Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Thank you all for your helpful comments and suggestions.  I had quite a few requests to "post the results"  So here they are:

1. I was corrected that I am referring to flex PANEL saddles, not flex tree!  but, most of you got around my silly mistake.

2.  people are divided about 50-50 treeless v. flex, BUT more people complained about treeless.  Sounds like treeless works for a specific horse-rider pair, where as the panel systems seem more successful across the board.  That said-people are very adamant that they found the perfect solution, isn't that what it's all about??

3. Pros for treeless-feel the horse, comfortable for horse/rider, lightweight, fairly inexpensive,

Cons for treeless-slide around, hard to mount up, uncomfortable for horse/rider, not good for higher withers.

brands recommended: freeform, BM, sensation hybrid

4. Pros panel saddles-can be fitted more >1 horse, comfortable for horse/rider, good for round backs, and higher withered horses, custom-like fit.

Cons-specifically the ortho-flex makes the rider feel perched.  this was the only complaint I got. they are expensive (ie-more than my horse!!)

brands recommended: reactor panel, FnE, ameriflex, ortho-flex

 

MY CONCLUSIONS: I need to demo a few saddles!  I want to try both a flex panel and treeless on my horse before I make a decision...so, does anyone know how to melt all this ice and snow so I can ride???

 

Hope this helps, please feel free to add your 2 cents!

cheers,

moriah

 

On 2/14/07, Moriah Nickerson <moriah.nickerson@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hi All,

I have a round arab who doesn't fit very well into my current saddle, a crosby equilibrium.  I am tall, almost 6 ft, and about 145 lbs (more with this winter weather!!).  I read up on treeless saddles, something I am not at all familiar with, and I also came across flex trees, like RP, orthoflex, and FnE.  i like this idea, where the saddle moves with the horse, or at least strives to stay out of the horses way!  I am looking for a mostly unbias pro/con list of the differences between these two types of saddles, how appropriate they are for arabs, and for distance riding.  What are some of the important things to look for or consider?  If you prefer one over the other can you please tell me why, and what you read or came across that helped you with your decision.  Ultimately I will try a few of these to see what suits my horse, but as this is expensive and time-consuming, I am trying to pare down the list. 

Thanks!

Moriah