What do you think of a treeless saddle and would they be good for a beginner rider?

Lusitano on Thu, 28th Aug 2008 3:57 pm 



Yes! I very good saddle to start with!! (tell Ursula hallo from Germany!) is the US seller for my saddle. I have a Lusitano, but have used this saddle on so many shapes and sizes of horses, I’ve lost count! I even too my saddle to Africa with for a Safari. If you look at the photos of all the horses wearing the saddles, you’ll what I mean. There even more photos at the manufacturer’s website, where I bought my saddle.

The saddles are great of all sizes of horses and riders. the offer a much more secure seat than most western or English saddles! I’m disabled and can’t use stirrups and my barefoot London saddle (I also have the Cheyenne) keeps me secure on my horse, whether we are on trails, jumping, or my horse spooks. The are soft and flexible to instantly change shape to fit each horse. There is a very hight pommel that even fits my horse with withers like a camel. Your weight is not on the horses spine because of the comfort pads on both sides leaving the spine clear. Plus, you can feel every muscle in your horses back moving!

I highly encourage you to try one. Ursula at the US barefoot site very nice and helpful. They have a trial policy on their saddles so you can return them if you don’t like them! The Arizona model is a nice western saddle.
Good Luck!!

Here’s the info from the website: (better to read on the website itself!)

Designed by a German Equine Physiotherapist, the Barefoot is intended to comfortably fit even the most difficult-to-fit horses. No withers? High withers? Short back? Long back? Wide horse? The Barefoot conforms to practically all of them.

Barefoot saddles are well-known for quality and longevity. The leather on Barefoot saddles is doubly reinforced in all areas that may carry pressure from the rider (stirrup attachment, saddle flaps and rigging attachment). The saddles come with the standard medium width pommel, but can be interchanged with wide or narrow pommels as an accessory. The anatomically cut cantle is constructed of thick, flexible foam, to avoid pressure points from the rider and therefore allow superb movement and collection of the horse’s back.

* Flexible in all directions.
No hard, smooth leather is used in its construction; instead a vegetable-tanned nubuck leather, which is porous and readily fits itself properly into the shape of the horse’s back. (As they say in Germany, just like a good pair of Lederhosen!)

* The feel of your horse’s every movement.
The pommel of the Barefoot saddles is filled and stabilized with a fiberglass form, and the cantle is a dense foam, but there is no tree between your seat and your horse’s back. This allows an ultra-close contact so that you and your horse can move freely and naturally together.

* Removable pieces for even more fitting options.
The pommel & cantle are removable through two zippered openings and can be replaced with soft cloth or material, if needed, to allow even more conformity to extremely hard-to-fit horses. Wider and narrower pommels are available in certain situations, but the standard pommel fits an incredible variety of horses.

* NEW!
All Barefoot models now have thick, soft foam panels to the right and left of the horses spine for improved spinal clearance and better shock absorption.

* Maximum contact.
Through these forms and through the positioning of the rider close to the horse, the saddle achieves a very secure hold on the horse’s back and does not tend to slip on even the roundest horses.

* No break-in time for the rider.
The soft nubuck leather conforms to your body as well as your horse’s, and the fenders flex with your legs. No new-saddle squeak!

***Edit***

To the barrel racing person, did you even read the question? Do you actually know anything about treeless saddles? One, the question is about a Beginning rider looking for info on a Treeless saddle for her Arabian, NOT a QH. She wishes to know IF a treeless saddle bought for HER Arabian could also be used on her Friend’s QH once in a while. You did not answer any of her questions at all!

First, she is a beginner. She needs a good versatile (different horses, different styles) comfortable saddle that is affordable, easy to care for, and offers her a secure seat. Billy Cook and Circle Y are very expensive and will fit only one horse. She’s tried many western saddles, likely most in her price range with little success. Arabians are bery hard horses to fit!

Second, she’s a beginner!! (again) She’s Not barrel racing. Your comment about A (ONE) treeless saddle is like saying “ooh my treed saddle rubbed my horse’s wither raw, so they are ALL bad, never get one.” Black and white. When I was still using stirrups and jumping, I took my treeless saddle level 3 speed trial competitions over jumps and obstacles, top speed wins. I won all of them, largely because I had better communication with my horse with no tree, and could ask him to leap and spin in the air instead of taking the time to spin or circle tightly around an object. A treed saddle would have caused my horse pain to do this and not have bent WITH him. Even the judges wanted to know more about it, and of course my odd horse who needed a new home anyway.

This is all beside the point since the person asking the questioner is still a beginner. If you want to discuss safety and security, I’ll gladly go out and take a photo of my galloping my horse at top speed in the field tomorrow, in the rain and snow, in my treeless saddle with no stirrups and next to no muscles working in one leg. I’ve got a nice one of me doing this in the treed saddle I sold because this one is better. LMK. If she likes a treeless saddle at all (she must try one) she’ll find a secure seat (and a nice warm one in the winter!!) in this saddle.

Last, the particular treeless saddle I use conforms to and fits and horse you set it on. It’s a bareback pad with a solid pommel and cantle. There’s no hard parts to give pressure or need moving. Even the stuffing in the wintec will conform to one horse, despite the move-able gullet which is a very good invention. YES, this saddle will fit the Arabian and the QH, and even a little pony.

They feel different and take a little getting used to, more so for English riders (which I was). Western riders seem to find even my new treeless dressage saddle even instantly comfy and secure. I know the barefoot saddle company has a trial policy for their saddles. She can order one, try it a few days, hate it, and send it back for a full refund. No harm in that!!!

Yes, you can show in them too.

Kitan13 on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 11:19 am 



Pick up a wintec interchangable tree saddle. You can change the tree size within minutes and its interchangable if you have another horse that is bigger or smaller. The saddle comes with 3 different sized bars but you can order the half size pack if need be. I have one for my horses. Its great because one saddle fits all three of my horses if need be. I have a QH/arab/saddlebred that is very oddly built. We went through 5 saddles to fit him properly. I believe there is a western saddle made the same way but don’t know if its the same company or not.

Tessa on Fri, 29th Aug 2008 6:26 pm 



I just got a Barefoot treeless saddle to try as my treed western saddle does not fit my new horse. So far I have found it to be very comfortable and my horse is more responsive. The difficult part is the constant tightening up the cinch (western) (hard to do when you’re on the horses back – but not impossible) which I understand will not be a continued problem once the saddle is ridden in a few times(maybe several, depending on the time ridden.) I trail ride with a lot of up and down hills and will be trying the saddle out this week-end on the trail and will keep you posted as to how things go. The outlet where I purchased my Barefoot offers a generous 3 week trial with refund if not satisfied. Also because you need to protect the saddle pad from dirt, they request that you place a thin wool blanket or other to protect it, which invariably make the saddle slip somewhat.

fireflyy_101 on Mon, 1st Sep 2008 5:27 pm 



I don’t suggest a treeless western saddle. I know people that have used them for barrel racing and hated them. One person actually had the saddle “close up” on her while turning a barrel. I realize most western saddles out there are built more for QH’s, but there are some really well-built western saddles for Arabians. Both Billy Cook and Circle Y have Arab saddle lines. Saddles are generally not interchangeable between horses that are built very different. It’s better to ride the QH in the saddle that already fits it. Even with a treeless saddle, it will break into fitting the horse it’s used on primarily and not fit other horses very well.

Tessa on Tue, 2nd Sep 2008 3:16 am 



I went for a 4 hour trail ride today and the first 1 1/2 hours was great. After that I started to feel uncomfortable and decided maybe the treeless wasn’t for me. I think it’s ok for my horse, but hey, if I’m not comfortable too then what’s the point? Maybe 4 hours was a bit too long in a new saddle, but my seat bones are sore, my back is sore, I had to ride in longer stirrups as my knees were killing me. There was a nice dry strip down the back of my horse when we finished, but it was a little lop-sided which indicated to me that the channel wasn’t right over the spine which to me was not good. If you have to be constantly checking to see where the spine channel is then I think maybe that’s not for me. I have a gaited horse, hence the decision to try a treeless saddle as fitting can be a big problem with gaited, just like Arabians. My western saddle fit my Arabian but bridges on my gaited gal. I think maybe I’ll look at Tucker saddles next

heartbelongs2myhorse on Tue, 2nd Sep 2008 2:29 pm 



We can’t really tell you this by Yahoo! Answers, because it’s what ever you feel comfortable with. But if you find that a treeless saddle fits perfectly at one tack shop, but you dont feel comfortable with it, then by all means don’t buy it, like you said, you’ll regret it later. There are more tack shops out there then just one, so good luck and keep looking!

can76chaser on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 7:27 am 



I love mine! I think they are great! I have been riding for 30 yrs & I own 25 Morgans & 10 Mustangs, & it works well on all of them! I ride on a bare back pad so this saddle is great! I agree with Lustiano!! A very good choice!!!! You should go sit in one to see if you like it. Good luck!!! ***** I think firefly is wrong!!! One of my friends are running barrels & doing well she rides in a treeless……

Tessa on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 5:47 pm 



I am returning my treeless saddle today with regret. I think the Barefoot saddles are well made for both horse and rider, and I don’t hesitate to recommend one. I believe it didn’t work for me because I have back problems to start with and need a little more forward stirrups, and also I think treed saddles have a little more support in them for the person. Riding downhill in it was a lot more comfortable than a treed one as I could “hug” my horse with my legs. I loved the closer contact with the horse and didn’t feel like I was riding bareback at all. The hardest part for me was having to lean over and tighten the cinch several times as I couldn’t dismount and do it or the saddle would turn. Once it was as tight as I could do it up, there was no problem with remounting. I understand that once the saddle is ridden in several times that this won’t be a problem, but with my physical problems I just can’t do all that bending and twisting to the side.(My phsiotherapist says it’s bad for my particular back issue)and also sitting in too soft a seat isn’t good for me either.

My advice would be to try one. I’m sure you’ll like it.

horsegirl on Sat, 6th Sep 2008 7:13 pm 



if ur a beginner u should find something basic. u dont want to get in over ur head.

I <3 Haflingers! on Tue, 9th Sep 2008 12:58 am 



The treeless is a good idea. But if you plan on showing, then I dont think it will work. Try wintecs because it fits on the horses back itself. The treeless is really good for pleasure riding and it is soooooo comfy to the horse. ANd yes, it can fit just about any horse.

jockey_goggles on Thu, 11th Sep 2008 11:41 am 



I have a cob. She is 14.2hh and WIDE. I searched for months for a saddle to fit her, leather saddles aren’t made wide enough for her, so I tried synthetic, Thoroughgood etc etc, none were wide enough. Treeless saddle was my last resort. It fits her beautifully, and it can be put on any horse. It’s fairly comfortable aswell, although the girth and stirrups are annoying and awkward to adjust.
But my horse is happy and comfortable and thats all that matters. I’d recommend it. Good luck

Jess M on Thu, 11th Sep 2008 3:52 pm 



Absolutely not. The tree of the saddle helps dissipate the weight of the rider across a wider area and away from the very sensitive spine. A beginning rider is still learning to find their balance and to not interfere with the horse. The tree is very helpful for assisting in this and minimizing any unintended movements you might make and the impact them might have on your horse.

Treeless saddles are wonderful, but they really are for more experienced riders.

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