Treed vs Treeless?

[NuttyMare]

I have been thinking about getting a treeless if I was to purchase a horse, but as a rider I feel I would need the stability of a tree as my position is not as good as it could be, and as I am closer to the horse without a tree it would feel it more?

[Showjumper]

You would feel the horse's movement more in a treeless in a treed, but it's not a bad thing - it helps you to learn to go with the movement :)

[Bay Mare]

I actually feel MORE secure in my treeless (even when she was doing her rearing thing). I've got the dressage version of the Flexion SBS so I don't particularly like it for hacking/jumping but it's doable if I put the stirrups up a bit :)

I tried Yann's ?Torsion (sorry, can't remember) to hack out in once and it felt very secure.

I will be buying a treed GP eventually but only because the flaps aren't forward cut enough for ME on the SBS GP, other people haven't had a problem, it's just me that's awkward ;)

[Bebe]

I feel much more secure in my treeless (all of them, Fitform, Freeform and now the SBS) than I ever have in a treed saddle. You can feel the horses movement more but this is a good thing. Most of the time I can feel a spook coming before it happens because I can feel Bebe's heart-rate increase! I can tell you which leg is weighted when & where the others are at any point in time, the slightest tensioning of her back, etc.

I got on a friends mare last night because she was being naughty and immediately felt less secure in the treed saddle the mare was wearing. I'd have been much happier in my SBS but we were in the middle of the woods with a rearing horse and I wasn't about to start changing tack, plus I think B's SBS would have swamped the other horse anyway.

I hack, jump (small jumps only though) and school in my SBS. I dislike forward cut saddles though and am quite happy riding without any knee rolls at all so the SBS suits me. The only concession I've made to the huge hills in my area are working hunter knee rolls instead of dressage ones (too bulky).