Hi All: Since I am about 95lbs & 5"2", I can get away with riding is less substantial "treeless saddles" than someone with more weight. I also don't put much pressure in the stirrups even when I post or ride the other gaits & rode my guys out on the trail slick bareback for years while searching for saddles that worked for us all. So just be careful with the stability issue, use safety stirrups & check your horse for soreness if you decide to use the "Little Joe Bareback Saddle" or any othe bareback pad with or without stirrups. I always use mine with a 3/4" Skito pad so there is a spine channel & a bit more padding from my bony little seat bones. With the "A" frame Icey I put his on over a Balance contoured 12oz 100% wool pad (like a Mattes/Christ pad with no feelable center seam) & then layer a Skito Inter Pad (1/2 pad) with 3/4" Equalizer foam with additional 1/2" front shims to keep it up off his whithers. Then I layer the "Little Joe" over that. With the 14.3H/1,000lb guy, I just need the Skito All In One with 3/4" Equalizer foam under the "Little Joe". I can mount both horses from the ground "The Icelandic Way" (see my web-site for pix) & haven't had any stability issues, but I let a friend try it on my bigger guy & she had more stability issues than me because she rely's on her stirrups for balance.
It's a great second saddling option for shorter rides once you take care for the safety issues though. Kaaren
