Which Treeless ?

[Mareish]

Would appreciate and fors / againsts on your treeless saddles.

Which ones are better than others / can you jump in it etc etc

Thanks for any advice :)

[Lgd]

Most folk think the WOWs are treed - they are actually treeless in the conventional sense but have the stability for jumping and XC.

Fhoenix - EE are developing a XC/jumping saddle (I know someone doing the field work for them)

Ansur Konklusion is designed for jumping and I think the carlton is also suitable - not my cup of tea as I find the finish a bit 'primitive' for such an expensive saddle, also probably not in my 'consider' group after Peri said 'no thanks' rather vehemently.

Bottom-line - try before you buy!

[No_Angel]

ive got 5 treeless saddles at the moment, had 2 others aswell.

Fhoenix- i have the gp prolite, very nice saddle, very comfy, can jump up to about 3 foot in it, very stable, puts you in a nice position, also suitable for dressage, i have done endurance in mine and its fantastic for that, more of a twist than most treeless saddles, tho i still have to use a western seatsaver on it because of my dodgy hips.

Ansur classic- Nice saddle, harder than the fhoenix to sit on,so we use a sbs seatsaver on it. Can jump in it, ive done about 3 foot, weve done fun rides and endurance rides in it. Very stable. Pretty good for schooling in.

Freeform- I have the SB with forward girthing, alot better for the horse with the more forward girth groove. fits my welsh cob nicely where the fhoenix and ansur classic didnt. Got a bit of a twist. deceptivly comfy, tho not as comfy as the fhoenix. Weve done endurance rides and i did a le trec competetion in it the jumps were about 2ft3. Very stable and doesnt move, even when just broken pony takes off down road with nervous rider hanging off the back of it, mum now loves this saddle because of this and was suprised she stayed on when shes usually would come off. I havent schooled in it properly yet.

Trekker talent (old design)- Lovely and comfortable. Fantastic for hacking in, tho I wouldnt use it for my hacks as they are faster and more endurance ride based. Not very good for schooling in, tho better on my welsh pony who i do mostly western training on. More stable on the finer breeds, its very good on my idxtb who is wide with withers, she has reared and lept sideways in it and it hasnt moved once.

Ansur konklsuion- by far the best saddle i have ever jumped in, its so stable and safe, and im a complete wimp jumping. Its very stable, i have been hanging off the side of it numerous times trying to get on my tb and it didnt move once, went hunting in it with an ex racer and she was complely mad cantering backwards up hills and it didnt move once. I jumped, hunted, did fun rides/endurance and went everywhere in my konklusion and it was fantastic. Only sold it as i needed a longer leg position for endurance, so i got the fhoenix.

Trekker dressage (old design)- Nice saddle, not as comfy as the talent. Ok for schooling in but didnt feel it gave me enough support for schooling, was great for youngsters tho, i used it on my welsh a and a 5 yr old welsh b i was schooling, very secure and kept me on him when he saw some flags.
Sold it as it was just too straight cut for me and it hurt my hips, sold it to fund a new saddle for mum.

Iceline icelandic saddle- got this yesterday, looks nicely made, tho the stirrup bars look a bit dodgy. Very close contact to the horse, and very stable. big knee rolls and fairly straight cut, tho more vsd than dressage, but not as vsd as the fhoenix.

[ali cat]

that was really enlightening-thanks:)


but i have a question/well more than one i admit:)

how available are these saddles?

which would fit a chunky cob best?

would an icelandic one fit the above 15.2ish big boy?

what sort of price range?

thanks very much

ali cat

[No_Angel]

have a look at this webpage http://www.freewebs.com/alternativehorse/ :)

[carrieh]

I've just had the new style Trekker Dressage/Endurance arrive today on trial. If it ever stops raining I may even get to try it! ;) It has an adjustable seat size from 16 to 18 inches and now has movable leather panels on the underside which are held in place by very strong velcro [and I mean VERY strong - I could barely get them off to adjust the seat size]. It's much better made than the old Trekkers and is now all leather.

I'll be interested to hear what my pony's physio thinks of it. I want her to check it first before I even attempt sitting in it, as my old boy Benny is only just recovering from back, shoulder and hindquarter problems.

Other than that, I've got Mike Bannister coming out on Tuesday so that I can trial the Fhoenix. Looking forward to that! The Fhoenix is so much more expensive than the Trekker though, double the price. Which considering all we do is gentle hacking nowadays, does seem a lot of money. Still, what matters is that Benny is happy and comfortable as well as me, so if I have to shell out for the Fhoenix, so be it.

I'm wary of getting another treed saddle for him, simply because his weight and shape changes so much throughout the seasons nowadays. It would probably only fit him properly for 2 weeks out of every 52!

[Tootsie4U]

Great website No Angel. I've bookmarked it since Im windowshopping for a treeless with hopes to buy in the next year.

FWIW, any comments on whats the best type that has a 'managable' price tag? I do plan to compete in it so it would have to be a more traditonal looking saddle. I'd also need one for my prominent spined QH so perhaps something with a gullet... thanks

[rubysmum]

have just bought a torsion treeless for 17.1 irish draught mare as she changes shape continiulsly thru year & cannot afford to keep wardrobe of saddles - will i have to change my riding style & techniques - am fairly basic happy hacker wiv bit of recreational cross country - is saddle likely to help hoss with picking her back legs up better - any info wud b welcome:confused: :confused: :confused:

[carrieh]

Tried the new style Trekker Dressage/Endurance today but no use at all. Great saddle, beautifully made in German leather, but the physio wasn't happy with it on Benny whatsoever and I could see her point. Too long in the back for him and because he's such a small pony we couldn't even do it up properly - we would have had to have punched extra holes in the girth straps! Also it would have just slipped forward the whole time as he has a very forward girth groove.

But that's nothing against the saddle itself. I really did like it - it's so deep and safe to sit in.

So . . . next idea . . . it's the Fhoenix trial tomorrow!

I am determined to find the right treeless saddle. The physio suggested having a treed saddle made to measure for Benny but quite honestly I don't want to do that. He changes shape so much during the course of a year, from week to week really, that it would be impossible. I've still got the Freeform SB on my list as a possible, but I'm a little wary in that Benny didn't seem to like it so much - bucked in trot. But that may be because I was trying the full size version which was too long for his back, rather than the SB version. So it's still on the list of possible saddles!

[mad mare1]

I have Carrieh's old saddle...the Barefoot Cheyenne...and I LOVE IT!!!!! Crystal is happy, and I feel more secure...fantastic!

[carrieh]

Glad you still like the saddle! Crystal certainly did go beautifully in it. :D

[~Perdita.M~]

Another vote for a cheyenne here too, although would love to upgrade to a Fhoenix if finances ever allow!:rolleyes:

[Showjumper]

My experiences:

Fitform. I LOVE this saddle. This was my first treeless and I still have it. It's been on everything from 11hh ponies to 16hh cobs. I've also ridden on a Barefoot Cheyenne and a Trekker Talent and they're not much different at all.

Freeform. This is my current treeless and I adore this saddle more than anything else (other than the horse of course!) Very stable, secure and comfortable. No use for small ponies as it's got a rigid base so is often too long (Junior model coming out soon though) but it's been on horses from 13.2hh to 16.2hh.

Diddi Pad. Really nice saddle but no use at all on Dolly. Her shoulders shoved it back constantly. Sold to a home where they only have Icelandics and it suits them down to the ground.

HM Flexion SBS. Never owned one but had one on trial. It's a beautifully made, soft, lovely saddle. Dolly disagreed and bucked for England - she doesn't like the prolite panels.

HM Fhoenix. Never owned one but ridden on a friend's. Another fabulous saddle but I find my Freeform more comfortable - I feel too far away from the horse in the Fhoenix.