[LoveGus]

Been looking at tack for sale, hoping to get little things like lead ropes brushes and the like. Nothing major like a saddle or blankets. Though was sorely tempted at an estate sale to get a practically new king saddle that was the right size for me (though without a horse to risky).

Any way I saw today a treeless saddle. What's the difference between a treeless saddle vs one with a tree (besides the obvious that is)?

 

[Dustbunny]

I have a friend who bought a King. Now, there may be several different brands with the word King in the name but the saddle he bought was the worst piece of crap I have seen. I am glad he no longer has a horse so the saddle is retired. But that is not what you are asking.
I have a Tucker Plantation (treed) and a Black Forest (treeless). I find a saddle with a tree gives me far more security than a treeless. I like the treeless. It's light weight, and comfy. But, honestly, it's like an overstuffed bareback pad. It's more likely to slip and if I have to dismount I better be able to find a log or a big rock if I want to get back on as I am far past the vaulting stage of life.
A saddle with a tree distributes the weight of a rider over a larger area.
Any saddle needs to fit both the rider and the back of a horse. Personally, I think a saddle with tree is best. I feel safer...and I'm big on safer!

 

[InexcessiveThings]

As Dustbunny already said, a treed saddle distributes weight over a larger area than a treeless one. That's why you'll see all sorts of expensive pads made specifically for treeless saddles because many, if they don't have any sort of spinal channel built in, need it for spinal clearance and better weight distribution. Excellent balance is also necessary to ensure you won't sore your horse's back. More so than in a saddle with a tree. I think riding treeless is closer to bareback than any treed saddle will be, but I personally don't like the overstuffed bareback pad feel of one. I'd rather be bareback entirely or with a bareback pad and feel more secure on my horse that way than in a treeless saddle. My experience is also that it's more challenging to mount without saddle slippage with a girth at a normal snugness, especially from the ground though there are techniques I've seen others employ that minimize any slippage and do quite well mounting from the ground. Many treeless saddles will also have no twist, so if your horse is very wide, that may not be comfortable for some people.

 

[cbar]

Ditto what has already been said. Granted, there are many, many brands of treeless saddles and some people swear by them. I have only ridden in one a couple times and was not sold on it.

The one I tried had a little more structure to it, and had removable shims so you could add padding where you needed it. There was also something in it to give it a twist so it didn't feel so much like a bareback pad.

I personally still prefer the traditional treed saddles though. I just feel that they would hold up better...and I didn't know if I liked the idea of velcro all over my saddle.

 

[LoveGus]

So why the heck are they made of they aren't as good as a treed?

I have enough issues feeling like I may fall out of an English saddle as it is, luckily I now ride in a western which is better. So if ever I'd want a treeless saddle go for a bareback pad

 

[SilverMaple]

The people I know who have good luck with treeless saddles are tiny twigs. Not a single one of them weighs over about 110 lbs. Treeless can work, and there are some out there that seem decent, but I'm not sold on them, especially as I never have been, nor ever will be, anywhere close to that weight, lol. If you're a normal or heavier rider, a treed saddle seems less likely to sore the horse due to weight distribution.

A tree is a rigid structure, usually made of wood (sometimes synthetics) that spreads the saddle's pressure out over the horse. A treeless saddle lacks this structure. Some think it's better for the horse to not have a tree, but saddles have had trees for thousands of years, and if it ain't broke....

Do not get a King saddle. Totally worthless junk.

 

[LoveGus]

The people I know who have good luck with treeless saddles are tiny twigs. Not a single one of them weighs over about 110 lbs. Treeless can work, and there are some out there that seem decent, but I'm not sold on them, especially as I never have been, nor ever will be, anywhere close to that weight, lol. If you're a normal or heavier rider, a treed saddle seems less likely to sore the horse due to weight distribution.

A tree is a rigid structure, usually made of wood (sometimes synthetics) that spreads the saddle's pressure out over the horse. A treeless saddle lacks this structure. Some think it's better for the horse to not have a tree, but saddles have had trees for thousands of years, and if it ain't broke....

Do not get a King saddle. Totally worthless junk.

I didn't, though I did score some things for our kitchen. One thing I won't buy is a saddle without a horse. I'm a more "normal" weight, around 120 so a treeless wouldn't work. They don't even look comfortable

 

[phantomhorse13]

So why the heck are they made if they aren't as good as a treed?

The people I know who have good luck with treeless saddles are tiny twigs. Not a single one of them weighs over about 110 lbs.

I'm a more "normal" weight, around 120 so a treeless wouldn't work. They don't even look comfortable

Like so many things with horses, what works for one person and/or one horse does not necessarily work for another. Treeless saddles are definitely not the best choice for every rider or horse. However, they can be used with great success, and not just by people who are the size of twigs.

Both of these riders are using treeless saddles - the left is a Freeform, the right a Bob Marshall Sports Saddle. The rider on the left (me) goes about 140 on a good day. The rider on the right goes about 275. I am catch riding this horse and using her saddle. The other rider is riding one of her own horses and using her own saddle - the saddle she uses on all of the horses she rides (and she has a ton of miles).

As someone else already pointed out, the style of the saddle and the type of pad used are very important with treeless. Personally, I have a Torsion treeless as my catch ride saddle, as I find it secure and it can fit a wide variety of horses. But there are some horses (and riders) they simply don't work for.

OP, I wouldn't dismiss all treeless until you have had a chance to try it for yourself. Unless of course you want to rope - I don't see a treeless working for that under any circumstance! :wink:

 

[lsdrider]

I've been riding treeless for 7 years now. Weighed 220 for the first few years, 180 for the past three. In that time my horses have never had a back related lameness or lost time due to a sore back. In 2 of her 3 endurance races this year my horse was awarded Best Condition. I have never had a dry spot under a treeless saddle.

Started out with a Bob Marshall Sports Saddle after a very frustrating search for a saddle that would fit my horse (Arabian) at the time. That, a 3/4" thick trilaminate Skito pad and a home made floor mat pad made for a comfy ride for both horse and rider for several years and thousands of miles.

Well after loosing the weight the BM was way too big and I needed a "from me to me" reward. Following much research I ordered an Ez-Fit and have not looked back. That saddle is also very comfortable - more secure and stable than the BM as well. I use a 3/8"(?) wool pad under it. It has been on several horses with no change other than the holes in the cinch straps. None of them had a dry spot or any other issue. It has fit the Arabian X TWH perfectly at all stages in her 15 month transition from nearly starved / halter broke to race winning endurance horse.

EZ-Fits website: Home

They have a FB page too.

As PH13 said these aren't roping or pulling saddles.

Just my $.02
YMMV

 

[horselovinguy]

Here, I can add more to your confusion and "how come..." :wink:
Flex 2 saddles....another style of "trees"...
https://circley.com/

I do not truly understand them, see lots of people buy, use and ride in them.
I happen to have a Circle Y saddle with a "real" tree in it.
Not being small and featherweight, not huge by any means either, I felt that giving the horse the largest area to distribute my weight was kindest to their back and muscles. :wink:

I actually was concerned with the fact my balance probably not being what it was when I was younger....
My bodies movement over time while trail riding could sore my horse
So, my saddle fits great the horse and I.
Never a sore spot and just a wool pad used.

I don't claim to know or understand the intricacies of treeless, flex trees or even some of the different fitting forms of treed...
What I totally get and understand though is the fit of saddle to horse needs to be good or better than just good to not have issues over the long term of riding the same horse in the same tack.

When you do go to purchase your saddle...
If new, what ever the cost is divide in 1/2 and maybe that is what the saddle cost to manufacture.
So if you are spending $400 for a saddle retail...wholesale it cost to make

Quality does come at a price because of components used and man hours to assemble that creation of saddle...
You don't need to spend a fortune for a nice saddle....
However...
Quality saddles also come with warranty of the tree and saddle in general.
Decent warranties come on the better saddles...
Circle Y has 10 years as did several other "better" made companies saddles.
When you look at a saddle that is 5 years or less and then has "stipulations" on that warranty....
Buyer Beware!!
Sit in many saddles even from the same manufacturer since they do use different trees.
Make a notebook of details of what you did or did not like in feel or fit on saddles you really liked as over several sitting in and on, it becomes hard to remember the differences...
Sometimes I felt like I was losing my mind. :icon_rolleyes:
Personally, I would look at used to start with.
Till you decide what "style" of western saddle offers you the most comfort and stability I would not go new...

That's all I got....
Enjoy the search when you start that endeavor...
:runninghorse2:.....
jmo...

 

[Smilie]

Far as treeless saddles, the better newer ones designed after the 'true' treeless saddle, which were no better then bareback pads, far as taking weight off of the spine directly, took some of the positive effects of a tree into their production
There were then pads created to \ compensate',with that not being a true solution, for those first truly treeless saddles
Then, along came the newer treeless saddles, which offered some form of bridging over the spine, not with a\traditional tree', but through other means.
Thus, I consider the newer improved treeless saddles of not being truly treeless, just because they don't have a traditional tree, but rather a form of \hybred'
Not being familiar with treeless saddles, I do not know the brand names, as to what they feature. I certainly would never buy one that had no form of bridging over the spine.
Might as well then use a bareback pad, JMO