Trees, Treeless, or Bareback? Yes, Please!

 We went to a lovely little tack shop in Carlisle where they have saddles on consignment for very reasonable prices.  The girls had saved up some money and we decided it was time to see if we could find one to try out and see how it would fit on all or any of our gang.  We are a bit spoiled now as the saddles we own appear to fit everyone.  The challenge is we have two saddles and if we all want to go riding together we really needed another.  While we love riding bareback, we like the security of a saddle on a trail ride.  We were really lucky to find two really great fitting ones on Ebay and Craigslist, but recently, our luck hasn't been as good.

The nice thing about this store is they have a 5 day return policy.  Two trips later and I suppose I didn't realize just how blessed we were to have bought a used saddle and have it work out, even on just one of our horses.  I must admit, I was looking at saddles more for me and how they would look; I wasn't really considering that fitting would even be an issue.  I have been spoiled for the entire time I've owned horses because I have always been around folks who have had lots of experience with saddle fitting and had told me right away if what I had would work or not.  Now that we are by ourselves, I must admit I haven't much of an idea of what to look for to know if a saddle fits correctly.  There's more to it than you think.  I figured if it had a medium tree, it would be okay.  The first one we picked out was a beautiful Thorowgood that I fell in love with immediately.  It was the equivalent of a little black dress for Dancer.  With her fancy dressage bridle (and I don't even do dressage, lol!) she would have turned every head.  It doesn't matter that the only ones who would have probably ever seen it would have been my daughters, the barn owner who competes in cutting and reining and the rest of the herd Dancer is turned out with.  Okay, and I secretly admit that if and when we made the trek to the Gettysburg Battlefield, I wanted her to be drop dead gorgeous when making her debut.

After discovering that the fit was too high and much narrower than it looked, we trudged back to the tack shop, where the owner greeted us cheerfully and listened to our plight.  She graciously accepted our return and we proceeded to seek out something else.  We ended up with a handsome all purpose saddle which I felt good about because it still had some black in it-remember, the bridle, right? It had a medium tree and I was all set!

We got back to the barn and excitedly pulled off Dancer's blanket, brushed her and placed the saddle on her back.  It appeared to fit okay, but looking at where it sat I was concerned about the range of motion at her shoulder.  It looked like it might restrict movement.  Not that I do much other than walking, trotting and the occasional canter but I was still worried.  Because she is the slenderest with a high withered build (Ben and Katie are built like tanks!) I knew in my heart this was not going to work either.  After all, I want Dancer to be focused on me, not on how the saddle is pinching her.  

I remembered a friend mentioning having her saddle reflocked and that it made all the difference in the world.  I briefly considered this before returning the second saddle.  The saddle fitter actually comes out to your barn which makes sense-the horse has to be fitted to the saddle, right?  Duh, I had so much to learn!  I did some checking around and discovered people with this skill (in this area) are few and far between.  And yes, they are expensive.  But as I discovered over the course of my research, it is much less expensive than purchasing a saddle and is very much worth the investment as like a human, the horse's body is constantly changing.  As I was doing my investigating (online of course!) I happened upon a great video explaining the basics of a horse's anatomy and the importance of proper saddle fit:

And if you haven't considered just how important a role your saddle and it's fit plays, this will surely make you think twice.  All those issues you are having with your horse could very well come down to this.  

Fortunately, the girls had been eyeing a bareback saddle pad for a while at Peggy's place and they talked me into it being a worthwhile purchase.  I had seen this type around before and had sort of scoffed at it because it had stirrups.  I thought-what is the purpose of that?  You may as well have a treeless saddle!  Which led me to research if bareback riding is okay for a horse which led to treed vs. treeless saddles. You know how those google searches go-it's like the domino effect!

 We have all been doing a lot of bareback riding over the years for lots of reasons, but the most important is the gut feeling that it is much better for the horse than an ill fitting or super heavy saddle and almost just as importantly allows us to improve our seat and balance to be the best riders we can be for our horses.  In addition, the pad offers some cushion for the horse's back as opposed to riding with no pad at all.  The argument for bareback riding vs. riding in a saddle is primarily the weight distribution.  I found a pretty interesting article on newrider.com (a UK website-note all the measurements are British) from which I quote:  

"When it comes to scientific research, it's not the results that matter but how they're interpreted and this is especially the case with pressure testing saddles & bottoms. I'm going to throw a little mud in the water now .....  Treeless pressure test: 2 horses; a skinny thoroughbred and a very table topped cob. Same rider, same gaits and same surface used in testing.

The results are the overall averages:

TB weight bearing area - 153sq inches 

TB average pressure - 1.6psi

Cob weight bearing area - 182sq inches Cob average pressure - 1.8psi

The treed results we were given for comparison had an average area of 220sq inches and an average pressure of 1.8psi. As you may notice, the treeless gave considerably less area, especially on the TB but the pressure was lower & visa versa for the cob. But both results are within the same bracket as the treed saddle which showed a greater bearing surface. So where is the proof that the larger weight bearing area = better pressure distribution? 

There are far more elements that affect pressure readings which shows that weight bearing area is only a very small part of the equation. A 15 stone rider with a saddle that fits him & horse will exert far more psi than a 10 stone rider. Having a saddle that does not allow enough room for movement, will give a higher pressure reading even with the broadest, best weight distributing panels.

Just because a saddle gives a good pressure reading still does not mean its a great fit. If a saddle has been fitted to an atrophied horses shape, it could give a good result because it fits that shape but the atrophy shows it's far from ideal. Mankind has spent far, far longer riding horses bareback or on some form of pad than they have in treed saddles. I see no problem with bareback riding but just as with anything else, it depends on the rider's and horses shape. Pressure on the spine is only going to be a threat to a prominent spined horse but no-one would want to ride that bareback, ouch! There is also a difference riding totally bareback or with a bareback pad which is more beneficial for both concerned.

In the end, it's all down to static vs fluctuating pressures. Our feet have a very small weight bearing area in comparison to our bodies. I know that standing still for any length of time is far worse on my feet, (even in my most comfortable shoes) than moving around for the same period length. Similar principles could be applied to riding whether with or without a saddle."

I also read something on yourhorse.co.uk  by Janine Burns which I quote here:

"The point of having a tree as part of the saddle is to distribute pressure (in the same way a snow shoe works), hence the results from ....tests. However....The benefit of a Treeless saddle is the flexibility it offers (something not covered in the test) - ask any engineer what they would chose if they had to join two moving objects together (rigid or flexible), hopefully they would chose flexible. Then add in the fact that a lot of horse owners do not take in to account the ever changing shape of their horse (not much of a problem for a Treeless owner but a huge problem for a Treed owner). So, both saddles have an advantage over each other and a disadvantage, and only one of these is covered by the above test. 

I am a personal trainer by trade and was a Physical Training Instructor in the military, i know what it is like to do hard physical exercise and i also know what it is like to wear ill fitting kit or the wrong kit...whichever saddle you chose - Treed or Treeless , it needs re-fitting on a regular basis, and if you do extremes of activity with your horse (like hunting) you may need 2 saddles if you are Treed (unlessTreeless of course)."

I think what everyone can take away from this is that it really depends on the horse and the rider and it will depend on many variables like condition and age of a horse, breed, etc.  What I have learned is to not discount things that I haven't given an honest chance.  And I'm telling you, this bareback pad is really FUN! 

I think Dancer enjoys it too-she appears to be more relaxed, her back rounds instead of hollowing out, and she seems to be stretching her neck more; also her head is down.  I have started riding her brideless with this pad too and I think she is more responsive! She is licking her lips and sighing contentedly.  One cautionary note:  I've heard the stirrups can be very dangerous because the fleece pad can slip.  I personally love them but can understand how it could be bad if a foot happens to get caught. As with everything, there is always risk involved.  Make sure to check your girth often to prevent any slipping and pay attention to what your horse is telling you and of course, wear a helmet!

The bottom line for me as a horse owner is to do right by them.  My motto is and has always been "It's about the horse."  Dancer is such a forgiving soul as are all horses and most creatures for that matter.  I read somewhere that  "horses are very stoic because they are prey animals and need to hide any weakness."  The best advice I can give you is to be in tune as much as you possibly can with your equine counterpart and this will help to figure out any problems.  Horses are trying to tell you how they feel all the time-it's just a matter of you listening.  

I suppose until I come into some money I will be riding bareback-I'm not sure having a saddle fitter come out to remedy our second saddle is the answer.  Because I would like to hope for the best and ask to have my saddle reflocked.  But I think I know deep down that this isn't going to be the right solution either.  Sometimes all the reflocking in the world doesn't help some of those inexpensive saddles-how does that saying go?  "You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig."  There really is no substitute for a good investment in a well made saddle that fits properly.  And  then I can call the saddle fitter.  I suppose it's like anything; cars, houses, you get the idea-everything needs to be adapted eventually.  Maybe we can swing it when the kids' braces are paid off?  Oh, yeah, I forgot about the college tuition, and my retirement!  I suppose it will always be something, lol.   

Oh well, that pad is working really nice for us right now! What do you think, Dancer?