Thoughts on a treeless saddle as an option?
Sure. Gaited horses do not need gaited saddles. All of my gaited horses are very different physically, there is no “mold” from God that stamps every gaited horse with the same shoulder, withers, angles and such. You fit the horse not the papers.
If budget is a concern I always like the Fabtron line of saddles. Much better feel to me than either Abetta or Wintec.
My Rocky goes great in a Bob Marshall. In fact, I just received her custom Bob with a peaked front that makes it a bit better shape for her higher withers. Treeless saddles, like treed saddles, fit some and not others. If you go treeless, esp with a gaited horse where you aren’t spending time posting, you must use a proper treeless pad. My girl just finished a super tough mountain 55 mile endurance ride last weekend in the Bob Marshall and go all A’s on her back throughout.
If you go treeless, make sure it is comfortable for you. I can’t stand treeless- short rider on wide horse plus saddle with no twist= painful hips. I’d rather ride bareback. My foxtrotter liked the Bob Marshall. I did not!
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I would suggest that you measure your horse and get an accurate gullet width( western) or tree width in cm for english.
It won’t help on the shape of your horses back and a saddle you try but at least it will be the correct width ( or close) .
My horse was way wider than I would ever have imagined and it helped me find a good fit fairly quickly.
I bought the saddle fitting curve at www.marystack.com and now I have it for any future horses or saddle shopping.
I know many gaited horse owners who use a wide variety of saddles successfully on their gaited horses.
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Don’t.
The rigid tree serves a very important purpose: weight distribution. No “treeless” saddle I’ve ever seen was effective in doing that by itself. Maybe with lots of “add-ons” they get better, but never as good. Note that my opinion will be widely disputed. But I think I’ve got Newton on my side so I’m not worried!!! 
G.
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Thank you everyone! I have much to think about and some shopping to do!
I’ve decided that finding a saddle that fits my horse and me is going to be too challenging in terms of finding a used saddle. So I am looking at 2 brands that seem to be in the moderate price range. Wondering if anyone has feedback on Steel Saddles in Tennessee and Crestridge Saddles in Missouri? Can’t really afford to go higher than these saddles and still have a good saddle. Thougjts!?
Crestridge is a good, solid saddle. Deb is very good about assisting with fit and she’s very honest. We had a used Crusade several years ago and my DH loved it.
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Ditto this:)
Steele – Are you are you mean Steele? I didn’t think they made a saddle in the lower range?
Steele has a couple of options for under $2,000 which look like would work for me and my horse.
Not familiar with Crest Ridge.
Did have Steele Plantation saddle many years ago. Very well made with good craftsmanship and materials. They had at that time a “try before you buy” program where you would give them the type size you needed and they would send you a used saddle of that type and size to try out. If you liked it you could send it back and you would receive a new saddle in due course. If it wasn’t right you could try again. Your cost was the shipping. We did this and the result was good!!!
Good luck in your search and decision.
G.
Crest Ridge makes some really nice, well balanced saddles. Steele also makes a great saddle but I’ve never ridden in one I liked because they all tend to force you in a chair seat position
I definitely would not like the chair position issue! I have a hard enough time being so short on anything wider than an Arab! I have spoken with someone from Crestridge and they are only about 2.5 hours from me so I can also bring my horse there for proper fitting! A real bonus! Thank you everyone! I sure appreciate this forum!
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Good deal. It’s a good company with great owners. You’re in good hands.
This is a MAJOR advantage. If you otherwise like what you see this would be a good choice!
Most Steele customers are going to sit in a “chair” seat as that is the dominant way North American gaited horses are ridden. Indeed, many Marchadors in Brazil are ridden the same way. IIRC this might be an item of discussion. For anyone thinking about it I’d ask the question.
G.
I would love to see a discussion on the chair position! It’s one of my big questions because it feels so wrong for me! Maybe I should start a discussion!
I think it’s just lazy, long distance riding posture by folks rackin’ down the road. There’s something about the gaiting that jiggles you into the chair 
ya gotta admit, this looks like a fun horse
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If your’e jousting or roping then a “chair seat” will do as you need lots of stability so you can effectively brace. If you’re jumping or engaging an enemy with a blade then you’ll want a more forward seat for maneuverability.
The movement does not put you into the chair seat; the seat is used as it moves the rider’s weight slightly to the rear, cause a ventroflexion of the horse’s back that facilitates the lateral gait of most North American gaited horses. It creates the movement; it’s not caused by the movement.
The more rearward you sit you push the horse from center the more lateral gait becomes, eventually getting a true, two beat lateral movement. As the weight shifts more forward the gait will pulled to the center (as in a true running walk). If you continue to shift your weight forward you’ll pull the gait to the diagonal and you can induce a trot.*
Ideally, you put your saddle in the correct anatomical position for that horse, sit squarely in the saddle, and you will get the natural intermediate gait for your horse.**
As a rule a trot is a trot is a trot. You can extend it, collect it, or otherwise ride it but as long as it’s a two beat, diagonal gait with a moment of suspension it’s a “trot.” Gait horse intermediate gaits are quite “malleable” and the same horse can be induced to do anything from a hard pace to a trot depending on the rider and how they do what they are doing.
But as a general rule if your tack fits and you’re sitting balanced in your saddle the horse will give you the best it’s genetics and training can provide!
G.
- There are some caveats, here, as the breeding of the horse (and it’s consequent conformation and natural gait inclination) can limit just how far it can go at either end of the spectrum.
**This presumes correctly fitting tack, feet done to anatomical correctness, a soft hand, and no attempt to induce any artificiality into the gait.
