I got permission from Flora Hillman to forward this to this list. There was a long thread on this subject - in fact, it seems that a majority of the list members are distance riders now, so treeless and endurance is a common topic on that busy list. Another Virginia area endurance rider estimates that maybe 40% on the riders she encounters in NC, SC, VA, and GA are riding in treeless saddles. That particular rider is a heavyweight. From the pictures, I'd guess that Flora is not a heavy person.
Karen Thomas, NC ----- Original Message ----- From: "florahillman" Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 9:47 AM Subject: [treelesssaddles] Re: I'm not a distance rider, so I'd like to hear some replies.... > Megan - > > I find that statement from your farrier very interesting....in that I > have never heard anyone complain about saddles "collapsing" or (stranger > yet) causing back muscle atrophy in a horse. ????? I've actually seen > the reverse -- muscles coming back under a treeless after being atrophied > by a treed. > > Perhaps your farrier was referring to locally made saddles, or older > models that first came out? When I got into Endurance 9 years ago, there > were only homemade designs, the BMSS, and the uber expensive Ansur > dressage. That was about it. > > I have since watched the quality/variety of *good* treeless saddles grow > to reach the point where they now stand toe-to-toe on scope and usage with > the good treed saddles. I was surprised to find quite a few endurance > riders (in my neck of the woods) have more than one or two treeless that > they use -- many have several of the same model. We constantly talk to one > another at rides about our saddles -- it is probably the most popular > topic of conversation at any endurance ride, outside of discussing the > trail and how to make your horse eat/drink at the check! -- so that should > say something for the popularity of the treeless saddle in this extreme > sport. > > Frankly, I have never met any endurance rider that ever went back to > treed. Treed saddles are just too problematic. > > That said, I have more than once bent a sympathetic ear to the woes of > heavyweight endurance rider trying to find the right treeless that won't > cause a sore back in their horse -- however, they seem to have the same > woes with the treed as well. Not every treeless will fit/support every > rider -- we all have our preferences. > > But muscle atrophy or "collapsing"? Nope. Never. Sorry. > > Hope you enjoy your Barefoot! It's a nice saddle. :-) > > Flora >
