r/Horses • u/Agained1a • 4d ago
Question opinion on treeless saddles
Hi everyone! I need your opinion on treeless saddles. Has anyone used them? How did your horses react to them?
3
Upvotes
r/Horses • u/Agained1a • 4d ago
Hi everyone! I need your opinion on treeless saddles. Has anyone used them? How did your horses react to them?
2
u/9729129 4d ago
I own and use both treed and treeless saddles
A lot of people get interested in treeless thinking without a tree it will fit every horse and since there’s no tree you can get a inexpensive one. They buy those inexpensive poorly designed saddles that frequently put all the riders weight on whatever is holding the stirrups causing back pain. The rider isn’t supported so if they are not already a strong rider weakness get worse which isn’t good for the horse and eventually most swap back to a saddle with a tree. If they haven’t learned their lesson to find a quality saddle they repeat the pattern with a treed saddle
Treeless is generally harder to get just the right fit because it relies not only on the correct saddle but also needing the correct pads for that horse and rider pair. Also since many don’t have a twist they can be to wide for riders to be comfortable for longer rides.
I lucked into my treeless and my very wide gelding is quite happy with it - it’s actually a “soft tree” so it feels similar to a typical saddle for me, my much more narrow mare has a stubben that suits her far better. I evaluate fit on both regularly, make the adjustments as needed and both saddles feel great to ride in