Re: Floki saddle/other treeless saddles

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

I tried the Floki (actually the Keilir, which is the "new and improved"
Floki).  It seemed OK for my horse, but the absolutely HUGE knee rolls
gave me blisters on my knees.  It's really designed for riding gaited
horses, so you can't get the stirrup short enough to be comfortable
posting.  My horse seemed to like it, but I also thought that the panels
(it does have panels) were rather too narrow, with only a crease for a
gullet.  From all of the treeless saddles I've tried, I think the ones
that work the best are the ones with no gullet or panels (to be used with
a Skito or other gulleted pad).  But the seat sure was comfy, and it might
work very well for a rider who doesn't need to post.  And the woman from
Flying C Icelandics was SOOOOO nice and helpful to me--if anyone wants to
buy Icelandic stuff, please give them some business--they are great!  They
were so nice to me that I felt bad for not buying anything from them.

While on the subject, I recently got a Torsion saddle.  It's very similar
to the Tuend saddles, but significantly cheaper.  It seems good so far,
though I have no idea how it will be over longer distances.  The stirrup
attachment is distributed and so is the girth attachment.  I think that
used with a Skito pad it could have the same level of comfort for some
horse/rider combinations as the Sport Saddles or the Ansur.  Probably the
rounder horses will like it better.  My question is, is there an interest
in bringing these saddles to the US?  They are currently only available in
Europe.  They would run about $500-600 if I started bringing them in.  

Obviously, I don't know how they work over longer distances--are many
people having success with the Tuend saddles on long rides?  But, given
the low price they could work very well as a second saddle or for starting
youngsters, or for lighter riding, even if they won't give enough support
for 50-mile rides (which they might--they were designed in conjunction
with the Italian endurance team). I'd just like to get an idea of how
much interest there is before I decide whether to become a distributor, so
if people could email me and let me know that would be great!

Happy trails all,
Abby (oh please, oh please...)
& Cola (hey--this thing smells like a saddle, but it might actually be...
COMFORTABLE??  But I'll wait to decide until you can't return it...)