I'm convinced about Barefoot, but treeless ... why is it better ?

Ruskii

Well-Known Member
Jun 21, 2000
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I kind of fell into the barefoot way about 8 years ago when I got my first horse and the previous owner didnt shoe him as he had the horse from a yearling, never had him shod in his life and the gelding never did any road work really and was always on sand or gravel. He had super feet and when I did ride out on the roads and start to hack out when I got him I never thought about it as he seemed fine so just continued with getting his feet trimmed.
Any future horses I have will also be having the shoes ripped off (unless for medical reasons they need them at some point) and going barefoot.

Treeless saddles though, why are they better ? How much are they ? What does the tree in the saddle actually do and why is it removed ? Does the rider feel any difference between the two ? What made you as a rider/horse owner go to a treeless saddle ?

Sorry for all the Q's but I know absolutely nothing about it (as you can see :eek: )
 
Theres quite alot of treeless saddle info on this site, if you search you should come up with quite a few threads.
www.freewebs.com/alternative horse this is a good website for looking at the makes/costs of treeless saddles.

I myself love treeles saddles, my horse was dangrous to ride and tack up before getting my first treeless, now she stands as good as gold.
In fact I like them so much ive just started a business venture where people can trial them.
 
What does the tree in the saddle actually do and why is it removed ?

The tree is fixed and solid. It is meant to distribute the riders weight evenly from front to back and side to side. It also take the stirrups pressure and does the same. That is the reason why I wouldn't get a treeless - I'm not convinced the pressure distrution is good enough.

HOWEVER, the tree is fixed and solid and change shape. So unless the tree is a perfect fit (and we all know how hard that is it to get and then they go and change shape:rolleyes: ) it hinders or even hurts the horse. The horse is also flexible and moves it's back whilst working (although not to the extend that some treeless fantics insist) so good and soft flocking (hard to get) is needed to allow that as the tree doesn't flax at all.

For those reasons I have a treed saddle that is a good a fit as I can possibly get (and is adjustable to accomidate shape change) and has soft air-filled panels (Flair, not Cair) to allow back movement.
 
For those reasons I have a treed saddle that is a good a fit as I can possibly get (and is adjustable to accomidate shape change) and has soft air-filled panels (Flair, not Cair) to allow back movement.

Is that a WOW saddle ? i'm thinking of getting one, would be interested in your experiences.
 
Yep, is a WOW (although 've also had my other saddles Flair-ed). Love it - sooooooooo comfortable, horses love it. They are rather heavy though and the price is :eek:
 
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