Treeless Saddles

aimeetb

aimeetb

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What does everyone think of treeless saddles??

I have a friend that sells them and she is a devout follower of treeless would never consider using a treed saddle as she says it is unnecessary (as the tree was only designed for a rider not a horse) and causes pressure points even if properly fitted. I have read alot on the webiste for these particular saddles and it seems very convincing but just read a post where someone said something about a heavy rider riding a pony that was too small in a treeless saddle.

I would really like to know what people think as I really can decide what I think! Influence me people!

xx
 
I have purchased a barefoot treeless saddle for my youngster, for next year when I start him. I think they are great for young ones because of there constant changing shape as the mature and muscle.
I would only stick to brands who have a good rep like barefoot, torsion, ansur, heather moffett. You can get some real c**p ones on ebay, espcially from India! Wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. Using the correct pad is very important also. There are always the horror stories, but same could be said for treed saddles if they are not fitted correctly.
I do think they may not be suitable if you are on the heavy side because of the spinal clearance and I am not using mine yet, so my views may change!!
 
Does your friend sell solution saddles by any chance?

At the moment we are using a borrowed solution saddle and think its brilliant. Our horse goes so much better. My daughters instructor who is an ex (non uk) olympic team rider started using them about 10 years ago and now won't use anything else.

My research into this has led me to establish that most horses go better in them, but don't buy a cheap imported one!
 
howaboutthisone said:
Does your friend sell solution saddles by any chance?
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Lol I was going to ask the same thing :)

I only ride in Solution saddles (do a lot of schooling/backing) and they are fabby cos the horses love them and I can fit them to anything, although I do find different types of horses suit different models of Solution saddles. I prefer the Solution to the SMART, although I hear the latest version of the SMART is very good (though it would have to be at the guts of £2.5k:rolleyes:)
 
howaboutthisone said:
Does your friend sell solution saddles by any chance?

Hi, and Hi to Rowreach too,

Yes she sells solution saddles, do you know who I mean?! :)

She is ace and mad (in general) but mostly about the saddles, she has been slowly convincing me for a while now but I think I may have given in! LOL

The website for them is convincing, I just wondered if there was two sides to this even if just opinions! My filly is far too young at the moment but am thinking when she is ready why bother with a saddle that might hurt her if I can start her from the begining in a treeless?

Aimee xx
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Aimee if you do a search on here there have been quite a few threads on this subject, and you are right, there are loads of different opinions :) I love the Solution range, but don't be tempted to go for a cheap brand as some of them are deathtraps, and most of the others aren't suitable for jumping (or allowed for use under FEI rules). If you have a good agent (your friend!) near you then at least you will be able to have good fitting training, and once you have mastered that you can fit your saddle to any horse. Any issues I have encountered with the saddles is where people haven't fitted them properly, so down to user error not a problem with the saddle itself. Have a few rides in your friend's saddle on other horses and see if you like it - some people find it odd to begin with, but they are really comfortable. They do highlight rider faults though, which is imo why some riders don't like them:D
 
I had an Ansur Konklusion (very like the Solutions Jumper I think) and got rid eventually. It was OK on my old cob but didn't suit my high-withered mare at all & needed ridiculous amounts of padding & shimming to get even one finger's worth of wither clearance. My mare became quite savage when I was using it on her even when it was theoretically fitting her OK. I bought the Ansur because I fell for the anti-treed saddle propaganda & I also wanted something to use on my youngster as she changed shape that wouldn't involve buying a new saddle every few months. These days I take the propaganda with a very large pinch of salt because I don't think there is anything wrong with a well-fitting treed saddle. I have bought treed saddles that can be adjusted (a Humphries & Swain and two Saddle Co saddles) & these have worked well as my horse has grown up :) I still have a treeless saddle (a Fitform) because they are very handy bits of kit to have in the tack locker and I'm not anti-treeless, I guess I'm anti-anti-treed :o
 
Thanks Rowreach, I'll have a look at the other threads.

I have ridden in my friends saddles and did find them very strange to start with, there is no structure to hold you in place so really is down to the rider, so quite right it did show up my faults! I quite like that about them though, I think if i can be very good with no structure then I can be good in anything! I have also ridden in one that wasnt properly balanced and OMG it was horrendous I fell off twice! Definately down to user fitting error, not my bad riding! LOL! :/
 
Hi Spinal Tap,

Thanks for the reply, yes I can imagine they could be difficult on high withered horses, mine is an Irish Sport horse so could be quite high as she grows up I think I'll have to wait and see, good point with the anti-anti-treeless, I think there is a place for both treed and treeless just depends what suits your horse and their conformation.

Aimee x
 
I have tried a few treeless saddles on my horse as she's very w-i-d-e!!

I think treeless saddles are like anything else, there's the good and the bad.

I now use a Solition saddle and it is by far the best one we've tried, but they are def an aquired taste.

I wouldn't touch more than half the treeless saddles advertised on ebay.
 
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