Fitting a treeless

C

carthorse

Super Moderator
Staff member
Jan 6, 2006
13,042
8,131
113
@newforest maybe you can give me some pointers, but anyone is more than welcome to chip in.

I may be able to get a bit of extra riding in on a sweet but rather green mare. The possible deal breaker from my point of view is her saddle - one ride in it & I have bruising, I've never ridden in anything so uncomfortable! It's a Torsion (torture!) treeless, and it's tiny. Not only does my bum barely fit in it but the front of it has really bruised the top of my thighs. I'm not skinny, I admit that, but a friend's very slim daughter has also ridden in it and found it uncomfortable in the same area so it isn't just that.

A friend has offered to let me try her treeless that she no longer uses, no idea of the make but it looks more conventional in the seat area. However I have absolutely no idea what constitutes a good or bad fit with a treeless, and neither does anyone else on the yard. Apparently the pony is a nightmare to try and fit a treed saddle to since she's barrel shaped with almost no discernable wither, and since it's not going to be a long term arrangement I can't justify spending out on a saddle for her particularly since I doubt she'll fit into a cheaper one.

Any tips on what to look for would be so helpful. Thanks.
 
I had the bruised thighs from my dream team (which has a similar fork set up) until I fiddled with my stirrup length, they needed to be shorter, once I got that sorted I never struggled with it again :)

I'll leave the fitting comments to the experts :)
 
Stirrup length and the saddle being large enough for you would probably help with the bruising from the pommel, also a twist bolster to make it feel narrower (a sock with stuffing or other socks in it shoved under the front of the seat would be a quick fix).

With the other saddle, it would help to know what make and model it is. Fit wise it can sit slightly further forward over the shoulder if it needs to, if she has a forward girth groove or a very short back. You need to be able to easily slide your hand between shoulder and saddle, have at least one finger between pommel and wither and have some spinal clearance, enough to do a string test. Depending on the saddle it will possibly need a special treeless pad for shimming and spine clearance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kite_Rider
@Jessey I really can't put my stirrups shorter in it, to do that I'd have to sit further back & that would put me on the cantle (or what passes for a cantle, do they have a proper cantle?) because there isn't the space for my knee & leg angles to alter. It's so tiny it's like a child's size, as I said before a very slim 13yo finds it too tight a fit to be comfortable! Plus I'm a bit creaky in some of my joints so too much bend quickly becomes uncomfortable, though maybe spreading the discomfort would take my mind off specifics lol

@No_Angel I can't do anything about my saddle size - not my saddle, not my pony & not likely to be a long term arrangement where I might consider getting something cheap to use. The width isn't a problem, I'm used to wide, but even if it was there's no way anything else is fitting in the saddle! There's nothing on the other saddle to indicate make or model and my friend doesn't have a clue either, it was just one she bought to back a difficult shaped youngster. I wouldn't say she was particularly short backed - I'm sure the size of her saddle was for the benefit of her owner not the pony - but she does have a forward girth groove & if it fits her I was planning on using my prolite girth rather than her normal one, are they ok with treeless? I'll check the fitting points you mention, and thank you :)

I know it sounds very like a "can't be bothered to spend money" attitude, but I'm afraid it is a case of making do with what's at hand simply because she isn't mine & it may well only be a short term arrangement.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jessey
Could you try a bareback pad? If it's only a temporary thing and you won't be riding much or for very long? Just a thought.
Can you get a photo of the other saddle you are considering, someone here may have an inkling as to make and model and know all about them? One other thing, as with any saddle, make sure it is sitting level front to back.
 
@Kite_Rider how do bareback pads differ from treeless? If I do come to an arrangement with the owner I would take her on longer rides & do more school work as she got fitter so if they're only ok for half an hour or so they probably aren't ideal. If it did turn into a longer term thing I'd consider getting her a second hand treed saddle that wasn't too expensive if I could get one to fit, but I'm not doing that at this point.

I had a look at the other saddle this morning and there are no makers marks on it.
 
Bare back pads are simply that, a pad of fabric with a 'girth' to keep it in place. Totally different from a treeless saddle, this is mine:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254093357742
You can ride in them as long as you like I would imagine, just like riding bareback but with a bit of security if you happen to have an especially slippery horse or just need the extra comfort on something with whithers!
I used to love schooling in mine, Belle was so much more responsive and I often hack the lanes in in but I know Belle inside out and I know she won't do anything daft, if she's in 'one of those moods' I won't use it.
 
Not sure what to suggest with the 'torture' saddle as I've never ridden in one but I guess you could try the one your friend has and see how it feels? Has it got 'panels' like a conventional treed saddle? Or does it need a special pad under it as @No_Angel suggested?
 
IMO bareback pads are simply for keeping your bum clean when riding bareback, not much more than that :) as such I wouldn't ride longer than I would otherwise bareback. I would also never use stirrups on one as there is no structure to disperse the pressure from them. By Comparison treeless saddle have more structure and give spinal clearance when paired with an appropriate pad :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kite_Rider
Hmmm, in that case I wouldn't be happy with a bareback pad for what I want to do on a strange horse , I don't think it would be comfortable or either of us & I definitely want stirrups.

I think I'll start by trying the other treeless & see what the owner wants to do when the yo has a chance to speak to her properly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jessey
Sounds like the child size torsion. Has it got a hard pommel insert in it currently? If so you could place a soft one in if the horse in question is relatively med to low withers which could help with the bruising. Sadly like any saddle if its too small its never going to fit you correctly.

A bareback pad with a treeless saddle pad and no stirrups can be better than some treeless with stirrups. My concern about the other saddle is the no makers mark is it could just be 1 of the cheap and cheerful dont touch with a barge pole china crap in which case weight distribution design isnt exactly thought through properly. Some photos of your friends no Mark saddle could help.
 
@mystiquemalaika yes it does have hard pommel & cantle inserts, they are the cause of the pain! The thing is I'm reluctant to spend any money on it when it isn't mine, it's never going to fit me (which also makes me wonder how it distributes my weight onto the pony) & at this point I don't know how long the arrangement will be if we do arrange something. If she wants paying to ride her then I'm not interested, I could go and have a lesson once every two or thee weeks somewhere reasonable with no work instead, but if she'd be happy that she was getting worked without her having to pay a rider that's fine.

I'm not going for anything without stirrups. We have to hack on some steep hills & fairly busy roads so I don't feel it's a safe option, particularly on a pony that can nap.

I'm unwilling to post a picture of someone else's saddle, sorry.

I guess it's a case of wait until the yo has spoken to the owner & go from there. If we can come to an agreement on something slightly longer term I'd have no issue with seeing if a saddler friend could find me a cheap changeable synthetic that I could probably sell on with very little loss.
 
I’ve never ridden in a Torsion, but used to ride in a Barefoot saddle. Mine originally have a hard pommel which was uncomfortable, so I removed it and replaced it with a tea towel. Easy to do, because there was a zip to allow you access to the pommel. Is there such s thing on the Torsion?
My recommendation with the other treeless? Put it on, do the very basic saddle checks you normally would with any saddle, then jump on and walk round. In my opinion the horse will quickly let you know if it’s not comfortable.
 
You can stuff the pommel with socks @carthorse so won't cost you anything :) and may just alleviate some pain on the fronts of your thighs.

Not saying you planned on a bareback pad just that stirruos on a treeless arent always better than none on a bareback pad :)
 
@Star the Fell & @mystiquemalaika now I get you! I thought you were talking about putting something next to the pommel, at which point I think you'd only fit a toddler in there :eek: Now I understand what you mean & it could well help. Thank you :)
 
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back