treeless saddles...Im in love (:D)

[CurlyWurlyRach]

aaaa, I LOVE the look of the Ansur jumping saddle (do they do a GP one? im an all-rounder type person).
Ive not got the funds atm for a snazzy new saddle but Im not happy with my treed saddle...i just dont like it. It digs into my arms when i hold it so god knows how it feels for curly.

Anyone have one and can i see some piccies of treeless'? i want one that looks conventional (if you get my drift) but im in love with the concept of a 'blanket' type thing. nothing nasty and hard to dig in. It makes so much sense, i feel like i've seen the light! :p

Are the Ansurs ok for standard type horses, medium gullet, 17-18in (cant remember :o) without startling amounts of wither, just average:) ?

[Pink's lady]

Do you have £1000 to spend on a treeless? because that's how much a Ansur will cost you;) And as far as I'm aware they don't do a GP, only dressage or jumping. They might do an event though.

Unless you have a lot of money to play with you'll not get a 'traditional' looking one that's really good for jumping in. The western type one's are fine for about 2'6 but not secure for much else.

[CurlyWurlyRach]

Nope, I have £20 atm ;) but i can dream and save up (got a job interview tomorrow y'see :D)
I like to have something to work and save towards (and i have expensive taste, woe betide anyone who marries me :o)

[No_Angel]

i have 4 treeless saddles at the moment.
a fhoenix
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b242/madams_walk/PICT0117.jpg

a freeform
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b242/madams_walk/Picture0199.jpg

an ansur classic
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b242/madams_walk/SADDLEMOMS.jpg

and trekker talent
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b242/madams_walk/cerynlookingnice.jpg

ive had

trekker dressage
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b242/madams_walk/PICT0087.jpg

and an ansur konklusion
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b242/madams_walk/SADDLEMINE.jpg

[CurlyWurlyRach]

cheers No Angel :D
I like the ansurs (still) and the fhonix looks nice.... wish me luck for this job lol.

[No_Angel]

expensive taste like me:D

i ansur may be for sale soon;)
but the freeform which is 'normal' looking retails new at about £800, its a gp shape and can be jumped in, i did a couple of 2ft3/2ft6 jumps at my le trec event with it.

the konklusion is the best saddle for jumping in, just i sold it as wasnt quite so suitable for my endurance.

this is me jumping in the konklusion (jump is 2ft3ish)
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b242/madams_walk/Maddiejumping2.jpg

and im the classic (jump is 3ft)
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b242/madams_walk/murfjumping3foot.jpg

[Iron Maiden]

In case you're interested...


I have Tasha's old Konklusion & it's for sale, I bought it earlier in the year for hacking & eventing my 2 horses. Unfortunately I found out in May that my youngster had a twisted pelvis & would never stand up to the rigors of jumping, so I gave him back to his breeder. Worse was to come, my lovely xc cob died suddenly in June - every owner's nightmare. I have bought another youngster but she is incredibly high withered & the saddle doesn't seem to suit her. This is a real blow because the saddle is fantastic to jump in, and my old cob went brilliantly in it. I haven't got my act together to put it on ebay. I don't know where in Yorkshire you are but let me know if you might want to give it a try (I'm in Sheffield, if that's not far I could bring it over & you could just pop it on & see what you think, no obligation or anything). Under the circumstances I'm not interested in making any money on it.

[CurlyWurlyRach]

oh goodness iron maiden. How terrible for you :(
I'll PM you for info if i get this job (currently have about £100 to my name lol).
xx

[jenren!!]

Blimey, am i the only one who thinks treeless saddles are ugly? :o.

[CurlyWurlyRach]

i think most of them are jen ;) Just LOVE the ansur - it looks pretty normal.
I saw it before i had a horse and thought 'one day....' but at them prices that day aint gonna come very fast. Didnt even realise it was treeless at first. Somebody i know had a rearer and he hasnt gone up in his treeless so....:D Parents still muttering darkly about selling her y'see but dentist, calmer field environment, more work, pelham back to a snaffle and a treeless and if she goes up after i get all that then i gotta give up :(

[jenren!!]

I think the fhoenix is nice though :). I think the Trekker Talent is horrid!

[rinzarider]

I have an Ansur Konklusion and two Fhoenix.

The two makes are as different as chalk and cheese-and I like them both.

I tend to hunt and hunter trial in the Ansur KK-but I have also done so in the Fhoenix.

Current steed doesn't really like the Ansur-not sure why as it seems to 'fit in all the right places'-but he seems much happier in either of the Fhoenixes.

They both look 'normal' enough with a rider on board.

I did try a Freeform I think it was--but although it looked alright it simpy wasn't 'man enough' for the sort of riding that I do. Comfy though and fine for hacking.

[CurlyWurlyRach]

Im mainly a happy hacker atm (gone back to baiscs with curly to try and help her with her issues), do some gentle schooling, jump (not at the moment much - again trying to help her unwind after a hectic life :) but its what she loves) and occasionally compete (ive competed once in the year ive had her).
planning on taking her cubbing for the experience this year (might blow her brains tho :rolleyes: )
Id be able to do that in a konklusion right?

[Iron Maiden]

The Konklusion does look just like a normal saddle, it's more rigid than the other treeless designs I've seen but it has a nice, wide gullet to keep the weight off the spine. I jumped my cob over everything up to about 3 foot on our yard's xc course in it & took my friend's horse over a couple of biggies in it, felt fab, no wobbles. I also used it for some really long hacks & my bum was never sore! The problem with my mare seems to be that her wither is not just high, it is also prominent quite a way back from the high point above her shoulder & this is where the saddle was tight. She's the only horse I've tried it on who it hasn't suited, although you do need a pad of some sort on pretty much anything besides a table because it is very low & flat.

Have tried to attach a pic of me, her ladyship & the Konk.

Good luck with your job CurlyWurlyRach!

[Iron Maiden]

Try again...

[No_Angel]

i hunted in my konklusion, didnt have any problems with it and maddie was com[pletly off her head and ran backwards up hills. it didnt ever move when i had it, not once.

The trekker might loook 'horrid' to some people, you dont knock it till youve tried it, i havent ever found a horse who doesnt like it, and its far comfier than those manky treed things.

[CurlyWurlyRach]

Good luck with your job CurlyWurlyRach!


:D heh thanks :D interviews on sunday and i have to look smart :eek: its in the terribly posh Bettys tea shop in york, ill look snazzy if i get in with my apron on :rolleyes:
My hossy is dutch warmblood X TB with a very average back.
Not a good pic but shows her withers and back area
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a44/lord_w_rox/whatsinthesepockets.jpg

[Iron Maiden]

Shouldn't have a problem fitting her but you never know 'til you try...! One thing I have learned is that treeless saddles don't fit absolutely anything (or the KK doesn't), no matter what the official blurb says. The KK wasn't a disaster on my mare, it allowed her to change shape & she now fits a K2 med/wide which was enormous on her when I got her. I don't think the K2 will do her long term though, she keeps getting wider! I'm looking at maybe trying a balance saddle for her now, but keeping an eye on the Heather Moffatt event saddle situation...

[CurlyWurlyRach]

my treed sadle is going to the saddlers on saturady (poss broken tree :rolleyes: ) and if its broken then it will be headed for the bin straight away. I hate the saddle with a passion and im sure it doesnt fit.

[rinzarider]

Im mainly a happy hacker atm (gone back to baiscs with curly to try and help her with her issues), do some gentle schooling, jump (not at the moment much - again trying to help her unwind after a hectic life :) but its what she loves) and occasionally compete (ive competed once in the year ive had her).
planning on taking her cubbing for the experience this year (might blow her brains tho :rolleyes: )
Id be able to do that in a konklusion right?


You would. I use a suberpad under mine. It was the only pad that worked with Rustys TB withers-not particularly 'pronounced' but like so many TB withers, very long and running well back into his shoulder. So just lifting the front was not the cure.

Would you like to try it. I could post it to you to have a 'play' with if you like and you can stick the p&p in an envelope when you send it back.

[Santi]

I'm really lucky and just got a phoenix for my horse, and i love it - especially the foam seat which feels like i'm glued to it which is very different to the polished leather on a treed saddle (they are really expensive but my back account will recover eventually! but my horses back might not?!)
Has anyone tried jumping anything over 1 meter in one?

I was interested in what was said about the Konclusion not fitting high withers - i had the Fhoenix fitted as i was worried because my horse is half shark, he has huge withers and they run back onto his back a long way. The Phoenix fits him really well with shims in it (the saddle has a place you can put extra foam shims in)
Treeless may look a bit weird but they are fantastically comfortable, i've got a Barefoot Cheyenne for my other horse and its great too. :)

[kyanya]

Some treeless saddles look very non-conventional, and some people may consider them ugly, but I think the important thing is that they are comfortable for the horse. In my mind, that far outweighs the aesthetic values.

I'm anti-Ansur. I'm not sure if you're aware, but a couple of years ago they sued Heather Moffett and as a consequence she had to cease making treeless saddles as Ansur apparently owns the patent to treeless saddles, making it illegal for anyone else to make them (despite the fact that they were made long before Ansur existed). Perhaps their saddles are OK - I've never had any experience of one - but a company that finds it acceptable to pointlessly sue competitiors would never gain any of my money. Treeless saddles are for the good of the horse, but obviously that isn't Ansur's main priority. Money, however, may well be.

[Bay Mare]

I wouldn't touch Ansur with YOUR very long bargepole. Their ethics stink (see kyanya's post) and I think that their saddles are overpriced. I've only seen a couple but they feel quite hard compared to the SBS or Fhoenix.

If you're looking to pay big money then I'd look at a Fhoenix or the Kay Humphries (though I haven't seen her one in the flesh).

[ponies-R-gr8!!!]

[QUOTE=CurlyWurlyRach;1013930]:D heh thanks :D interviews on sunday and i have to look smart :eek: its in the terribly posh Bettys tea shop in york, ill look snazzy if i get in with my apron on :rolleyes:

Lol, i have been there!;) It is very posh:D It was all very quite in there until me and my family came in... lets just say, you could tell we had just come from a campsite:rolleyes:

Good luck for the job interview:D

[Iron Maiden]

I was well aware of the patent business when I bought the Ansur, but bottom line is that there isn't another treeless on the market that I'm aware of that is purpose designed to hurtle around a fair sized xc course in. Heather Moffatt's event saddle isn't out yet & I'm not going to wait until it is before I xc my horse. The welfare of my horse & my own self-preservation are my top priorities. Buying 2nd hand off someone who is going to use the cash to buy a HM does not in my book constitute lining Ansur's pockets, so right now I don't feel like I'm propping up some morally bankrupt bunch of megalomaniacs!!

Sorry of this sounds a bit narky but it's Friday night & I've been on the Cava...

[Yann]

Have to agree the Konklusion is one of the nicest treeless saddles I've ridden in, regardless of the maker's business ethics.