Okay, I just looked at the stirrup rigging options for the Sensation Saddles. I think it’s great they offer those alternatives.
However, there is a safety issue with the closed ring stirrup attachments that needs to be considered.
Closed rings do not release the stirrups if you fall and get hung up. You can get around it with safety stirrups, I guess, but it is something that I find troubling. Sensation actually makes an “e-bar” stirrup base which I think is much safer. I’m surprised they don’t show it in their rigging photos and I’d want to better understand why they don’t.
I use it on my own Freeform saddle. It is standard on the Heather Moffett saddles.
I wrote about it on my blog:
http://equineink.com/2011/10/25/riding-treeless-more-safely-ebar/
I’ve actually written quite a bit on treeless saddles there so if you are interested you can do a search on the blog.
A saddle is a big investment. I think before you purchase one, you should spend some time with a good saddle fitter so they can show you the options and demonstrate how a saddle does . . . or does not fit your horse. I have spent more than a decade working with a great fitter – Gary Severson – and he teaches me something every time he fits my saddles (twice a year). He’s in Pennsylvania so it’s possible you can catch him at a barn where he’s already doing some work.
The price of purchasing a saddle that doesn’t work for your horse is more than the cost of the saddle – horses that are back sore develop evasions and resistance that can really cause problems. While some horses are more tolerant of an ill fitting saddle at first, over time it can manifest itself in issues that are hard and expensive to fit.
And, just because a horse goes well in a saddle initially, that is not a guarantee that is an indicator of fit. Sometimes a horse is just plain relieved that the “new” saddle is not pressing on the same pressure points.
Some horses just work well in a variety of saddles; others it takes some time to find the right solution.
Good luck with your search and always ask questions.
For example, one question for which I have not yet heard an answer is why, if treeless saddles promote a better, healthier back, do you not see them in upper level dressage competitions? These are riders that do everything possible to showcase their horse’s gaits. What makes a saddle suitable for endurance (where they are widely use) but not dressage?
Why do so few treeless saddle makers offer proof of weight distribution? Port Lewis impression pads can highlight pressure points and there are other systems available. I once asked the owner of Ansur why they didn’t do a study that showed their saddles distributed weight more evenly. Never got an answer on that one although their newer saddles now have gullets.
