Hi All,
I’m in the market for a treeless saddle. Right now I’m trail riding in my rough-out leather barrel saddle and it sucks! My boyfriend took over my tucker trail saddle, and since his butt can’t fit into the barrel saddle, I’m using it.
I’m ready for the treeless saddle switch. I ride bareback all the time, unless out on the trails, I put a saddle on, mostly to hook stuff to it and for major hill work.
I tried out a hilason(sp?) saddle the other week. It was sooo comfy and myself and horse loved it, but it was too balky between my legs.
I’m interested in everyone’s opions.
I’ve been reading about the barefoot saddles and torsion saddles, and I’m going to try my friend’s freeform saddle this week.
I would like to stay under $1200 for the saddle, and prefer something with western style fenders.
Any ideas or opinions out there?
Also what size do I need? right now my barrel saddle is a 14 inch seat, but I know the endurance and english style seats have different measurements.
Thanks!
Maria
I bought a treeless trail saddle in Costa Rica and I LOVE it! I got it from a little hole-in-the wall village vet/feed/tack shop for $130 including all the accessories. They only come in one size, but it fits me and my horse. I brought it back in my suitcase :lol: I’m almost positive customs opened it up to figure out what I had in there. I don’t know how you would go about getting one w/o going to C.R. though.
Bob Marshall
If you want/don’t mind Western riggins, then it’s Bob Marshall Sports Saddles hands down. I’ve owned six or seven of them over the years and they are all I’ll ever own. I have high-withered Walking horses and a sofa-backed QH --they fit them all. I know they don’t fit every horse, but I love them. I’m not a timid rider and ride 3-4 hours in rough terrain about 3-4 days a week. NO PROBLEMS, and I have had my “boys” checked by an equine Chiro.
I started with a used BM saddle – Ebay always has some for sale and so does Tacktrader.com.
Good luck with your search!!
I have a Bandos Trail Saddle…mine is set up with english leathers, but I am debating changing to fenders, which he has so I am sure you can request them. Love mine, and so does my trainer!
The guy that sells these also sells Freeforms…If you’d like more info, either PM or join the Yahoo Treeless Saddle Group. He’s a poster on there as well:)
I loved my Bob Marshall… Super comfortable. Although they are pricey brand new depending on what you “add on”.
As someone else mentioned, you can find them on Ebay or Tacktrader.com
OR you can contact some of the Bob Marshall distributors. Sometimes they have consignment saddles for sale.
I’ve been very satisfied with my Softride. It’s comfortable, light, doesn’t slip…I’ve been riding in it for seven years now, and never had any trouble with it.
Barefoot Tahoe
I bought a Barefoot Tahoe just about a year ago - Love It! Great for my walker, standie, and big-as-a-house QH . . . very comfy for me. No problems with slippage. Love the contact with my horse. Happy with the quality. I do not have experience with any of the others brands.
I have a Bandos. Very nicely made saddle, high quality, and comfortable.
Treeless
I and about 5 of my friends all have Bob Marshall saddles. We love them. We all ride CTRs and Encurance (25s, 30s and 50s) and the saddles are just great - I can not say enough about them.
There may be lot’s of us that like our BMSS saddles but the poster did try a Hilison copy and found it bulky under her legs. I will admit that the BMSS is a bit bulky there also because of the close contact of the seat then the big D rings with the cinch latigo straps and huge stirrup straps hanging from them. To be honest, I feel the BMSS is about the best for YOUR HORSE, which is what is most important.
To be more comfortable in this type of saddle you can remove those Gawd awful stirrup straps and ridiculous tube covers. Replace with heavy nylon dog collars. Use a cinch with a buckle instead of a plain ring and do not tie a knot around the cinch D ring, use the buckle instead. Use a good pad with decently thick foam inserts in it. Maybe even the laminated inserts from Skito. This lifts you a bit higher off the horses back (don’t worry, you will still have a nice feel of the back) and allows your legs to hang more comfortably.
Then shorten your stirrups, that’s right, shorten them. This will bring your knees a bit more forward and off the “bulky point” over the D rings. I feel that most trail riders ride too long anyway. I’ve convinced several endurance riding friends to shorten their stirrups after they’ve had several falls off their horses. A bent leg is stronger than a straight leg. It allows you to absorb movement without stressing your joints and adapt to sudden changes in speed and direction made by your horse. I want you to think about downhill skiing. If you’ve ever skied you know you bend at the knees and hips to have good balance to adapt to the terrain. This is also true of eventers galloping cross country. Well, a horse isn’t always a stable and steady surface. It goes up and down, forward, suddenly stops, spins and jumps, sucks back. Shorten your stirrups, stay on top better and ease your knees.
If you still don’t want this type of saddle then get one of the other flat seated cheaper types. Most of them are extremely similar, bareback pads with stirrups, other than the Freeform which isn’t cheap. There are a few with minor differences. The Sensations have a very different feel but they aren’t cheap either. I have one of those and like it a lot. You may really like a Barefoot if you like bareback riding and they have a model with fenders.
Bonnie S.
Bob Marshall is what I ride in…and I have a Barefoot as well. I also have an extra BM.
There are a couple of Bandos on Ebay, one is always on there, and you can pick Western fenders. Seems reasonably priced.
I ride in both the Freeform Classic and the FreeWest. The FreeWest has less bulk under the leg and comes with western fenders though I ride in the English leathers. Fabulous leather, Italian made, and more structure some of the treeless saddles. It’s been great for my bad back and knees.
You can find them very lightly used on ebay and endurance.net classifieds for what you are looking to spend. I just saw two on the medford oregon craigslist for under 1000.
You can see both here. http://tinyurl.com/5zseoo
I have a Torsion Extra Light and a Freeform. The Freeform has a more conventional look/feel and more of a “twist” which is easier on your hips if you have a wide horse.
The EL is very close contact and comfortable.
I bought both of mine used for about $700. In addition to the other resources listed, try the yahoo treeless saddle group. There’s good information there and saddles posted for sale.
I had a Barefoot Cheyenne before and didn’t like the position it put me in. I’m also not a great fan of the nubuck leather, but to each their own.
I ride and sell Barefoot… we did alot of research before deciding which brand to carry in our store. Barefoot was the most comfortable, both for horse and rider, and the most reasonably priced. Hilason is awful and cheap. It will fall apart on you in no time…
Galloping Grape,
Sorry, but I tried a Barefoot Tahoe and still prefer the Bob Marshall saddles hands down. I think they offer a more secure feeling for the rider in addition to the close contact feel – and they are VERY well made. My current BM saddle has logged over 1500 hard trail miles and is still like new. :yes:
IMHO – but heck, I’m just a little ol’ Western rider!!
The lastest Barefoots have improved over the older (just last year) models. The leather is greatly improved and they’ve incorporated the new VSP system to ensure spinal clearance. I’ve found Bob Marshalls to be too “bulky”, too much leather… I like the close contact and “less is more” of the Barefoots…
I have been wanting a Barefoot Arizona for awhile now. It will be my next saddle, so I’m gonna start saving my “pennies” for it now!
Thank you everyone for your opinions and replies! I’m going to try out a few and I’ll let you know what I ended up with.
Thanks,
Maria
