Are Treeless Saddles Right For Your Horse?
By Jochen Schleese

The ongoing controversy – Treed or Treeless Saddles??

Several years ago in Europe a very expensive dressage horse had to be extensively treated because a treeless saddle had been hitting the horse on the spine, resulting in neurological damage. It was proven that it was in fact the saddle that had been the trigger. Only a tree can keep the rider off the horse’s spine. The horse has a horizontal spine, man has a vertical one. You may think that to a horse 180 lb or so of rider is of no consequence, but it is. The horse's centre of balance is directly behind the withers, but because a tree-less saddle sits so close to the horses back, the rider cannot get far enough forward and will therefore be behind the movement - not to mention the risk of being past the horses last supporting rib. Also (especially for a man) the seat bones are closer together and tipped on a steeper angle, which means every time he sits, those bones are digging into the horses back. How long before that becomes terribly painful? A rider who goes on a 1/2 hour hack twice a week it wouldn't have a lasting effect, but when we talk about an upper level dressage horse that has a rider 140 lbs or more pounding on its back for upwards of 40 minutes 5 days a week? It just doesn't make any sense!

Yes, there will definitely be more freedom in the shoulder through the scapula than with a rigid tree, but there are a lot of other trees out there now that have more flex. Much scapular damage has been done by tree points, which is why a saddle with longer tree-points that actually point backward is optimum! Yes, a tree can be very detrimental if it is not made correctly, but no tree at all causes pain as well. This has been proven with the use of fibre-optic cameras and thermography scans – showing resulting bone chips and shoulder injuries to the horse.

There is a reason why the majority of saddles still have trees - and the important thing is that the tree fits the horse both along its length and especially over the withers (the 'vise-grip' of the saddle!). This is where the stallion bites the mare during mating to immobilize her. There especially shouldn’t be too much pressure put directly on the spinal processes of the horse, nor on the ligament system that runs along side the spine. Treeless saddles (which are essentially bareback pads) may work for a while, especially if the horse has been ridden in a badly fitting treed saddle, but eventually constant pressure will cause long-term damage.

It is paradoxical to expect to buy one saddle that is hoped will fit forever without adjustments. In a well-fitting saddle the horse should begin to muscle up and change conformation so that at least annual adjustments will be required to accommodate this growth. Continuing to ride a saddle without having it re-flocked or refitted is doing horse a disservice, or there's something wrong with the saddle. Using different types of pads to 'fix' the fit is a band-aid solution at best. A pad should be used on well-fitting saddle simply to protect the leather from sweat, and should be no more than a thin cotton layer.

Many current books on equine anatomy will offer back up information to this statement (see specifically references to the supraspinous ligament system). Sometimes veterinarians are at a loss to explain equine 'problems' - often related to using the wrong type of saddle, or a badly fitting saddle. The unfortunate truth is that treeless saddles go against the logic of equine anatomy - they may work for a few years, but as has been reiterated, there is a reason that there so many more treed saddles on the market. Could it be that treeless is simply a fad?

Not many people today have the luxury of time to learn to ride as well as the native Americans did - with or without saddles. Many people still need to use a saddle to even stay on a horse so you can't really compare the two. Nothing would make us happier as saddle makers and saddle fitters than having bareback pads/treeless saddles universally accepted - they're much faster and much cheaper to make, and little skill is required to sew what is essentially a leather pad. If this is truly the best thing for the horse, why have none of the long-established traditional saddle makers jumped on the bandwagon? Think of this analogy. Why do you not find high level human athletes pursuing their sports barefoot? For three reasons - support, comfort, and protection that a shoe can give. There are only a handful of riders (from all over the world) at higher levels riding a bareback pad/treeless saddle. Elite (equine) athletes require support, comfort and protection to perform optimally. Without a tree, a bareback pad/treeless saddle cannot protect the horse's spine, support the curvature of the rider's spine, and be comfortable for both horse and rider. The rider needs to sit softly (only achievable with correct posture and support of the four curvatures of the human spine) and the horse needs to keep the longissimus dorsi loose, so the back can rise, the hindquarters can come underneath, and the weight come off the forehand.

Much has been written about how wonderfully the horse moves in the shoulder with a bareback pad/treeless saddle, yet this 'freedom of movement' in the shoulder is ineffective and long-term damaging if the back is hollow because the back muscle tightens due to the sharp seat bones of the rider. There is no support to the rider's spine and no protection to the horse's spine. The result is that all the weight is on the forehand, which is an undesirable consequence. The majority of people riding have horses larger than the Indian pony (which was of course, traditionally ridden bareback), and common knowledge states that the bone density usually only holds up for an 800 lb horse. (most horses weigh much more than this) If the horse is not ridden off the forehand, damage will result to the ligaments, joints, tendons, and musculature. In the past at international championships you likely will not see a bareback pad/treeless saddle – even race saddles, although tiny, do contain 1/2 trees to protect the spine.

Of course, a saddle fitter will always state his/her opinion, such as the owner of the bareback pad/treeless saddle also has his/her opinion - we live in a free society where everyone is allowed to state his/her opinion - however, for further input to form an educated opinion, please refer to the book "The Horse's Pain Free Back and Saddle Fit" by Dr. Joyce Harmann, DVM. She has made saddlefitting her focus - esp. the chapter on Saddle Construction, p. 37 - Treeless saddles. She mentions how important it is to keep the weight off the horse's spine. More and more veterinarians concur and investigate saddle fit, with research and evidence collected with MRI's, fibreoptic or thermographic cameras, and computerized saddle pads.

Although some of the bareback pads/ treeless saddles have incorporated a gullet into their design, without the tree you cannot bridge the spinal processes nor the spinal ligament system properly, and therefore end up not providing the protection a properly fitted treed saddle will provide. Flexible, adjustable trees are an alternate choice to traditional wooden spring trees to provide horse and rider with what they need to prevent long term damage. There is nothing wrong with going barefoot, (or 'bareback') but to ensure the health of athletes (human or equine) the educated consumer will choose the product which provides the best support, comfort and protection. Obviously no one is going to convince anyone of anything they don't want to believe in - bottom line is you should ride in whatever you are comfortable in, because no matter how well your saddle fits your horse (bareback pad/treeless saddle or treed saddle), your horse will never move optimally if you as the rider are not comfortable as well, because your discomfort will translate down.

I don't think anyone would argue that point, but the point is, please consider that the reason treed saddles have been around for so long is because they serve a distinct purpose - to protect, support, and provide comfort to both horse and rider. But use whatever works for you - just be aware that sometimes products appear on the market that seem to be a lot better than they really are, given the logic behind the manufacturing.

Nonetheless, a properly fitted treed saddle is far superior to a treeless saddle. Sometimes things that appear to be perfect solutions in the short term will prove to have less than satisfactory outcomes in the long term. If you tap the top of your hand, it doesn't hurt much the first couple of minutes, but if you continue tapping for an hour or so, the tendons become very sore. Short term - no problem; long term - pain.

Emotion should be taken out of this discussion, and it should be based on fact. More and more veterinarians are specializing in saddle fit and research evidence will become more and more apparent and available. Time will tell who is right….

The truth about treeless saddles is that the striups run across the horses spine which over time will damage their poor back espcially when rising to the trot. a strap that runs across your spin with pressure from your weight every few seconds is all bad in my book.

The article sounds great but i find it to be an overly generalized opinion. People have been using treeless successfully. The horse that was hurt (in the example given) may have other contributing factors as well. The common sense says that if Treeless was SO bad, you will have these forums full of sad stories from the people who tried treeless..

Not a particularly well-researched or written article, disappointing from someone who is well respected within the world of saddlers. Would love to see references for the research he talks about (I have researched this topic extensively in veterinary journals and haven't managed to find the information he speaks of), and it is a shame that the DVM that he refers to is a believer in homeopathy, which could be seen to somewhat discredit her scientific judgement.

Also, gulleted treeless saddles are not covered in this article, ruling out Ansurs / Solution, Heather Moffet Phoenix, and several other great treeless alternatives.

Near the end of the article he mentions the horse lifting it's back - how is it supposed to do that without creating painful pressure points from a rigid tree?

More, higher quality research needed for this debate!

Rediculous. Updated treeless w/ panels and specialy designed pads have eleviated the spine issue. Ask the many endurance riders that ride for 100's of miles the difference in their horse. Treed saddles were made for war horses for thousands of years, not for the horses or the humans comfort. Do alittle more research or get your hand out of the money jar for treed manufacturers who don't want to change. Traditional is like everything else, slow to change.

Anyone interested in this topic should check out this link:

http://www.solutionsaddles.com/whygotreeless.shtml

I have used a Bob Marshall treeless western trail saddle with a Skito pad. Yes, it was comfortable and light. However, for someone who is riding for extensive periods of time (typical rides are 3-5 hours over rugged terrain). I noticed with the 2 horses I used the saddle on, that they were stretching their necks frequently, as if they had a tired or sore back. I am not overly heavy, nor overweight or unbalanced. I have not noticed this before, when riding with a well-fitting treed western saddle. It was very obvious, so I returned the saddle and went back to a good western saddle with a top quality wool pad. My comment would be that there appear to be limitations as to the type of use these saddles are appropriate for.

It's about time articles like this were updated. Treeless saddles in all varieties (and there are quite a few out there now) have proven themselves on most spheres but especially in Endurance where they ride quite a bit longer and much more often than "a rider who goes on a 1/2 hour hack twice a week" and certainly more than the average dressage rider. With different terrains and extra weight to carry, surely this is the ultimate test of any saddle.

As far as the content of this article goes, I think it just highlights how bad the dressage rider was. Surely dressage is supposed to be about lightness, harmony and being at one with the horse. I didn't think the word "pounding" was a very wise description for the author to use for the intention of the article. No rider should pound on the horse's back and if they do, they shouldn't be riding. When all is said and done, any saddle could be used on any horse without little or no adverse affect if a rider was not on board. So in this case, the saddle is not the only guilty party and whilst it many not have been effective in compensating for the rider's lack of ability to remain light and move in harmony with their horse, the question still needs to be raised on how this saddle was fitted, what was the shape of the horse and what was used underneath it?

Today, we have so many different treed saddles available and I still couldn't find any that fit my two Draft Geldings. I ended up with the Tahoe from Barefoot and used 5 Star Equine felt inserts with the skito pad fitting the Tahoe and it works very well. I now have complete spinal clearance and my horse is really happy. So we need to focus a bit more on having an open mind to new ideas.

Sabine

Treeless saddles do work if used with the correct pad that has spinal relief-unfortunatley alot of vendors selling treeless do not educate their clients fully. I have logged 39,000 miles treeless and weigh 215lbs with tack-never a sore horse. Please view my free utube video's for horse yoga stretches on my site as well.

The logic of this article completely baffles me. The author suggests that treed saddles must be best because they have been around 'for so long.' Excuse me, but, in the history of horse riding, treed saddles are a relative newcomer. Humans rode horses without trees for hundreds if not thousands of years. Of course, both points are completely moot, because its only been recently that we humans have had any real concern for the comfort of the horse, and to my mind, neither solution has proven better.

I have a Black Forest treeless saddle to ride my Kentucky Mountain gaited horse with, and love it, so apparently does she since her gait has improved significantly since the purchase.
The author does not take into account the improvments over the years from the early treeless saddles that impinged on spines, ligaments and muscles, now however the higher end treeless saddles have undergon a transformation due to R&D and technologies that allow for finding the best weight dispersment over a wider area and products to achieve that dispersment to protect the horses, and keep the comfortable lightweight saddles that made them desireable in the first place.

I have 2 treeless saddles & my favorite treed saddle sits in the tack room gathering dust. All 3 of my horses absolutely love treeless riding. They also like bareback. And incidentally, they also love being ridden with only a halter & reins. Seems to me, the more heavy, stiff, junk we "must have" on our horses, the less willing they are. (Tiedowns & back cinches are really a pet peeve of mine.) My horses actually "catch me" when I go out to the pasture to ride them & give me relaxed safe rides. Doesn't that say it all? But, as I said, I am just a trail rider.

I can tell that you are very passionate in your pro treed saddle argument and that's great. I certainly agree that pressure and weight on the spinal column is very bad no matter how long or how heavy a rider is. What you failed to mention is that the treeless saddles do now have a gullet system AND are designed to be ridden with special pads that raise the saddle up and off of the spine (SKITO pad) for example. If this sytem was detrimental it would be hard to explain the numerous wins and places in 100 mile endurance rides over and over with the treeless saddles and pads. Horses have been ridden for much more time historically without saddles with trees-and much harder than the modern horse is.
Your argument also mentions that treeless saddles are still being produced and the tradition couldn't continue if it weren't the ideal-
Are you also in favor of metal shoes on horses because it's "tradition" and the majority of owners do it still? There's a problem with your logic if so-horses were designed to be barefoot, free and (riderless!) I certainly think that there is room for a variety of saddle options or no saddle. All riders should have experience with riding bareback-bad riding is bad saddle or no saddle.

Hi, I would definitely like to see more research published on this subject. Similarly to 'Science Please', I have searched online science databases extensively and found nothing by way research. In contrast, articles in the general press and online which advocate treeless saddles readily quote 'research' and 'evidence' in support of their arguments. Additionally, the argument against tree'd saddles presented in these articles commonly describes the problems associated with poorly fitted tree'd saddles, neglecting to acknowledge the benefits of a well fitted tree'd saddle.

Interestingly, in my experience, equine manual therapists readily promote the use of treeless saddles for muscular health, whilst qualified saddlers demote their use with concern regarding load bearing. Both parties have valuable knowledge within their field, an amalgamation of which would be highly beneficial to saddle design. This also leads me to believe that we have not yet developed the 'optimum' saddle.

In the meantime, my jury is out and will probably remain so until a grounded argument is presented.

Schleese is a treed saddle. Your article is prejudiced. You're a SCHLEESE and perhaps loosing business to a better thing. I have been using a treeless saddle for years. My mare had a sore back all the time and we used a fitted Schleese before I went to a treeless and now she is never sore anymore. She feels and moves like a 5 year old horse again and her muscle wastage is gone. No different than the use of barbaric horse shoes and barbaric bits treed saddles cause the horse much pain and anguish. Shoes, bits and treed saddles are the root problem to the crippling effects that horses experience from them. More than 75% of horses are lame by the time they are 10 years old cause by these old and worn out practices -- including the use of TREED SADDLES.