Treeless Try Out

I'm trying to find a suitable treeless saddle for Remy and today we had a meet up to try several to give me an idea of fit for both Remy and myself.
Unfortunately,one of the girls couldn't make it so we didn't get to try her Heather Moffatt, but all in all it was a very informative afternoon.
So in the line-up we had from left to right Barefoot Cherokee,Trekker Talent II( mine), Bob Marshall Endurance and Torsion GP.



I rode in mine first of all ( Trekker), to clarify my position firstly ( I was worried that I may be sitting too far back) and also to confirm the fit on Anky.





We'd already established that the saddle wasn't really right for Remy, although his withers are high, he is quite wide and the saddle looked like it would put too much pressure on his wither ( in effect, the pommel area wasn't wide enough). However it fits Anky quite well and even though it has memory foam panels to give spine clearance,I think, with the addition of a designated treeless pad it would be even better. The blurb for this saddle says that it gives a true bareback feel with the security of a saddle and I have to agree. Of the four saddles I tried today, this one felt the widest, but having established that when I felt comfortable I wasn't sitting too far back, I think I could really get to like it.

I tried the Barefoot Cherokee next.





The first thing that struck me about this saddle was that it was very comfortable, but I did feel higher up off her back. The pommel at the front wasn't as much of an issue for me as on the Trekker and when we tried it on Remy it seemed to sit much better.
It doesn't have panels underneath so must be used with a padded treeless numnah or saddlepad and has D Ring attachments for the stirrups so should be used with safety stirrups or a barnes buckle release system.

Next was the Torsion GP





This was definately the most flexible of the saddles and gave the definate impression that it would fit most horses with no problems and it was a good fit on Remy. Like the barefoot, it needs a designated numnah and also has D ring stirrup attachments. I liked it very much. Anky seemed to like it too. We all noticed that she started to stretch down and relax ( may be coincidental , I don't know). Gill who owns this saddle and the next one,the Bob Marshall, told me of the Treefree make of saddle which is a copy of the Torsion with some improvements, including T bar stirrup attachments, so I will check that out on the web.

The last saddle is the Bob Marshall endurance.





For some reason we forgot to take a pic without a rider, but there's a pic of this saddle at the link below. Also the stirrups were a little short so I've taken a pic without stirrups.
This is the most expensive of the four and the quality is excellent. It seemed to sit perfectly on Anky and was very comforable. Like the previous two saddles, it needs a designated pad and has d ring stirrup attachments. It has very short flaps so gives a close contact feel for the leg. I also liked this saddle very much.


So, to conclude, I feel that I would be happy with any of them. Having looked at the pics I'm not so sure about heel/hip alignment,whether that's the saddle or me, but I know that the Trekker, Torsion and Barefoot saddles have a dressage version. By choice, at this moment I would go for the Torsion, it is the most flexible and I think, most suitable for Remy, although I think the Barefoot would be fine also.


Trekker Saddles

Barefoot Saddles

Torsion Saddles

Bob Marshall Saddles

We had a lovely afternoon and I have to say that Anky was very patient. We finished off with the obligatory eats, drinks and chat.

Experimenting Treeless

I really want to back Remy before the winter but he's quite an awkward shape at the moment so i've decided to try treeless.
The budget won't allow an expensive purchase so I've been looking at mid-range, well made brands with a good name.


I know nothing about treeless saddles and after a little investigation I've looked at several including the Heather Moffet, Barefoot, Trekker and Torsion saddles. I really would like to trial the HM Vogue Fhoenix but as I say the budget won't allow,and trying to get a treeless agent in the sticks in France may be difficult. I've been keeping an eye on treeless saddles on ebay and came across a like new Trekker with all accessories, numnah, leathers, stirrups and two very nice neoprene girths. The bidding was very low, so I put in a bid and 2 days later, voila! it was mine. Hmmmm, I didn't really think I'd get it and was in the process of ordering a Barefoot. Never mind, I paid for it and it arrived yesterday.

Its a rather ugly saddle but the quality looks ok. It has nice soft leather flaps and a nubuck leather seat. It has memory foam panels on the underside which give spine clearance. I'm not so sure about that, the panels dont look very deep, but we'll see, the blurb on their website assures me it can be used without a special numnah. The numnah that came with it has an insert for panels, but unfortunately not the panels themselves. I do have a gel pad which I could use though.

So, this morning Anky was the guinea pig. She came in looking ok, ate her brekky and set to eating the hay, so I thought I'd test the saddle on our hack.
The saddle is very light and the stirrup leathers attach with traditional bars and not rings. It came with a set of bates t-bar leathers which I have on my other saddle and really like.
It looked a bit strange on her, bigger than a treed saddle. It felt secure when I got on and the first thing I noticed was that it felt wide. The rather large, ugly pommel at the front seemed to be forcing my legs apart. As we progressed on our ride and i settled into it, placed my seat more central between the pommel and cantle it became rather comfortable.
It's true that you can feel far more of your horse moving underneath you, Anky really was moving my seat more today. She seemed unconcerned by the saddle, walking out purposefully, relaxed and soft to my hand. So, we'll see how we go with it, but my first impressions are positive. If I intend to use it on Remy I am going to have to get used to it and feel confident riding in it. As my first foray into treeless I feel that it was rather sucessful:-)

Work on the lunge again with Remy, this time at the bottom of the garden. He was fine, if a bit sluggish. Walk on both reins out on the circle. A short session.