Re: Tuend/sports saddles/etc.

[Abigail Aiyagari <abby1@itsa.ucsf.edu>]

I checked into the sports saddles, and you are correct that the front
and back tree pieces are structural elements of the saddle.  While this
does potentially give the saddle more stability, it also puts more
limitations on fit (particularly for the wide, flat, short-backed type).
For my horse, the front piece was clearly too narrow and the saddle
clearly too long.  Since the rigging is attached to the tree pieces, they
have to fit the horse just as well as any full-treed saddle.  Not saying
that they can't work very, very well for some--just that they have to fit.

I've found an Italian saddle similar to the Tuend, but for less than half
the price, at a tack shop in Germany (www.hue-hott.de).  It's about $600
(shipped), the design is almost exactly like the Tuend, except it's made
out of suede and cordura instead of soft leather.  It's called the
Torsion.  There is also another very similar saddle that comes in
synthetic or leather, it's called the Fitform and is made in the UK.  I'm
not sure about the price on that one.  The Torsion is supposedly something
that was designed in conjunction with and tested by the Italian endurance
team.  I'm in the process of getting a Torsion (I definitely plan on using
at least one of the pockets for my crap!), since I certainly fall into the
"bareback" category--my horse has never been comfortable in anything more
than a bareback pad.  That tack shop is worth checking out--they have so
many saddles, it's mind-boggling!  The web site is in German, but the
woman I've been in contact with speaks English and has been very helpful.
Of course, there's no way of knowing whether the Italian endurance horses
all have sore backs...but I've tried so many things, I'm willing to give
this a go.

I do think that there is room for some deviation from the traditional
ideas in saddle-fitting in this country, and treeless saddles are
certainly a good step.  It's hard to forget what was drilled into us
when we were learning to ride, that the saddle should NEVER EVEN COME
CLOSE to the withers or spine, and anything you can do to prevent that
(including a saddle that is way too narrow), you should.  It's difficult
to reconcile that with the idea of a saddle with no framework, even though
the basic rules are necessarily different for such a different design
(i.e., no injury caused by non-rigid things contacting the withers and
spine).


Abby
& Cola (get that hunk of wood away from me!)