saddle quest continues

[Cartfall]

I have continued to try saddles on my little TWH who is built like a quarterhorse.

My latest tries have been treeless, a sport saddle and a sensation dressage trail. Really like the ride of the sensation --but

both it and the sport saddle have this wierd stirrup leather arrangement… The stirrup leathers are tethered to the area just above the girth. Seriously restricts where I can place my feet (bad knees) – the jury is still out on this.

Do all treeless saddles have this wierd arrangment? Is it possible to ride a treeless with regular english stirrup leathers?

The two saddles I have ridden seem snug to me—are they designed this way or have I ridden saddles that too small for me? I am not a large person by any stretch–5’5 155 lbs

Thoughts?

My next step will be go talk to the local Tucker saddle fitter.

[katyb]

My Bandos saddle has an adjustable stirrup plate. I know a few others do as well.

Treeless saddles do come in sizes, so they may be too small, but they also tend to cup you more, since they aren’t structured.

[Cartfall]

Hi Katyb,
thanks for your reply. The stirrup leathers attach to a velcro that allows the top of the stirrup leather to be adjusted very nicely.

The problem is the bottom attachment is not adjustable, it is at the bottom of the flap. So the free swing of the stirrup itself is limited. My foot remains at the bottom of the flap no matter where I put that adjustment.

My foot is going to remain under me no matter how I adjust the top.

[gothedistance]

You don’t have to use that bottom buckle on the Sensation - it’s just an option if the person wanted to “tie down” the leathers so the stirrup doesn’t free-swing .

I tried that option once, and hated it. Never used those buckles again.

The seat sizes on the Sensation are limited to just two. If you need more room, you remove the bolster in the back under the seat pad.

And you can buy hangers for your standard leathers. Sensation’s open ended hangers are similar to the ones found on a treed English saddle. I have them - never used them. I prefer the Wintex webbers which I rip open at one end and re-sew onto the velcroed hangers (my endurance stirrups are caged).

[PRS]

Because treeless saddles conform to your horses shape they can feel “snug” if your horse has a dip in his back. I ride in a Sensation Hybrid, I have three horses and the same saddle feels differently on each of them because the shape of their backs are so different. This can be alleviated somewhat by using shims in the padding system under the saddle. The G4 Sensations have more flexibility as to where you attach your stirrup and/or girth and you can even order your saddle with an extra billet at the bottom. They usually come with three billets…two for the girth and one for the stirrup attachment. Or you can use the free swing option. You also have the option of having the billets removable.