The base of the pommel is much too narrow for my
Arab/paint mare...I could not get my hand under the front of the saddle under
the base of the pommel. It was restricting shoulder rotation back and digging in
going downhills. I may have been okay when she was younger (I surely hope
so)...but by last year she was pinning her ears when I saddled her and making
faces....so I went on a search to find out what was bugging her...and started
really discovering all kinds of things that were not working.
On my younger mare, the mustang, the pommel
width better...but that mare had a prominent spine and I had seen two
horses a friend had get some rubbing from back edge of saddle....and yes, we
experimented with every kind of thick split=pad insert....
Again, tons of this discussion in the treeless
group....check archives on the group or ask questions....
I'm being nosey here; but why
won't you use the sport saddle on two of your horses? I recently bought
a used Torsion and I'm not sure how well I like it. I've used it on just
two training rides without any problems. I'm thinking along the lines of
Patsy. I worry about his spine, but with his other saddle we started to
have pressure issues and now that he is in better condition this year nothing
fits the same. I feel like I'm trying to fit a new
horse.
I've also found the more I learn
the less I know? Any thoughts on the treeless issue are
appreciated.
Cassie
From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Karen
Sullivan Sent: Sunday, May 08, 2005 11:33 PM To: Patsy
Davis; ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [RC] Treeless
saddles
Hi Patsy,
You might also want to pose this question to the
treeless group....
I for one, believe it';s not a good idea...but
was able to ride sport saddles,which are semi treeless (have hard pommel and
cantle) for a long number of years with no problems I could see. I did
use a skito pad, with split inserts, which may give enough spine clearance for
SOME horses. I have seen some very ugly spine rubs from sport saddles,
though.
I have two current horses I will not put sport
saddles on; the other mare used them exclusively for 7 years with no
problems.
Is there any problem caused by the treeless saddle sitting right down
on the spine of the horse? With a tree, the pressure is raised off the
spine, right? So why is it not a problem (heat, pressure, etc) when
you are sitting directly on the spine?
Just trying to understand before I jump off and buy something that I
don't understand. They must work or there wouldn't be such a demand
for them.
