TREELESS SADDLES!!!!!!

landyandy

landyandy

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hi, just wondering if anyone as one, and what are your thoughts on them, as thinking of getting one for my cob. he as a wintec 500 at moment, but been having trouble with his back, and a friend suggested these to me. thanks
 
I have a Barefoot Cheyenne - I love it - used it on my high withered TB and now use it on my irish cob - take a bit of getting used to, especially rising trot, but they are so comfy and make sitting huge spooks so much easier!
 
i would not touch them with a barge pole
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Did anyone have a felt saddle for an overly fat shetland when they were younger. I did £5 from a second hand place. Well that is my oppinion of treeless saddles! I find them particulally uncomfortable. When my horse was uncomfortable in my GP saddle I was told to try a side saddle which apparently has a tree that instead of sitting on the horses back fitting the shape like normal tree saddles, sits 'above' the back, same aparently with western saddles which is why they can be more or less changed from one animal to the next without much alteration. Anyway worked and is the complete opersite of a treeless saddle
In conclusion I think its finding the right one for you and your horse.
 
That's a common misconception about western saddles. They need to fit properly, just like any other saddle.
If you have enough money to buy a new and properly fitted treeless saddle then I suggest you hire and try before you buy. That Fhoenix is a bargain at £750 btw... but the skill in having it fit properly is in making sure that, if your horse needs it, it is fitted with the correct pads.
 
They are like anything....... there are good and bad ones, and they need to be properly fitted to your horse. They are also not a cheap option imo as the good ones are comparable in price to a good treed saddle.

I'd recomend the heather moffett saddles and the Solution saddles. Kay Humpheries also does fab semi treed saddles
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That's a common misconception about western saddles. They need to fit properly, just like any other saddle.

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As I said 'apparently'. Never had a western saddle so wouldnt know only know about side-saddles. And it was the type of saddle not it fitting properly I was talking about, obviously it has to fit.
 
I have a Torsion and it is a brilliant saddle, no way would I change it. Treeless are not guaranteed to fit every horse, and not every horse or rider likes them. Whatever you do, don't go buying a cheap one, they are just that - cheap - and usually nasty.
 
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Did anyone have a felt saddle for an overly fat shetland when they were younger. I did £5 from a second hand place. Well that is my oppinion of treeless saddles!

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Not a lot to base your opinion on then really.

OP please don't go and buy one of the cheapie treeless saddles off ebay, a lot of them are complete death traps (I have seen them stripped down and they would give you heart failure if you hadn't already fallen off when they fell apart)
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The Heather Moffatt and Solution saddles are expensive, but are well worth the money. They will fit any and every horse, but you do need to understand how to use the balance pads with them for optimum fit for horse and rider. £750 for the HM is good value, and you can get Solution saddles on ebay for a similar amount. If you do get one, I would recommend getting your local agent out to show you how to fit it.

If you have specific questions about treeless, feel free to pm me, as I ride all my horses in Solution saddles and wouldn't put a treed (or indeed half treed) saddle on any of my horses ever again
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most horses seem to prefer them (I'm thinking of the Heather Moffat ones) and move much easier and with more freedom. And I know that if they are correctly fitted they can be good for backs. But I've heard that not all horses like the close contact between horse and rider and so occasionally it won't work out (like any saddle, though, you should be able to see this during the fitting).

No idea what you do with your naglet, but the treeless saddles are great for dressage and you can now get GP ones, but I'm not sure how happy I would be jumping in one (although I'm not happy jumping anyway, so not really an issue for me
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Why not contact a fitter and get someone to come out?
 
Don't buy one off ebay, I bought one that wasn't that cheap and one of the stirrup bars snapped off after just over a month. Took me ages to get a partial refund and alot of hassle. I have a normal Barnsby saddle now for my flat backed cob and I love it.
 
To agree with Rowreach, def the total saddle solution saddles. I have one for my boy and would never put a treed saddle on my horse ever again, knowing what damage they can do. Solution are expensive but worth it.
Please do not buy a cheap treeless, they can do a lot of damage.
 
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Did anyone have a felt saddle for an overly fat shetland when they were younger. I did £5 from a second hand place. Well that is my oppinion of treeless saddles!
Quote:
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Not a lot to base your opinion on then really.

I'm sorry I will clarify for you. I have excercised two horses who both had treeless saddles. And having had the oppertunity to see these horses working in both conventional saddles and treeless I saw no improvement in there movement nor performance even over a period of three months. I personally felt the saddles unbalanced me and I found them uncomfortable and did not have the rigidity I had become accustomed too. This is what lead me to draw the comparrison between that and a felt pad as that similarly offers me personally very little support or comfort. As you will see by my closing comment I did say that they are something that a horse and rider must get on with together.
With this in mind I feel with having had personal experience of the saddles on more than one horse I have enough to base my expressed personal oppinion on.
 
I have a Total Saddle Solutions and I love it. My horse won't go in anything else and it saved him from major back problems. I also find it amazingly comfortable to ride in (it helps my lower back which is usually sore on treed saddles) and it helps with core stability.

Having said that, my younger horse hated it, so I suppose each horse and rider is different!
 
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That's a common misconception about western saddles. They need to fit properly, just like any other saddle.

As I said 'apparently'. Never had a western saddle so wouldnt know only know about side-saddles. And it was the type of saddle not it fitting properly I was talking about, obviously it has to fit.


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Yep, and I was just politely pointing out that was a misconception, you seem a bit touchy about it.
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The western type of saddle isn't really a type of saddle that will fit most horses. They have different width trees, and although people do shove them on lots of different horses (as do some with english treed saddles) that can cause a lot of sore horses. They can also bridge, be too long, etc etc...
I would echo what people are saying about the treeless ones, there are so many different styles, how can anyone condemn all treeless, soft treed or semi-treed saddles based on the experience of just one? That's like saying all treed saddles are rubbish when you've just had a bad experience with a cheap Wintec.
You can hire a lot of the treeless saddles, that really is a good idea, because not all riders like them either.
 
I've ridden in treeless saddles at both ends of the spectrum - 'Trekkers' to Ansurs.

Trekker - I HATED it, and TBH I think it is this type of treeless saddle that gives the whole caboodle a bad name. Shoddy workmanship, pressure points, sh*t pads (with treeless saddles the pads are V. important),,,,

Torsions - OK, nothing special. I've only ridden in the 'original' one though.

Barefoot - Ridden in both the London and the Cheyenne. More stable than the others previously mentioned. Still wouldn't want to jump over about 2'6" in it though.

Ansur - Almost good enough for me to consider using on my own horses. I ride everyday in either a dressage or a jump Ansur. Comfy for both of us, as far as I can tell. Much more like a treed saddle in terms of stability. Still has a tendency to roll over when leaning out to do a gate though
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Don't buy one off ebay, I bought one that wasn't that cheap and one of the stirrup bars snapped off after just over a month.

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Thats not true. Which one did you buy? i always buy my saddles off of ebay. I get the hilason ones for my arabian mares and it fits them perfectly. And I've never have a problem with hilason treeless or any of the other stuff i bought off of ebay [thankfully]
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I like hilasons alot
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