>>> I have had a knowledgeable vet look at the fit and a friend who has ridden crosscountry and high level dressage look at it and they both thought it fit great. It will be interesting this spring when I have the saddle fitter look and see what she thinks. Talked to my vet and he said don't use a treeless all the time.
The problem is that you can talk to ten "professionals" on this topic and probably get ten opinions...and some of them will be directly contradictory. There are still a good many saddle-fitters who don't like treeless saddles - but a lot of them aren't familiar with some of the newer, more innovative designs either. Saddle-fit and design has basically been stagnated for many, many years, and has only recently taken center stage in more people's minds. Many people, some professionals included, simply aren't aware that MOST horses are wearing saddles that are too narrow, not just Icelandic's. If they have only seen relatively narrow saddles - and that's all you'll see in most tack stores - they simply can't know what the options are. Too many people think if Stubben (Albion, Passier, Wintec, whoever) doesn't make it, then it doesn't matter, so they won't look at other options. I simply don't believe that there are more horses with sore backs who are ridden in treeless saddles than in treed saddles. I'm sure that some treeless saddles can make some horses sore. All treeless saddles are not equal, and all horses aren't shaped the same. But no tree will conform to the changing shape of a moving horse's back. As always, consider the perspective of the person you are talking to. Do they really have the perspective to make the statements they make? Have they really seen many different options? Do they have a vested financial interested in saying what they say? Way too many saddle-fitters are also saddle dealers, and too many only want to push what they sell. Ultimately, I only care about one professional opinion - that's the opinion of my horses. (Literally that would be 25 opinions I guess, or it will be, when Isak, Tifa, Kola and Landi are old enough to ride.) I never asked my vet what her opinion is on treeless saddles. She doesn't have a treeless saddle, so I don't expect her to have a truly informed opinion. She has ridden in my Sensation, and she liked it a lot. I AM lucky that I have a good, independent saddle-fitter in my area, one who doesn't push any brand of saddle. She's got many years of saddle-fitting experience. She recommends treeless saddles for many hard to fit horses, even though she doesn't make a penny off their sale. Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
