Treeless saddles.

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SonnysHumanSlave

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I have always wanted to get a treeless saddle, however my friend bought one and said it was no good on her horse and advised against it.

Now my horse keeps raising his back and has bucked me off a couple of times, hes out of shape and i'm losing my mind.... and confidence.

Another friend of mine has a horse thats retired and her horse has a treeless saddle she has said I can try on Teddi. What do you think??

Im simply fed up of Teddis changing shape.... would this solve my problem?

Thanks.
 
Some are good, some are bad. The cheap ones are badly made and no good. The common 'treeless style' ones (i.e barefoot/torsions) ones are basically just bareback pads and give very little weight distirbution. But the more expensive ones and the ones with a more ridged and supportive design are great and can work really well on many horses.

They feel different to a tree'd saddle but you quickly get used to it and don't notice anymore.

They are better suited to wide flat cob type backs, though the top-of-the-range ones are suitable for high withers.

Not all makes suit all backs - you may need to try a few. And a badly fitted/suited one can hurt the horse just like a tree'd saddle can. HOWEVER it's less likely to happen and usually less severe - they're harded to get 'wrong' than a tree'd saddle.

Try and get ahold of a couple of types before you buy (many places do trials). Research them!!! And don't buy cheap crap off ebay.

I have a Freeform and love it, as does the horses - stiff but mouldable base protects the horse and spreads weight, and i find it very comfortable and stable. Friends has a Heather Moffett: traditional looking but needs the right panel types to get it to 'fit' and expensive. I'd have a Solution if I could afford it.
 
I bought a treeless saddle a while back for a very round fat pony which I had on a diet, I didn't want to buy treed one to only have to buy another months later.

It did the job well, but it was a cheap one off ebay. After close inspection I chose to use it becasue it was only for short term and could feel and see nothing that would have hurt her, and it didn't in anyway - if anything it would have hurt me, like the leathers breaking!!
Mine is foam filled, I think if anyone was to buy cheap this is much better option than those that have had stuffing put in them as I believe they can have sharp bits, they literally sweep the crap off the floor and fill the saddles with it !
I wouldn't have a cheap one long term though, and I agree with the above that the freeform is great.
I have treed saddles on all mine, but if they suddenly changed shape or gained/lost weight, I'd be far better with my cheap treeless than an ill fitting treed saddle on their backs so keep it as a just in case saddle.

I loved the feel of treeless, and you very quickly adjust to riding in them x
 
I have had numerous friends who have had cheap ones and when you compare them to the proper brand ones you can feel and see the faults. One thing i have found is a poor padding underneath the saddle and cantle which can be felt quite prominantly underneath.

Another thing you have to remember is that you must use the correct pad which is £75 in itself.

I love mine on rounded horses but I just do not feel safe on the narrower horses.
 
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Comfy saddle :D Cannot recommend them more Highly Barefoot Cheyenne
 
My friend has a Dream Team one on her cob after she couldn't get a treed saddle that fit her properly, she loves it. It's a really comfy saddle, the horse is much happier in it and my friend feels a lot more secure :)

Think it's this one.
 
Treeless saddles are a bit like Marmite, you either love them or hate them, so it's a very good idea to try before you buy. They come in many different models and sometimes what you pay for is what you get. Some of the expensive ones are extremely expensive (e.g. Solutions) but you can rent them by the week to figure out if they are the right thing for you. Although they are easier to fit, they still need to be fitted to your horse and you need to learn to fit them, so I wouldn't advise doing this yourself first time. I have a Solutions for a high withered horse and have no problems with it, although my other horse does not like it at all.

However, if your horse is bucking when ridden there is a good chance he is in pain, so before you do any of this it would be wise to have the vet out to figure out what is happening. He may have soft tissue damage and might benefit from time off/physio care, or there may be something else going on there. Either way, unless you eliminate the possibility of an active problem causing pain, any saddle may make things worse.

Best of luck!
 
Hi thanks for your answers.

I think this is really going to be the way to go with Teddi, as hes a cob hes always changing shape. I dont mind the look of them, havent ever ridden in one, so I imagine its going to be very bizarre.

Are they ok to Jump in?

The one im borrowing im told has a special pad you have to use, so I imagine its a good make, have asked her though.

Just glad its coming up to xmas, and I can sell my current saddle to put rest of money towards one! lol! Looks like i'll be getting that for xmas.

Those dream saddles are not too bad a price brand new either.

They look really comfy too!! :)
 
My friend's Dream one has a special pad, so it might be one of those. Hers is fine to jump in, and is very VERY comfy (I've ridden in it :) ). They also look a bit more "traditional" than a lot of other treeless saddles.
 
TBH I found jumping very difficult in my treeless. Also I stupidly sold my beloved Randol's Treeless which I'd happily used for 4 years on my flat backed cob when I decided to 'treat' him to a new Barefoot Cheyenne. The Barefoot was a great saddle but way too long for him and it caused no end of rubblng problems!! After alot of expensive pads and messing around I've ended up going back to a Thorowgood T4 Cob which I can change the gullet and width on easily and also safely jump. The 4 years I used the Randol's for I was very happy and my horse worked fabulously in it but treeless isn't a 'one fits all' solution so you may find you have to try out a few before you buy. :rolleyes:

If I had my Randol's back I'd still use it for hacking but until I can afford a top of the range treeless which will allow me to do XC and jumping safely I'll stick to the Thorowgood.

Edited to add...not being rude but the Dream have a weight limit so check that out first.
 
Another thumbs up for the dream team - with a good pad it fits all but very high withered, and is really comfy. The pommel is quite high so you'd need to take that into consideration for jumping.
 
I have a barefoot cheyenne too - I haven't used it for a while as new neddy came with saddle, but have recently started using it again and it is SO comfy, I had forgotten how nice it was to ride in!
 
Another vote for the Barefoot Cheyenne, I have ridden a TB, and ISH, a quarter horse, a traditional cob and Welsh D in my saddle and they have all gone nicely in the saddle and I find it so comfy and secure.
I have the grandeur Physio pad which you can shim if you need to and it has a non slip coating both sides.
I LOVE my saddle and wouldn't change it for anything! :D
 
Another vote for the Barefoot Cheyenne here! :) Have had mine about 4 years now. It's been great for my larger lady, very comfy for hacking. Have jumped in it too, only small stuff though.

Thinking I'll use it to back my youngster too before I get him fitted for a "proper" saddle.

My only moan is the price of the saddle pads, why are they so expensive? Even the requisite one is 40 odd quid.
 
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