gem
6th October 2009, 04:17 PM
I bought an Equitrek treeless saddle off ebay a few weeks back and took it over to where Saffy is while she's on loan a week ago (seems longer, I need my dotty fix!). Thought I'd do a bit of a review because I'm completely new to treeless saddles and hopefully it'll come in useful to anyone considering it.
I decided on a treeless because Saffy's growing up into a good little appy and so is significantly more barrel like than she was last year :lol: I put the saddle on first without any pad or anything (I wasn't going to ride like that). It looked a much better fit than her old saddle (not much of a job..) but it still seemed to sit a bit high. I put it on with the Equitrek pad and it sat even higher. It looked way too high. I have quite a thick polypad so I put that on and it looked better. Because of the style of the saddle, I didn't need a dressage girth. I'd bought one just in case but that is now waiting until we start our dressage career :evilgrin:
I got on to see how it was with my weight on it. It seemed to fall into a good place but I thought maybe a bit close to the spine. I walked around for 2mins and it became clear that it really was too low down. I hopped off again and put the special pad on. I got back on (needed someone to hold the stirrup down because it was quite slippy) and it sat at a perfect level. Sorted.
At first, it felt very wide. I felt like my legs were being pushed out a lot more than normal. The knee rolls are nicely padded so, although my legs were being pushed into a slightly different position than usual, I felt like they were definitely in the right place. The cut of the seat made me feel like I was sitting very deep in the saddle. It was very comfy in walk, would be great for long hacks! It felt funny at first in trot but once I got used to it it was fine. Again very comfy. I felt like I was being pushed out of my seat a bit in canter but that's most likely just me not being used to sitting in them the same way as my old saddle. The main problem I had with it when riding was that it was slipping (only slightly) to the side. I think this will improve when Saf's lost some weight. Also, it will stop me from putting uneven weight into my legs - a habit I'd never really picked up on in the other saddle.
As for Saffy - she seemed much comfier in it. She seemed freer in her movements and by the end of the session she was really getting to use her back properly. Her giraffe impressions were endless in the other one. She still raised her head slightly at times but I think that's just because she wasn't paying attention sometimes and it was very windy etc. She definitely didn't seem to be in any discomfort and was very forward going, especially in canter.
So, overall, I'm extremely pleased with my new saddle. It should change shape as she changes shape and seems to be made out of very good leather. It's a very 'traditional' looking saddle so I'll be fine to show in it etc. I can't wait to go out on a long hack with it, I'll probably get rocked to sleep!! If someone has any idea how to stop it slipping (like I say it's really not much) it'd be much appreciated :) Treeless definitely gets the thumbs up from me!
I decided on a treeless because Saffy's growing up into a good little appy and so is significantly more barrel like than she was last year :lol: I put the saddle on first without any pad or anything (I wasn't going to ride like that). It looked a much better fit than her old saddle (not much of a job..) but it still seemed to sit a bit high. I put it on with the Equitrek pad and it sat even higher. It looked way too high. I have quite a thick polypad so I put that on and it looked better. Because of the style of the saddle, I didn't need a dressage girth. I'd bought one just in case but that is now waiting until we start our dressage career :evilgrin:
I got on to see how it was with my weight on it. It seemed to fall into a good place but I thought maybe a bit close to the spine. I walked around for 2mins and it became clear that it really was too low down. I hopped off again and put the special pad on. I got back on (needed someone to hold the stirrup down because it was quite slippy) and it sat at a perfect level. Sorted.
At first, it felt very wide. I felt like my legs were being pushed out a lot more than normal. The knee rolls are nicely padded so, although my legs were being pushed into a slightly different position than usual, I felt like they were definitely in the right place. The cut of the seat made me feel like I was sitting very deep in the saddle. It was very comfy in walk, would be great for long hacks! It felt funny at first in trot but once I got used to it it was fine. Again very comfy. I felt like I was being pushed out of my seat a bit in canter but that's most likely just me not being used to sitting in them the same way as my old saddle. The main problem I had with it when riding was that it was slipping (only slightly) to the side. I think this will improve when Saf's lost some weight. Also, it will stop me from putting uneven weight into my legs - a habit I'd never really picked up on in the other saddle.
As for Saffy - she seemed much comfier in it. She seemed freer in her movements and by the end of the session she was really getting to use her back properly. Her giraffe impressions were endless in the other one. She still raised her head slightly at times but I think that's just because she wasn't paying attention sometimes and it was very windy etc. She definitely didn't seem to be in any discomfort and was very forward going, especially in canter.
So, overall, I'm extremely pleased with my new saddle. It should change shape as she changes shape and seems to be made out of very good leather. It's a very 'traditional' looking saddle so I'll be fine to show in it etc. I can't wait to go out on a long hack with it, I'll probably get rocked to sleep!! If someone has any idea how to stop it slipping (like I say it's really not much) it'd be much appreciated :) Treeless definitely gets the thumbs up from me!