In answer to the question about treeless saddles
and weight distribution---here is my experience with treeless saddles over 2000
miles with one horse and several hundred with a couple
others.
I am a middle/middle wt, and tried the Torsion
treeless first. In anything over 50 miles (100s or multi's) I was getting
soreness over the ample withers of both my horses from where the stirrups
attached and went over the body of the saddle. I had been using a Toklat
woolback, and then an Equipedic.
Got rid of that saddle, went through a couple other
treed styles that weren't right, and ended up with a Bob Marshall. I still
use the woolback, and have found the BM to fit one mare and not the other.
The second horse has a really high wither and a depression behind her shoulder -
luckily I stumbled upon a 25 year old Ortho Flex forward seat that fits like a
glove.
The 2000 mile mare I am still using the BM on
has developed slight hair loss and a few white hairs right where my butt
hits, and I am thinking that 100 miles in the early spring when she was changing
coat, plus not having a crew so I did not untack enough, has 'burned' that
area. She was never tender on it, and I am trying to be more disciplined
about removing her saddle and dissipate heat even when I am dead ass
tired.
So, I feel that despite that small glitch, that
yes, the BM saddle distributes the ample weight well if managed
well....
