I just found them on the internet. VERY affordable compared to Ansur. They appear to be German made.
I am so frustrated in trying to get a saddle to fit my horse and treeless looks better and better.
Just wondering if anyone here has ridden in one- I haven’t heard the name before.
Hi Halt!
I just went treeless with Daatje! Actually…I went back to treeless with Daatje. 
I found a nice used Ansur Chic for $1000.00. It has the deluxe support system and shoulder shims, which make all the difference in the world for me, and with a neoprene pad cut for wither and spinal clearance, it’s perfection for her.
I contemplated the Barefoot myself, because it’s less expensive that the other options, but ended up going with the Ansur because I knew what it was like to ride in one.
There are some reviews of the Barefoot on www.horsetackreview.com that may be helpful to you.
I would say, if you can, find one to try before you buy…I know that’s not always possible…
Another thing to consider is resale value. If you can find a used Ansur for around $1000, you’ll not have any trouble selling it down the line, should you need to.
If you want to try an Ansur, you’re welcome to come ride Daatje in mine anytime.
Good luck with your saddle search!!!
Oh, you may want to ask the endurance folks about the Barefoot too…probably more of them going treeless than the dressage folks.
I was not impressed with a Barefoot London I sat in about a year ago. Cheaply made. NO comparison to the Ansur.
I have a friend who has one. She loves it. It was the only thing that would fit her barrel-barrelled Gypsy cob stallion. :yes:
Hi
You can get on COTH from work I presume? :lol:
I noticed that you had gotten an Ansur for Daatje. I have never ridden in a treeless and you are the only person I know who has one!
I think at this point is makes sense to try treeless. General is not going to be the horse I need long term, so another one is in the works And I would prefer a saddle to fit both horses, hence a treeless.
General is so not like any other horse I have ridden- his withers are basically non-existant!
I may have to take you up on your offer to ride your horse, um, I mean try your saddle:winkgrin: If you promise to be kind as I haven’t had much “real” riding in too long!
I have heard a lot of great things about the Ansur saddles and figured I would throw this one out there to get some feedback.
The thing is, it’s like next to impossible to find used Ansurs!
[QUOTE=ESG;3276212]
I have a friend who has one. She loves it. It was the only thing that would fit her barrel-barrelled Gypsy cob stallion. :yes:[/QUOTE]
From the reviews I have read, people love it or hate it, but there seems to be more positives. I am sure if I sat in an Ansur and sat in a Barefoot I would notice a huge difference.
My horse is barrel shaped, with almost no withers and wide shoulders. I have not found a treed saddle that fits him well yet. I have a saddle for him now but every time I put it on it seems to look worse…
I recently went thru the conversion to treeless. It all started when I rode in a REALLY used Barefoot an endurance friend loaned me. Really comfortable, really ugly, Horse was really happy. Ended up purchasing a new Freeform. REALLY happy horse (we now pick up both canter leads), REALLY happy rider. Do the test rides, it is worth it to find the best saddle for the horse.
As an aside, I had alot of knee and back pain associated with riding, to the point I was thinking of ditching my TB and going gaited or just quitting altogether. 90% of the back pain and all of the knee pain is gone since I’ve gone treeless.
The London gets very good reviews from Heather Moffett who has her own line of treeless which is AMAZING, but $$$$. (in GB Pounds no less.)
I haven’t tried one. A student has one. It’s a bit big and clumsy looking, but she rides nicely in it and her horse LOVES it.
Myself, I want to try a Sensation and a Freeform. The Fhoenix became just too wide for my degenerating hip to bear. I was in excruciating pain and thought I was going to have to give up riding. My horse, meanwhile, was blissfully happy. We’ve come to a compromise, but I miss the freedom of a treeless for training horses.
I have ridden in Ansurs and sat in a London…the Fhoenix from Heather Moffitt beats both hands down. They are expensive…I cherish mine!..Thank God I bought it a couple of years ago before the exchange rate got even worse.
I did not get to try out the London but I did not find it uncomfortable. It was an easier saddle to sit in than an Ansur Classic…more of a twist. I could not believe how much more support Fhoenix gives though from the Ansur Carlton I had (and sold.) I don’t think the London will support as much as the Fhoenix either.
For a treeless though I think if I had to choose between the Ansur Classic and the Barefoot London, I’d go with the London. The Carlton is better than the Classic for sure to help you sit properly but I did really like that London. I’d love to try one out thoroughly as they are priced very reasonably.
Jaime…I think the new saddle Heather designed is a bit more narrow in the twist than the older models like ours.
[QUOTE=Halt At X;3276214]
Hi
You can get on COTH from work I presume? :lol:
I noticed that you had gotten an Ansur for Daatje. I have never ridden in a treeless and you are the only person I know who has one!
I think at this point is makes sense to try treeless. General is not going to be the horse I need long term, so another one is in the works And I would prefer a saddle to fit both horses, hence a treeless.
General is so not like any other horse I have ridden- his withers are basically non-existant!
I may have to take you up on your offer to ride your horse, um, I mean try your saddle:winkgrin: If you promise to be kind as I haven’t had much “real” riding in too long!
I have heard a lot of great things about the Ansur saddles and figured I would throw this one out there to get some feedback.
The thing is, it’s like next to impossible to find used Ansurs![/QUOTE]
Yesss…the IT powers that be haven’t found COTH yet. 
I was totally bummed when they blocked Equichat!
You are more than welcome to ride Daatje in my Anusr Chic anytime, just let me know and we can set something up! I’ll be super kind…Daatje on the other hand… :winkgrin: (just kidding…she’s great. Just has a little bit of a spook in her…nothing big…or dangerous. :))
The Fhoenix saddles are phenominal, and I’d have one if they didn’t cost 4 grand! :eek: I looked for about 6 months for a used Ansur before I found the right one, in the right size, for the right price…on ebay.
With the Ansur, the model and options make all the difference in how they ride and how supportive they are. I used to have a Classic, no shoulder shims, no support system. On top of that, it was two sizes to big for me… Talk about feeling like you’re riding in a bareback pad! And all this was on a 4 year old, green as grass Friesian…
…so I sold that and spent 3 years bouncing between saddles trying to find the right one, until about 6 months ago when I decided to go back to treeless…but with the right saddle for me this time.
Personally, I feel the best Ansur is the Chic, with the suede seat and knee rolls, with the deluxe support system and shoulder shims for rider support. I feel more supported in this saddle than I did in my Kieffer Mosel!
Anyway, just let me know if you want to try it, and Daatje and I would be happy to oblige. 
Thanks Daatje
Maybe once the 100 degree weather has passed
I live the Ansur you have- when you are riding it looks like a reguler treed saddle. The barefoot kinda look a bit western-ish to me.
I do plan to try out a few different kinds and I am still toying with the idea of a Duett as well…
Argh. I have never had a horse so difficult to fit a saddle to before!
I have one and love it. Definitely not a cheap saddle in spite of the cheap price tag. I have gotten lots of compliments of the looks as well as it doesn’t really look like your typical treeless.
I have a Barefoot London. I like it OK, it’s not the best, but it works. It’s really nice for trails and OK for schooling. I’ve been using mine during lessons and I would probably prefer a treed saddle for schooling. I dodn’t like it for horses with low withers or round bodies, but for horses with more pronounced withers it is much more stable and comfortable.
It has helped with my back pain when riding though.
I ride (and sell) the Barefoot treeless and they are NOT cheaply made, but are inexpensive. The leather is soft and supple and your horse will THANK YOU.
I have tried every treeless saddle I could get test rides on and owned an Ansur saddle for 6 months.
I found the treeless saddles just didn’t have enough support for working the extended trot- really felt like I would be left sitting on the ground while my horse went on and did the test. My horse did like the Ansur very well though, and I really liked it for trail riding.
I hated the fact that I had to have a breast collar to ride in it. But without the collar if I had to get off there was no getting back on- the dang thing just slid and my horse was too tall for me to just jump on. I had a tall mounting block and that worked but the thing would still slide sideways in spooks also.
I didn’t like any of the other treeless saddles. So I compromised and bought a Barnsby saddle. Barnsby saddles have shortened points that are angled backwards so that they do not interfere with the shoulders or the big shoulder muscles that wide backed horses get. It also fit several narrower horses and they all moved better in it. Another thing is the billeting system. They will not bind the shoulder when the saddle is girthed up. my tb/paint cross quit bucking me off when I went to the barnsby.
I currently have a duett, I like it, it’s a fidelio. Complaints though it’s not adjustable and my horse outgrew it in 5 months. I’ve ordered a NGage saddle from Barnsby for my mare. It’s also not as well made as other saddles, german and english made that I have had. It is lower priced, but the importer is a fairly nutty person to deal with. Refused to ship a saddle I paid for when I won an ebay auction. sigh. I’ll be selling my Duett as soon as I get the new one and never again.
Rachel
Just make sure you ride in one before you buy. There are only two sizes and you need to makes sure that they work for you.
Personally, I prefer the Freeform. I like the fact that the seats are modular, so you can swap out different sizes, and that the stirrup attachments can be positioned to accommodate your own conformation.
I bought mine used for about $700 and paid an extra $100 for a different size seat. I use it on two different horses and it has worked fine on both of them, even though they have very different backs.
I HATED mine!
Bought one for a round hard to fit horse. The saddle would slide to the right on him, no matter how tight I girthed it up. I felt like I was literally sitting on a 55 gallon drum, no twist at all, wayyyyy too wide for me, it bothered my back. My horse, who has always been one of the most comfortable horses to ride, whose trot I could sit all day, suddenly felt like a jackhammer. I sold the thing at a loss…YUCK!
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