Treeless Saddle Opinions

[Syrynx]

@Posting_Trot

Unfortunately, Smith-Worthington went out of business during the pandemic.

Oh that’s right! I had thought they just closed their online site but now remember they went out of business entirely.

I’ll definitely take everyones recommendations and for sure will try before I buy, especially considering the size and shape of my big guy is not the norm. He’s not exactly barrel shaped but he is wide with massive shoulders.

The plan is to get some wither tracings over the next few days along with a good set of pictures and talk to some of these companies to get their opinions before I look in to a trial.

Here’s a pic of the big lug

[Kyrabee]

It looks like he has a pretty dippy back? Just to know, to balance the rider with a treeless, you may have to get a custom pad or corrector pad so it allows the saddle to sit level for the rider.
My treeless wants to sit high in front so I use a pad with a riser on the rear.

Susan

[SimonSays]

You can still find a lot of the Smith-Worthington’s. A local Connecticut woman bought out their inventory! So I’ve gotten 2 from her since they closed.

It was such a cool old place!

[Syrynx]

I’d not realize just how dippy until I took a good look last night. I’m thinking more hoop tree than treeless at the moment but will certainly keep that in mind.

[candyappy]

@Syrynx

I’d only peripherally heard of a hoop tree so did a bit of research yesterday. And they look like a really good option.

I have a plain old Appaloosa mare and shockingly a hoop tree is what she needed to be truly comfortable. She was a table with legs. Now at 18 she actually has withers and while her back is still flat and wide, She can actually be comfortable in a western saddle designed for a Haflinger.

[ladipus]

@Kyrabee …I’d love to hear more about your Smart saddle …I just saw them this past weekend at the Horse Expo and think it’s a really interesting concept …the seat , leather and knee rolls feel very cushy too!

[ladipus]

@SimonSays …curious to hear more about the treeless saddles as I just saw some at the Horse Expo last weekend …seems like a great concept and the saddles looked super comfortable…was considering getting one in on trial ??

[Kyrabee]

Mine is fairly old but it is a very comfortable saddle. Mine is the dressage model. I can move the thigh rolls on mine (they velcro). They look pretty conventional to me. They have made many upgrades since I got mine (twelve-ish years ago).

Susan