treeless saddles

Ted's mum

Ted's mum

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whats your opinions/experience of them, thinking of buying one for new horse - I hack, do a little jumping and just generally have fun! x
 
Don't do it! I bought a fairly expensive one and it was shocking. Gave my poor horse a bad back. Would always go for a treed saddle now.
 
I have a barefoot cheyenne saddle and used it for years on my tb and then on my cob - fantastic saddles and never had a problem with bad backs. Very comfy to ride in and feel very secure (my TB could spin at the speed of light).
 
I've used (and seen them used on other horses) an older trekker, freeform, fit form, barefoots, torsions and a few other "non branded" ones.

There like marmite IMHO, you either love em or hate em.

I now have a newer version trekker pro endurance and love it, it's gulleted, completely adjustable to practically any horse and looks like a treed saddle at first glance.

PRO

A lot of horses love them, especially big shouldered horses that find that the points of a treed saddle restrict their movement.
They adjust as a horse grows/changes shape with the seasons
I have a damaged back and can ride for hours in one but am sore and sitting crooked in a treed saddle within 30 minutes.
They really show you up if you're not sitting evenly as they will move.
CONS
The older ones are ugly :o
Also they have to be used with special pads or they will damage the horses back
Again the older non gulleted ones, are not IME suitable for novices who bounce,anyone over about 10.5 stone (sorry) high withered or sway backed horses.
Some of the cheaper, non branded ones are very badly made but then again, that applies to treed saddles too!
Some horses just hate them :)

Just my experience!
 
Show Girl said:
Ditto absolute diva
Do not go down this route, have seen the damage they do to backs, have never had one myself nor would I want to.
Click to expand...

In fairness, how many horses have damaged backs from unsuitable treeded saddles???

No one solution to every problem IMHO
 
I think you really need to try one for yourself and see because not every saddle suits every horse and rider.

I have a Solutions one and it has radically changed my horse who used to have bad back problems with treed saddles. I hack and do dressage in it and find it very comfy for my own back. On the other hand, my other horse did not like the treeless and is in a treed saddle. Can't please everyone! :)
 
Treeless saddles are very good if fitted correctly of course there are good and bad brands i use a heather moffatt one at minute i hunt, jump and do flat work in it and its brill. My connie x is very sharp and we manage just fine. My friend is a advisor for solution saddles (was ansur) and she does the same in hers rides youngsters in it the lot. The trouble is alot of people do not realise what a treed saddle actually does to the horses back try strapping a piece of wood tightly to ur back than carrying someone of an average weight on you and see how it feels i love it when i hear someone say there saddle does'nt fit so they buy a nice thick numnah to go underneath because of course when our shoes are too tight we just add another pair of socks ha,ha...treeless saddles will oftern at first make a problem look worse as the horse is able to move freeley and in the first instance may stuggle to do this they may need to be introduced with the help of a good chiropractor. Im not saying they are for everyone and im not slating treed saddles as some people just cant get to grips with them, it encourages the rider to rely on there core stability and balance which alot of people will struggle with at first. If you want anymore info feel free to PM me as i don't want to get into a debate regarding the saddles but am happy to help :-)
 
I think a lot depends on the horse. I've ridden in two treeless saddle on two wide backed horses (one was a shire).

They were both very comfortable to ride in, especially at a canter, but jumping was another matter as I found that there just seemed to be a lot of bits in the way and something rubbed both my legs badly, as I was riding in walking boots (don't you just love it when people offer to let you ride their horse as a surprise).

If you are going to jump, make sure the designs you look at don't have too much clutter to get in the way.
 
I have a Solution treeless and love it. My cob is very broad with large shoulders and I was never happy with the fit of treed saddles on her. The solution ones look much the same as normal saddles. (heres me XC schooling i mine http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=389482 ) As said before I think they are a bit like marmite and not suited to every horse and rider but you never know until you try. I personally don't like the less traditional looking ones.

The Society of Master Saddlers published some research and came to the conclusion that a corectly fitting treed saddle is better for the horse than a treeless saddle. But I haven't been able to find the data to support this conclusion and I think the weakness lies in the word "correctly" fitting. There are so many badly fitting treed saddles out there and as we know this can cause a huge amount of problems for the horse and rider. In my experience treeless saddles are a lot easier to fit correctly.
 
I have a Freeform and Libra Trec and i love them both, and so have the 3 horses i`ve used them on.

I`ve also ridden in both the Heather Moffett Pheonix and the Vogue, and a Barefoot Drytex. I`m saving up at the minute to buy a Treeker Pro Endurance.

My mare could be sharp on occasions and she never unseated me in the Libra or the Freeform :)

ANY saddle, wether tree`d or treeless can cause trouble if not fitted correctly or suitable for the horse/ridder combination.

I`d say try a friends or get a proper "trial" and see how you go before buying one :)
 
cbmcts said:
In fairness, how many horses have damaged backs from unsuitable treeded saddles???

No one solution to every problem IMHO
Click to expand...

Absolutely but the problem with treeless saddles is that you generally fit them yourself rather than getting a saddler out to do it for you.

I have a qualified saddler to check my saddle at least every six months and get it reflocked or part exchanged as necessary. How many people are there out there who are really capable of checking your treeless for you?

My treeless saddle might have been fine on another horse but the problem was that it didn't fit Daisy properly.
 
I absolutely agree that it is just as important to get a treeless saddle properly fitted as it is a treed saddle. My friend is a technical advisor for Solution Saddles so she let me try my horse in her saddle and we worked out exactly what I needed to BUY. I managed to find one second hand and when I rode in it for the first time thought I had made a huge mistake. It felt completely unbalanced and horrible.

She came back to have a look and it is now great. All I needed was a prolite type pad underneath and a change in the position of the shoulder columns and thigh blocks (they are velcroed into place so you can move them around depending on what you are doing).

I would never buy any saddle without getting it professionally checked and fitted. Soloution Saddles offer a really good support network of qualified fitters and advisors whether you are buying direct from them or second hand.
 
absolute diva said:
Absolutely but the problem with treeless saddles is that you generally fit them yourself rather than getting a saddler out to do it for you.

I have a qualified saddler to check my saddle at least every six months and get it reflocked or part exchanged as necessary. How many people are there out there who are really capable of checking your treeless for you?

My treeless saddle might have been fine on another horse but the problem was that it didn't fit Daisy properly.
Click to expand...

Treeless saddles need almost as much fitting as treed saddles. I say 'almost' because the stuffing in my treeless forms itself to the horse so it can adjust better to smaller changes, but you still need someone experienced to explain how to use the shims and saddle pads and check them every so often for you.
 
I have tried treeless and treed with my pony. he just doesnt get on with treeless ones although I love the theory behind them myself. I tried a treeless dressage one two days ago and he was fine in walk and trot, refused to canter and got very angyr about it. He was fine when I plonked his treed saddle back on!

Mine is a pain to fit being a wide welsh cob type with big shoulders, a decent wither, a dip (hes 20) and a very short back. I cope by having a master saddle fitter come out and adjust the flocking every 4 months or so. At £30 a go its cheaper than what I have lost in the past in buying and selling both treed and treeless saddles that after a short time ceased to fit.

Which ever route you follow I have found it is much cheaper to choose something where the vendor either loans a trial saddle or allows returns so if it doesnt work you get most of your money back. I did this with the treeless dressage saddle which cost me £15 handleing fee on return and £12postage to return it. If I had bought and coulnt return it I would have lost far far more.
 
Thats funny Hackedoff because mine is a Welsh Cob and sounds like she is a very similar shape to yours. My main problem was that I felt a treed saddle was restricting her large shoulder. She has always had a pretty rubbish canter, but since having a treeless saddle it has really improved and I feel like it has freed up her movement.

I agree that the theory of treeless saddles makes complete sense in my head.
 
HI Aniseed

They are all different arnt they (though most welsh do tend to be right characters!).

I have tried the following treeless:

Bob marshall
Barefoot arizona
trekker
Libra
Heather Moffat
Easytrek

Treed
free and easy
albion selecta
Isabell werth
farrington
Solohitte
wintect

treeless wise

So far anything with a dressage girth or western cinch provokes reisistance with mine, as
does anything with hoopy bits over the withers. he also gets dips under th seat area.

Treed wise
He will extend with a WH or dressage cut saddle but not in a gp. he hates wintecs and gets lumps undr the tree points.

the silouhhette is working fine with consistent reflocking as his back changes.
 
Ah no Solution on the treeless list! You can choose whether you have standard or dressage girth straps. If he changes shape regularly you have a balance pad under the saddle and can insert smaller pads in underdeveloped areas and then remove them when the muscle builds up.

Im not an agent for Solution, promise, I just really love my saddle!

Where are you based? I would be more than happy for you to try mine if you are close to me and were interested.
 
I am in south wales...I have been looking on ebay and seen a few rather in expensive so just wondering whether to just buy one! x
 
Most people will say treeless cause nerve damage and to run a mile.

My horses and I don't care. We have been using treeless saddles for the last nine years with no problems.

I am over 10 stone too.

I have never had a problem fitting them myself. Just plonk em on and off I go.

I have quite a collection from eBay. Just bought a Libra for £62 - didn't need it but at that price, why not......
 
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