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 Ansür 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 Ansür 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 Ansür 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.

And here he is just after a week in the new saddle- rounding up, happily moving forward. This was taken at Breyerfest 2006 at the Kentucky Horse Park. The saddle performed flawlessly- even when he got a bit excited and reared up. I never felt insecure, rather even more secure than my old treed saddle. The Ansür gives you such close contact to your horse, I now wonder why I didn't try it sooner! My husband has ridden in it too, and is now planning to purchase a Konklusion for his youngster. If you think there is something coming between you and your horse- maybe the Ansür is what you need.

Marilee and Alev

It isn't always easy to change one's thinking. I have ridden dressage for about 16 years and, let's face it, this is not an activity that encourages being different; it is about conformity. If you want to succeed, get a second mortgage on your house and buy a warmblood. And, of course, you want the best saddle you can afford, which in some cases can be outrageous. I first decided to buck the system when I thought about a future dressage horse and I opted to adopt a Premarin foal - a draft cross. Somehow, I ended up with two weanling fillies, Alev and Toby, both with distinctly different body types. On top of that, I already had a mature Appaloosa/Arabian cross, Apache who was yet another shape.

Once the fillies were three and were ready to start work under saddle, I knew I was in trouble. I had a dressage saddle, a Collegiate Baron, that fit my Appy, and it was adequate for the fillies, but I knew they were going to grow out of it. I eventually bought another dressage saddle, a used Kieffer Lech Profi wide tree, to get me through yet another phase of their growth, but, again, I knew it would not last. When I began adding up the cost of getting custom made saddles to fit these growing wide-bodies, I started to despair. Then I remembered seeing an Ansür Saddle booth at a California Dressage Society Symposium. At the time I saw the Ansür, it was very new and very different; I just gave it a brief look and passed by. Now that I was actually faced with fitting three horses, I decided to look seriously into it. I checked out the website and read the testimonials. I was particularly impressed by what J. Ashton Moore had to say.

When I contacted Meg Francouer, she happily came out and spent the better part of a day letting me ride in an Ansür on all three of my horses. She was very friendly and patient, and answered all of my questions. A very fun day, indeed. All of my horses seemed so happy in the saddle; they were more relaxed and more supple, particularly my Appy who seemed to respond to the both Ansür's increased stability and flexibility. I also loved the fact that you could feel every movement of the horse's back and a "large and lovely" like me could sit the trot so comfortably without disturbing the horse. An added bonus was the lightness of the saddle when compared to a standard dressage saddle. The last thing I wanted to do was add more weight to my horses, and this was a great solution. My Christmas present to myself in 2001 was an Ansür Chic. A great investment when you consider it can fit any horse. I no longer worry about hurting my horses' backs with a stiff, pinching tree.

Attached is a picture of one of my draft crosses, Alev, now five years old, and myself at a recent schooling show (hence the Hawaiian shirt). I have ridden Alev at both rated and schooling shows, and she has achieved scores up into 70's. Not bad for a rescue horse! And I have to attribute a big part of that success to the Ansür. I have been using the saddle for about nine months now and I think it was one of the best things I have done for my horses. Meg was also great about following up on my "happiness factor" following the arrival of my saddle, and I could not say enough nice things about it. All of my horses are happy, comfortable, and their mom has a saddle that fits her, too! Thanks, Ansür.

Marilee R.

My recently purchased Ansür saddle is saddle number 5 for my hard-to-fit Danish Warmblood/Thoroughbred cross mare. This horse has a forward girth pocket, well-laid-back huge shoulder and a wither that carries well into the back. I tried some pretty expensive saddles (thinking the more expensive the better my chances that I could find one that fits) and had professional fittings.

In each case the result was unsatisfactory. Generally I found myself balanced at a halt but thrown to the cantle during much of the trot and canter work. I was always fighting to find the "spot" where I was supposed to sit. My mare, who is very opinionated, let me know she was less than comfortable too. Bucking at canter was one way she showed displeasure. Generally however, she had fast mincing gaits, refused to do extensions and moved on the forehand. She had a habit of speeding up, tilting her head to the side and hollowing as I tried to pick her up from a free walk to a working gait. A lot of time was spent trying to resolve a tooth problem that probably was actually her way of avoiding the saddle pinch when put back to work. With the last saddle, she started backing up in the cross-ties and laying her muzzle on my hand when I went to tighten the girth. I knew she was uncomfortable but was at a loss as to what to do.

Having had it with the whole saddle fitting nightmare, I resolved to spend the winter riding bareback hoping that might heal any soreness for the coming show season. Miraculously, all of my mare's resistance problems went away - I had lovely shoulder in, half pass, quiet canter departs, balanced transitions, a swinging back, consistent contact....all of the things I couldn't get under saddle.

With spring I returned to work under saddle and as I feared the negative behaviors shortly returned. My delightful mare, who eagerly greeted me all winter with that "oh wow Mom let's go for a ride look" was now running from me to avoid work. In addition I could palpate a sore spot under the cantle area of the saddle and she visibly hollowed with moderate pressure on that point. It was time for a change.

I bought my Ansür saddle sight unseen after researching everything I could on the Internet. Yes, I was worried that it sits directly on the spine and withers without a spine channel....but so did I all winter riding bareback. Yes, I was worried that without a tree it would slip etc. etc. etc. But having been through 4 previous saddles with a mare that now had an obviously sore back, It was time to do something different.

It was clear from day one that my mare loved the Ansür. She reverted to her bareback temperament as soon as she realized she was not going to be pinched by a tree when her back rounded or her shoulder moved fully in its arc. I had some adjustments to make in my riding but they were long overdue - for instance I tend to weight my outside stirrup in canter work and the Ansür demands that you ride in a balanced way or it tells on you. Finding my "spot" in the saddle was never an issue however, which was an incredible relief. I feel "at home" in it.

After 4 days of the week trial, I was sold, but then a problem arose. After being in the saddle for over 2 hours and riding intensively in a clinic, my mare's previous sore spot was evident again. I called the Ansür people as well as my veterinarian. Both felt that I had done too much and that the saddle was not to blame. Gratefully, I listened because time has proven them right. I backed off in the work, rode with a thick western pad under the Ansür, and did a lot of stretching with my mare. Within short order she was fine.

I have had the saddle now a few months. I love it. My mare loves it. Today we worked on walk-canter-walk transitions....we could not have done that before without being off to the races and meeting with tremendous resistance. My mare is as sweet as they come - she loves to work- she loves to please me. She was trying to tell me for years that she couldn't round her back or use her shoulder in the "wooden corset" I had strapped around her. Now she is gladly offering her back and shoulders with such enthusiasm that I have much to learn to catch up.

I check her back everyday and have noted no tenderness anywhere despite some very intensive sessions. I am seeing incredible changes in the musculature both of her back and her belly. The old saddle "indentation" behind the shoulder area is being replaced with muscle. Her very prominent forward girth pocket with the dropped belly behind it is now a much wider girth pocket with not nearly so much drop to the belly. All of this is happening because she is now able to lift her back and use it properly. I have extensions because she can move her shoulder through the complete arc without being hit by the points of a tree. There is no head tilting, mincing paces, and fear of being brought back up after being on a long rein.

I don't know what the future holds for my mare and me but I do know that I look forward to riding again as does my mare....we are both having fun and dancing like we did bareback...but now with a lot more security. Although showing is important to me, it is the relationship that I share with my mare that is most important and I have that back too.....thank you Ansür folks!

Just wanted to let you know that my first show in 2 years and the first time ever showing this horse (named Fire) was a great success. I absolutely love the saddle and so does the horse! There was one point during the show that his was frightened by the speakers and gave me a nice piaffe....great but I was showing first level.Sincerely, Judy

I just wanted to send you guys a picture of my 4 year old Paint/TB cross at his first horse show.

I broke him myself with the Ansür saddle and he has absolutely no resistance in his back, not to mention he never really bucked until I started taking him to different places. The month of May was one year since I broke him, and he earned a 61.5% at a recognized show a couple of weeks ago. I have another horse that I show second level dressage who I know would not be were he is today without having the freedom of the Ansür. I am proud to own one of these saddles and am looking forward to buying another…..This time I will go with the chic model.

Thanks for all of your hard work! – Victoria N.