 9 stone, BTW.
 
As an aside, I do wonder about those that are predominantly foam based. Riding hats, and body protectors, motorbike helmets etc are all foam based, and you are advised to replace them after a certain time frame as the foam inside degrades, leading to it becoming less effective at absorbing shock. Surely, the same applies to a saddle? I know for a fact that the foam type treeless pads (for Torsion, Cheyenne etc) DO degrade over time, as I have had to replace a couple over the years.
 
CarolineJ said:
If I could afford a Heather Moffett Vogue I'd have one in a heartbeat, I found it amazingly comfortable and very easy to sit correctly in. About to put an order in for a FlexEE instead, but I haven't tried one.
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I haven't tried one, but I have sat in one (flexEE) and plan to order one later this year for jumping in, they are lovely, I think you'll like it! :)

mystiandsunny said:
As an aside, I do wonder about those that are predominantly foam based. Riding hats, and body protectors, motorbike helmets etc are all foam based, and you are advised to replace them after a certain time frame as the foam inside degrades, leading to it becoming less effective at absorbing shock. Surely, the same applies to a saddle? I know for a fact that the foam type treeless pads (for Torsion, Cheyenne etc) DO degrade over time, as I have had to replace a couple over the years.
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One good thing about the HM vogues - you can take out/replace the panels :)
 
tallyho! said:
Regarding them slipping... you do have to have a well balanced seat or else it WILL without a shadow of a doubt, slip. If you collapse a hip, put too much weight in one stirrup, have a twist etc - all very unforgiving in a treeless despite how tight your girth is. Sort out your twists, we all have them, and you will be fine.
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But if you're well balanced with a decent saddle, you don't have to winch the girth up at all :) They're suprisingly stable, moreso than my old treed saddle.

I love my Solution saddle. Comfy, secure, traditional looking, we can hack, school, jump, hooney round in it without an issue, I've even been known to mount a roly cob from the ground out hacking when need be.

If you're going to go treeless, avoid cheap makes and trial before you buy. Good ones are expensive, but well worth it :)
 
I've ridden in a Heather Moffat dressage saddle several times and it's the most uncomfortable saddle I've ever ridden in. The widest part is quite high up your thighs making your hips stretch unnaturally and is extremely painful. It made the horse feel twice as wide as she actually is.
 
LynH said:
I've ridden in a Heather Moffat dressage saddle several times and it's the most uncomfortable saddle I've ever ridden in. The widest part is quite high up your thighs making your hips stretch unnaturally and is extremely painful. It made the horse feel twice as wide as she actually is.
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Would be interested to hear which model? :) I have a narrow pelvis (said the biomechanics doctor!) and I don't have a problem with mine at all even with that.
 
I did a post on them a while ago with pictures and my views on them, although to be honest after reading it you may end up even more baffled! :)
 
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