This was just a vent and in poor taste.
If that’s the only issue you have when riding with her, why not tell her? Hey listen, I really don’t care what you think about my treeless saddle- discussion over. And then move on to a conversation you have ready 
I’m thinking of a treeless saddle. I’m wondering if in the long term, with long rides, if my horse’s back will eventually start hurting? I know short rides are the best but some trail rides last for hours. What kind of treeless saddle do you have?
Your horse. Your saddle. Enough said.
A consistent “Works for me and Dobbin” and then drop it. If she keeps saying something, I’d go along with what kasjordan said and tell her to drop it.
I think we’ve all gotten it at some point in time (saddle, other tack, barefoot, boots, shoes, feed, supplements, the list goes on!)
It’s not a treeless saddle problem, it’s a know-it-all-horse-lady problem. So yes, absolutely, we’ve all had this experience. In fact, I bet most of us have played both parts at one time or another.:lol:
In situations like that, where you both have entrenched ideas on the subject that are unlikely to change, I find it best to just not discuss it period. I wouldn’t bring it up to start with, and when she does, just point behind her and say “Wow, look! It’s Halley’s Comet! No? Oh. What were we talking about? I forgot. How bout those replacement referees?”
If your saddle slips around enough that you are forever having to get off and adjust it and the ride turns into a ride and stop and wait, and stop and wait, and stop and wait, then she should dump you as a riding buddy, but I guess she like your company enough she figures maybe she’ll nag you into getting a saddle that stays put better. If that’s the case maybe she needs to be more direct about it.
If she’s just being argumentative about your saddle choice, then too bad for her. Don’t listen.
[QUOTE=kasjordan;6576307]
If that’s the only issue you have when riding with her, why not tell her? Hey listen, I really don’t care what you think about my treeless saddle- discussion over. And then move on to a conversation you have ready ;-)[/QUOTE]
juanbadcat, it’s a Hilason. :rolleyes: (hangs head in shame) I have read the bad reviews. I was able to see the saddle and try it out before buying. It’s the knockoff of the Bob Marshal trail saddle. It seems to be one of the good ones. I do know it won’t last as long as a Bob Marshall but hopefully by the time it starts coming apart, I can afford a BM.
Hydrophile, so true.
Irish, I’ll keep that in mind. The Arabian and QH will go well no matter how badly their saddles fit. (Previous owners, not me) The gaited horse won’t. He won’t gait and will act agitated so you know something is not right. I’ve only ridden him in it once so it’s too soon to point at him and say, “Look how happy he is in this saddle!”
[QUOTE=ReSomething;6576403]
If your saddle slips around enough that you are forever having to get off and adjust it and the ride turns into a ride and stop and wait, and stop and wait, and stop and wait, then she should dump you as a riding buddy, but I guess she like your company enough she figures maybe she’ll nag you into getting a saddle that stays put better. If that’s the case maybe she needs to be more direct about it.
If she’s just being argumentative about your saddle choice, then too bad for her. Don’t listen.[/QUOTE]
Not sure where you get that I have to keep getting off and adjusting my saddle. I wouldn’t have bought it if it did that! It will slip when I mount or dismount if I have forgotten to adjust it one last time before mounting. I haven’t had this or any saddle slip while I was riding.
**Just remembered, my English saddle slipped while riding the Arabian earlier this year. I fell right off the side. That is the one and only time I have had a saddle slip while riding.
She doesn’t like ANY treeless. She’s been more than vocal on the subject in the past.
[QUOTE=pAin’t_Misbehavin’;6576394]
It’s not a treeless saddle problem, it’s a know-it-all-horse-lady problem. So yes, absolutely, we’ve all had this experience. In fact, I bet most of us have played both parts at one time or another.:lol:
In situations like that, where you both have entrenched ideas on the subject that are unlikely to change, I find it best to just not discuss it period. I wouldn’t bring it up to start with, and when she does, just point behind her and say “Wow, look! It’s Halley’s Comet! No? Oh. What were we talking about? I forgot. How bout those replacement referees?”[/QUOTE]
***I posted in frustration and should not have.
You have the exact issue I had with Treeless. With a Hilason also. It was THE MOST COMFORTABLE saddle ever to ride in. I have big, rather chubby old fashioned type Walking horse. The saddle never moved an inch up or down hill and we did some pretty “Man from Snowy River” type trails lol. But it slid every single time I mounted. I sold it because of that. I regret it while riding in my new Bighorn, nowhere near as comfortable, but I can get on and off in a second when needed and that is important to me. Pad underneath didn’t matter, I tried a bunch including the non-slip ones.
kasjordan, it has been really comfortable. The first time I rode in it, I didn’t like it at the beginning of the ride. By the end, I loved it. I felt very secure. Best of all, at the end of the 2 hour ride, I had no knee pain! I think I’ve ridden it a total of 3 times, each time on a different horse with a completely different build. One Arabian, one Foxtrotter, and one QH type.
The only time it slips really is when I forget to do that one last girth check. I will admit to forgetting the first time with the Arabian. I was excited about trying it and just forgot. It slipped when I was dismounting after the ride. Today I did one check but this horse requires two. It didn’t slip getting off but did when I went to mount back up from the off side. I’m just not balanced enough to do it gracefully from the off side. That coupled with the loose girth, it slipped. I tightened girth and mounted from the near side with no issue.
“Treeless” saddles for the heavy rider ARE a problem because they don’t effectively distribute weight. Right under the points of your buttocks you have a roughly 6" in diameter circle on each side where 80-90% of you weight is concentrated. That’s the Physics of the thing, whether or not you believe in Physics.
This is loudly disputed by many riders of treeless saddles. But there it is.
Sounds to me like she’s right.
G.
I’ve been riding treeless for 5-6 years. I’m not a small person. My horse has been worked on by two different chiros, and never had any back soreness. That’s good enough for me. I am a balanced rider, which I think is important, and I use an appropriate pad, which is vital. Before we went treeless, I could feel Jet’s discomfort in every saddle we tried. The first treeless I put on her, she turned into this fluid, lovely, happy mare. It was a beautiful transformation. I didn’t switch for my own reasons - I switched because it was what worked for Jet. Up until I tried one, I didn’t know a thing about treeless saddles. I’m pretty well educated now. : )
As for your “friend”, tell her you can agree to disagree or quit riding together. Her choice. Sometimes you just have to let it go. Your horse, your way. She gets to choose for her horse.
You lost me at “Hilason” :lol::dead:
Seriously though, if the saddle works for you and your horse doesn’t develop any problems from it just give her the old “agree to disagree” speech.
My mom used to take every bit of tack advice she got. Wanna guess how miserable she (and her horse) was? Drove me batty too because of course I had my own opinions and they nearly always contradicted what every Tom Dick and Harry was telling her out on the trail (although I feel mine were a tad more valid since I was also riding the horse regularly for her). Can’t even begin to tell you how much money she wasted on bits, many of which I made her pitch right in the trash.
She finally figured out the only opinions that mattered were her horse’s and her rear end’s. She found her inner bossy mare, with a little help from her own bossy mare, and now she has no problem politely telling people to stuff it when they offer unsolicited tack advice. Mom’s a lot happier for it and that bossy mare isn’t nearly as cranky now that her bit/saddle/pad/girth isn’t being switched up on her every 3rd ride.
[QUOTE=Guilherme;6576567]
“Treeless” saddles for the heavy rider ARE a problem because they don’t effectively distribute weight. Right under the points of your buttocks you have a roughly 6" in diameter circle on each side where 80-90% of you weight is concentrated. That’s the Physics of the thing, whether or not you believe in Physics.
This is loudly disputed by many riders of treeless saddles. But there it is.
Sounds to me like she’s right.
G.[/QUOTE]
I’m not die hard on anything. I’ve tried different saddles including going from Western to English for the Fox Trotter because he is hard to fit. He will tell me if he’s not happy. I’m also checking backs right after the ride. I would ride an uncomfortable for me saddle if it fits the horse and the horse is happy.
katyb, my horse is the biggest reason I wanted to try treeless. He’s hard to fit. The best fit I have found is an English saddle but it’s still not a great fit. We’ve only had the one ride today and that was mostly walking. I’m interested to see how he does when we really move out.
If she’s aggravating across the board, ditch her anyway. If she’s pretty cool except for this, just look her dead in the eye and tell her (Smiling and mean it LOL) I hear your concerns about treeless saddles. I understand your concerns about treeless saddles. I do not share your concerns, I appreciate them, truly I do…however I do not wish to discuss this topic anymore. I vote we drop it…so cn we agree to let it go?
See what her answer is.
and yeah, you lost me at Hilason too
Look at her with a smile and say “You don’t have to start practicing now to be an opinionated old crank. You can just wait until you get to old crank age, and the opinions will happen naturally.”
***Should have deleted all posts after getting it off my chest. Better yet, I should have kept it to myself.
Riding alone can be pretty fun. Not saying all the time, but if you think it’s going to be one of those days she’ll be grating on your nerves you’ve always got the option of flying solo. I think we’ve all got one of “those” friends and needing a break from them once in a while doesn’t mean we love them any less 
