treeless saddles and stirrups

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

chelle sherman cms@fluent.com
I think you've probably already heard that I ride in an Ansur, and like it, so I won't go into too much detail on that (feel free to e-mail me privately if you want the long and boring story). I tried the sportsaddle (twice) and liked it fine on a narrower horse, but not on a wide one - it slid around too much and rubbed her loins. If you like an English-style saddle and want to try treeless, I'd definitely recommend the Ansur. It's well made and I find it very comfortable, despite it not having a "narrow" twist. It's also light. What I really wanted to address, though, was the issue of stirrups that another post mentioned. The Ansur has a stirrup bar which is set very far back (a thing that I like) - and to answer someone's question, it is not suspended from a single strap that goes across, as far as I can tell. It actually looks like each stirrup bar is individually attached to the side of the saddle with stitching and rivets. I have noticed absolutely zero concentration of pressure with this saddle, from the stirrup bars or otherwise. Anyway, because of the location of the stirrup bar, and the fact that there is no tree, you can end up with quite a lump under your thigh if you use traditional English stirrup leathers with the buckle at the top. I have found that Wintec webbers work great. The other option that works just as well is to thread the stirrup leathers through so that the buckle is at the bottom, and just duct-tape the bight end down near the front of your stirrup. I prefer the Webbers because they really reduce the bulk. I use a full sheepskin cover and find that this combination is really comfortable. I have a pair of the plastic flex-ride stirrups, which I like the best. I also have the Trail Tech ones with the rubber donut on them. They are heavy, but do provide nice shock absorption for knees and ankles. This said, though, I do not have a tendency toward joint pain in knees or ankles, so I don't know if these help you if you tend to be stiff in those areas. The other thing I would comment on wit
ur is that this saddle seems to stick like a burr to the horse - it does not slide at all, even with no breast collar or crupper - on either of my horses, as long as I'm using a relatively thin pad. If I use a "built up" pad like a skito or cush-n-air, it can slide a little, so I have to tighten the girth more. I have heard that the Supracor works best with this saddle, and I think that's likely, because it is fairly low-profile - I just haven't yet gotten over the initial cost of the saddle, so I'm having trouble coughing up yet more money for an expensive pad! I hope this input is valuable for anyone who is considering an Ansur.

Another note on the other thread about twenty-somethings and endurance. I'm a thirty-something (emphasis on the something) and I concur that a lot of the reason there aren't a lot of twenty-somethings doing endurance is a time and money thing. It was for me, and it still is, though now I have a bit more money but time is still a problem. I had my kids later, so they are now 4 and 6, and I have a very demanding full time job. I have wanted to do endurance since I was a teenager, but only had the chance to start seriously trying to prepare for it since I was 31 (after my second child was born). It has been a long road, with two poor horse choices and lots of miles of conditioning, crewing, volunteering and CTR rides. This year, I will finally do my first 50 (I hope), and boy, am I ready! The only reason that I have been able to get this far is because I'm stubborn, willing to ride in the cold and the dark when my kids are sleeping, and have a reasonable husband and some flexibility at work (and two really cool headed horses who are a joy to ride). I am looking forward to a time when my kids are a bit more independent and I can participate in more than 2 or 3 rides a year. Patience is not something I come about naturally, and this journey has taught me a lot. It has been an endurance test just getting this far! I'm not sure I would have had the toughness, patience, sense of humor, or mental focus ten years ago to accomplish this. There's something to be said for maturity! It's hard to surpress a little bit of envy when I see juniors who had the chance to grow up with the sport, and think about how many miles and experience they have, and all the fun they've had, when I'm just beginning - but I know that many of you got started even later, and I'm glad that this sport works for all ages. I often look longingly at the retirees who are doing endurance, traveling around finding good trails, and having a great time - I'm looking forward to being old!

Chelle Sherman