Special Features

Contact one of our Distributors near you to arrange a test ride!

A deeper look into treeless saddles and the art of riding

 Is there something coming between you and your horse? - written by Kathy Rowe

Below is a radiograph of a high-end adjustable tree saddle. See all that white on the image? That's all metal! Granted, some of the metal is spring steel and designed to flex, but just how much flex does it have when nailed to a wooden tree? Humans and horses are fluid, free moving creatures, even with skeletons, we are designed to bend and flex with movement. So why do we put a rigid object between two fluid objects? The reasoning behind this is a support base for the rider. This does very little for the horse though, who must flex and bend his spine with every step. And we humans, in order to keep with the horse's movement need to bend and flex our bodies as well.

When you think about it, does it really seem logical to put a solid platform between two moving objects that are required to stay in unison? That would be like putting 4 inches of wood on top of one of those big exercise balls and then sitting on it and trying to balance. If you just sat on the ball, you would feel its shape and movement under you; with the wood between you it's almost impossible to feel the movement until you are face first on the floor!

Take a look at your saddle. Just how high up from the horse’s back is the seat? Three or more inches? This is precious distance that your leg is unusable on the horse.

This saddle is about 4 inches above the horse's back- a lot of padding and wood keeping the upper leg from really doing its job. For short legged people this means that the upper thigh is not able to stretch down and move very much because the saddle is preventing it. If you have a narrow pelvis, your seat bones are positioned near the middle of the saddle and your hips are pulled away from your body because of the fixed shape of the seat. This tends to give rise to "saddle sores" from the rubbing of the seat bones against the saddle. A horse that is uncomfortable with his saddle will not round up to meet your seat, instead, he will raise his head, hollow his back and bounce from the trot is magnified through the saddle tree to your seat. Hence you have a vicious circle- the horse's discomfort comes through to your seat and you get bounced harder, which in turn transfers back to your horse as shock through the fixed tree of the saddle.

Here's a bareback pad-only about an inch between you and the horse- note that the whole thigh can be used and "molds" around the horse naturally. Your seat bones sit tilted forward slightly and your hips are allowed to open enough to fit around the horse. This allows the seat bones to come up slightly because the inner thigh rests against the horse and takes some of the pressure off the seat bones. Most people find that riding bareback does not produce saddle sores on their bottoms. The closeness between horse and rider allows you to feel every movement the horse makes- and he can feel you too! Think of how the great horse master Xenophon rode- just with a skin or blanket between him and the horse. It doesn't provide any support to your back, and can be rather dodgy to use on a sensitive horse or one prone to naughtiness.

And here's the Ansur Carlton- you can see how much upper thigh is able to be put on the horse and your leg molds around the horse naturally. You are able to feel the horse under you; the saddle supports you better than a bareback pad, but still allows your leg to hang comfortably. You sit "into" the horse rather than on top of him. The seat bones are allowed to come up because the inner thigh muscles are able to be placed against the horse- just as a bareback pad. Because the saddle molds around the horse, it is much less likely to slip than a tree saddle that can't conform to the horse's back due to the rigidity of the tree. Horses with big shoulders find it more comfortable because the points of the tree do not poke them at the top of their shoulder. The saddle flexes and slips over the shoulders without causing pain. Without a fixed tree, the saddle can flex with the horse's movement and give him total freedom to move his spine in any direction. He is then free to bring his back up to meet your seat making for a much nicer ride.

Here is an x-ray of the Ansur Carlton. You can clearly see all the metal that is in the saddle- not much. You can also see the outline of the foam in the saddle. The technique to make this exposure was about the same as for knee x-ray on an average size person. Because of the unique layering system, the Ansur feels almost semi-rigid. The saddle maintains its shape yet flexes where it needs to.

A happy, forward and relaxed canter from a horse that would buck violently when asked for the canter- this is day 2 with the Carlton. He moves forward into the bridle with more regularity and stretches more at the base of his neck. He is more willing to pick up the canter knowing that the saddle won't punish him for it. He grew sore from the points of the saddle pushing into his shoulders- he was very agitated when being saddled, refused to move forward at the trot and was getting dangerous at the canter because of his bucking. His dressage career was definitely in question.

Read the article "6 months in an Ansur Saddle"