>>> One of the gals who sometimes conditions with us works with Candy Kahn >>> and brought a Freeform over, insisting that Bev try it on Tosca. It >>> certainly did fit better in length than the long Tucker endurance >>> saddles we both like to us on green horses.... However, the girth and >>> stirrups seemed to be set farther back than we are used to and the >>> saddle seemed to sit down farther over her withers than seemed right. We could not get our hands between saddle and pad, could get a few inches down under the pad. Bev said she could get her hand down between saddle and pad when she was riding - a short way.
We had a Freeform for a while, and Cary liked it. The Freeforms are treeless, but have the firmest seat of any treeless I've tried (except maybe the Heather Moffet, but it was very different). What I didn't like about it was that gullet - there is an aluminum piece in it that has some spring to it, but when it stretches out, it still wanted to go back to its orignial inverted "V" shape. I suspect I know exactly what you're talking about. I actually got into a "discussion" with Candy Kahn on the treeless list a year or two ago when she (and several other Freeform dealers) swore that the Freeforms are perfect for flat-backed, low-withered tanks. A few months later, one of the dealers came back on the list and apologized to me - she'd finally seen what I was talking about. We finally sold it - I think it's built for more "normal" shaped horses - a lot of Arabs seem to be doing well in it on the endurance circuit, but most Icelandic's simply aren't built like most Arabs. The Sensations work much better for our horses. The Freeform worked ok for one Icelandic horse we had for a while, but we sold him when Cary bought Skjoni back. I like that there is nothing so rigid in front of the Sensation. And, if anything, I think the Freeforms have more of a tendency to roll than the Sensations. Oh, and unless you can use a 17" seat or smaller in the Freeform, you'd need to use the "standard" base, and not a "Short Back" base. Because of it's less-flexible foam seat, you may find that the standard length will give your horses loin rubs. It was too long for most of ours. I think Candy also sells Barefoot saddles. They are one of the most "flexible" treeless saddles. They are pretty popular, but you REALLY need to be extra-careful with picking a pad for a Barefoot if you are going to be riding distances. For reference, I think the Sensations fall in the middle, into Goldilock's "juuuussst right" range - a good bit more substance than the Barefoots to protect the horse, but not as rigid as the Freeform. >>>>Sweat pattern looked good - do you even look at sweat patterns on >>>>treeless saddles? I don't put TOO much value on sweat marks, especially with treeless saddles. I have tested our Sensations and the Freeform with the Port Lewis Impression pad and found that they both spread the rider's weight pretty well. Karen Thomas, NC
