Just curious what others think of them and whether or not you believe they are good for the horse or not. Do you use one? What brand? What kind of pad do you use?
I’d just love to know what you have to say!
You may have better luck asking on the yahoo treeless group, or one of the Facebook treeless groups.
I have tried a couple of treeless saddles over the years, and always went back to a traditional treed saddle. They don’t offer a lot of stability, and can’t be mounted from the ground. You must also be willing to invest in a high quality pad to prevent damage to the horse’s back. The same goes for the saddle itself. Stay away from the low end ones that sell for under $1000. If you want a really good quality one, expect to spend as much as you would on a high end western saddle.
I only tried the Bob Marshal barrel racing saddles some use locally and didn’t get along with them at all.
Bareback is better than those contraptions I had to fight against to stay where I wanted.
I guess that, if you ride in one long enough, you get used to them, eventually.
A friend that spends all day horseback had a horse flip on him in the barn aisle and had a badly broken pelvis and leg.
He started riding and only one of those treeless let him ride without pain, until he healed completely.
Then he went back to regular saddles and he said the horses and himself were happier with those, for all day long riding.
I would say, if you want to try, who knows, those may just fit you.
I see a lot of barrel racers going towards treeless, they say it helps the horse turn better. I’ve ridden a few and didn’t care for the feel of them, but I also don’t care for riding bareback. I’ve never used them on my horses, but I would think they would allow for a lot of variance in the amount of pressure over the horse’s back as apposed to a traditional treed saddle.
Oh yes, forgot to mention, as some others did, the issue with them feeling like you are riding bareback. There is not twist in treeless saddles, so if you are like me and have hip pain on occasion, these saddles are not the best option. I can’t ride my mare bareback very often as it will start to make my hips hurt.
I loved my Bob Marshall endurance model. I still have it, but I now have a role-poly Arab cross that I started on trails, and I just didn’t feel that it was secure enough. I rode my Arab gelding in it with no problems, but he was built differently. I could mount from the ground and it never slid when he would spook. I used a Skito pad. And there is no twist, so you sit as wide as the horse is.
My friend has Black Forests and loves them. We rode very hilly terrain and neither of her two saddles moved on either horse. I am not crazy about her saddles though, so you really have to try different models to see what you prefer.
I don’t particularly need advice on the subject, I was just curious as I’ve seen a lot of barrel racers using them. My sister included. She had a Circle Y JBN treeless saddle and I rode in it a few times and LOVED it! Then again I also love bareback riding. I’m most curious about any evidence of them being good or bad for the horse’s back.
You’re going to find evidence of both, same as with treed saddles. My horse never had a problem. I have another set of friends that use them as well as treed saddles. She has had no problems, he has. Same as with treed saddles. My friend with the Black Forests has never had an issue with sore backs.
The worst pressure sores I’ve ever seen were on a draft cross (about 15.2, and beefy), ridden by a 90 lb woman, in a treeless saddle. They were dead center on each side of his spine, and took almost 6 months (if I remember right) to heal enough to put a saddle back on him.
I’ve ridden in one, and it was okay. Nothing I’d rave about.
I ride in both a treed saddle that I love and I also have a bob marshall treeless saddle.
I don’t notice that my barrel horse turns better in one or the other. Also I was very picky with the treeless saddle I chose. I also am not the biggest fan of the fenders on the treeless saddles.
If I am going to be on my horse for lets say a long trail ride etc, I prefer my treed saddle, I find it more comfortable for myself and my horse.
With the treeless saddle, depending on which horse it is going on, I use an impact gel saddle pad with a Navajo woven pad under that.
