| Archive for It's About The Horse The Free Forum for those Doing Parelli - and a whole lot More! "Anything forced and misunderstood can never be beautiful." Xenophon (430-355 B.C.), |
| Debbie |
barefoot saddleI just purchased a Barefoot treeless for my arab?QH mare who I'll be trading for a SSH soon. I"m hoping this saddle will work for a gaited horse. This particular saddle was number 7 for my arab and finally found one that works. I really don't want to go through that again. LOL. Does anyone else use a treeless on their gaited horses? |
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| PasoBaby_CarolU |
I have a Barefoot, an Ansur and a Bob Marshall. All my horses are gaited. I love the treeless saddles on them. The primary reason is that most saddle trees are too narrow in the shoulders to allow the shoulder movement necessary for gait. Most gaited horses are pinched by regular saddles, even those supposedly made for gaited horses.
I can't tell you how many "behavior problems" I have fixed just by putting a treeless saddle on a client horse. I'm sure you will like your Barefoot on the SSH. |
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| Annie |
Carol, I noticed on your posts you have an ad on there for Black Forest saddles... I called and spoke to them about the treeless saddle ( western style) and was SO highly impressed... I was wondering if by chance you had one and if you have any comments about it? The one thing I enjoyed talking about with the owner of the BF Saddles is his honesty. I know Bob Marshall has some common issues with the treeless saddles ( Bob was not a treeless saddle expert by any means) and they have yet to correct the common issues with the Bob Marshall treeless saddles. The pressure is wrong, the saddles fold in half etc etc. ( Not my words, but from some of those who have owned them and have sent in their comments about their saddles. So any comments you have about the Black Forest Saddle would be appreciated, positive or negative, are both accepted 
Annie |
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| PasoBaby_CarolU |
I have not used a Black Forest (Google decides which ads to put in our posts, it probably spidered "Treeless Saddle" and put that ad in). I went to their site though and quite like the saddle. It looks a lot like a Barefoot. I think it might have more spine clearance that some horses need. I wonder if they have more wither clearance too, since this is an area I find a lot of treeless saddles have problems with.
It also doesn't have the heavy fleece padded underside that Barefoots have and I think I'd prefer this. I can add as much pad as I want. If you put a non-slip pad under a Barefoot, you have almost 2" of padding and that seems like a lot to me. I do see they have the solid "stirrup bars" that other saddles like it have. See the thread on the break-away stirrups. I wouldn't use anything else on these. Notice the red type at the bottom of the front page...big warning about it, and it would pay to heed their warning. If you've talked to the owner, then see about a 7-day trail period. Keep it meticulously clean though. You'd be out nothing but shipping. |
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| oldmac_donald |
They look MIGHT similar to the Barefoot saddles... oh wait...
http://www.adrforum.com/domains/decisions/1164380.htm Norty. Norty. iSpy a Cheyanne, a similar-London, an Arizona and an Atlanta in their line... Even the Granduer pads are the same. |
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| Leah |
I like treeless saddles-or some treeless in some situations.
The barefoot did not work from my QHx. Even with the pommel removed it would not span wide enough. You can remove the hard piece in the pommel and get a wide one or just roll a towel or socks in there for the widest. It is a very comfy saddle! Hopefully it will work for you...just don't assume it fits just because it is treeless. Best to use a pad made for treeless saddles as well. |
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| Annie |
From what I understand after speaking to the maker of the Black Forest treeless saddles... they used a couple of Vet's and a couple of expert saddle makers to create their treeless saddles and an Equine Chiro to assist them in perfecting a saddle that wont hurt nor harm the spine nor withers of the horse. I spoke to this guy for a couple of hours one day ( actually a couple of days) and asked every question I could possibly think of. He is very concerned about the horses health and making sure that you don't hurt your horse due to improper treeless saddle fitting. Like you said.. just because it's a treeless doesn't mean it fits all horses. He is fully aware of this and will ask you several questions in making sure you get the RIGHT treeless saddle for your type of horse and your specific needs. Annie |
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| Horse Gypsy |
I have 2 draft crosses that I ride pretty often one is 22 and the other is 3. My 3 year old is off the charts wide much wider than my older horse-- she is half arab the other is half TB. And for both of them Treeless saddles work really well for me and them. I would have to get a custom saddle I think for the 3 year old if I wasn't going treeless. I have never seen a horse so wide in her back at such a young age-- and she is growing. I think the arab thing is part of it also-- I have tried some treed saddles on her and she hates them-- she tells you to, by turning and trying to bit me or the saddle! The treeless must be much more comfortable.
I have a Barefoot Cheyanne-- I mainly use it for trail riding-- and the kids use it on my old horse. IT is a fine saddle I never had any problems with it-- I do not find it to be stable enough for me on some big moving horses or on really narrow horses. But my other treeless - Which is a HM Fhoenix Voque is much more stable has spinal clearance and I really like it-- but I think you have to be a certain type of rider to really like that saddle-- and have a particular body type-- I am 5'9" and am skinny-- and I just fit in the largest size they make-- anyone with a bigger bum would have trouble. I have yet to see anything bad come out of a treeless saddle-- if anything horses get more muscle. But you do need to be somewhat balanced as a rider I thing especially going fast! |