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[RC] [Guest] Thoughts on Treeless saddles - Ridecamp ModeratorBonnie Snodgrass chicamuxen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxI've owned two Sport Saddles and two Torsions. I've learned some things about using them that I thought I would pass on. The first horse I bought a SS for had a terrible back to fit a saddle to. She was an Arab/Qtr cross. Big shoulders, a dipped back and a high butt. All the english saddles I used on her put excess pressure just behind her shoulders. All my endurance riding neighbors, ltwt to HW rode in SS's. I bought one and found it sored the back edge of her shoulders!! I sold the saddle but as I continued to struggle with fitting treed saddles to this mare I realized that other riders set theri SS's further forward, OVER the shoulders. I had learned long ago to place my english saddles BEHIND the shoulder. I borrowed a SS for a week and did a 50 mile ride with only a woolback pad under it, no inserts. No sore shoulders either. I've been riding in a SS since then. You can place this saddle further forward. Many horses have their girth groove quite forward so this lets the girth/cinch hang vertically into that groove. I realize that some horses with tight elbows do rub if the girth is this close but I've had no trouble with this. This also moves the saddle away from the loins some. Loin rubbing. Lots of advice about how to solve that! One thing to consider is wether the saddle you ride in is really big enough for you. When you post does your hinney come down on the cantle or the seat of the saddle. This is importent. Thumping down on that hard half tree can cause loin soreness. You need to have a big enough saddle and you need to post fairly vertically so you stay off that cantle. Those SS's and Torsions can really spread you badly. It was really hard on my hips and lower back, made my knees stick out away from my horses sides. I stuck to those Toklat pads forever. I did start using a Skito interpad to put a little extra padding under me but that just made my horses back the width of a conference table. Then I read about Skitos shimmed pads. The extra foam shims along the spine create the effect that your horses back has a different shape. I bought one Skito interpad with the shims and got immediate relief. The SS was sooo much more comfortable now on the wide mare. The Torsion was still pretty flat feeling as it has less of a peak than the SS. So I ordered a full Skito pad from Tom with thin foam panels and extra thick shims with a wide taper to them. This really created a peak to the seat of the saddle and really improved the comfort of the Torsion. Keeping the main foam panels thin keeps the pad from pushing your thighs outward. I highly recommend the shimmed pad. I have both SS and Torsion saddles. I must warn people that the Torsion may cause back soreness directly under the seat where the stirrup webbing crosses the top of the saddle. I had this happen with the dipped back mare and never had a bit of problem with the SS. The SS has a Y webbing for the stirrups and distributes your weight better. It is best when using the Torsion style of saddle over longer distances that you ride off your thighs and spread your weight out. More effort for you but the grippy leather helps. I really like the Torsion but I do consider this a design weakness that you should consider. I use this saddle on my tank, the one with the table top back. Plus I use that great Skito shim pad. So far it's been a good combo. Wow , what a bunch of words! Bonnie Snodgrass =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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