What kind do you have or have you tried? What did you like - what did you hate? What kind of horse did you put one on? Why are they SOOOOO expensive?

I have had a Bob Marshall treeless and I didn't like it at all. Some people think they are fantastic, but I felt it was the worst of both worlds, not the best. It was squirrely and sloppy and I don't feel like I ever found my seat on it. It was almost a saddle, but not quite. Again, not saying anything bad about the BMTreeless. I just didn't care for it.

Now, conversely, I have a Cashel Soft Saddle which I LOVE. It's not trying to be a saddle. It's clearly a squishy, comfy bareback pad with stirrups. The stirrups are positioned way wrong and you'll mess with adjusting them for days, but once you do, don't let anyone else ride it! Also, you'll need a breast collar. One of the beautiful things about the Cashel is you can (and I do) use it without a saddle pad. Just hose it off when it gets dirty. That being said, it tends to slip backward. I use a breastcollar and have had no worries since.

See if you can find a friend willing to loan you a treeless saddle for a week. Check them out. Go to tack shops and sit in them. I borrowed someone's Cashel before buying mine and I couldn't get my own quickly enough. I couldn't sell my BM quickly enough after using it a handful of times and hating it.

Ooops. What kind of horse did I try it on. I tried the BM on a regular old QH and it fit her well. I think I also used it on high withered old guy and it didn't fit well. You'll just have to try it to see.

The Cashel fits everyone to a certain extent. It rubs my mutten-withered QH mare if I ride it in for HOURS. No clearance, but also not much pressure unless you are in it for a long time. The Cashel was only about $200. I sold my Bob Marshall on ebay for, I think, $500. I'd take the Cashel any day.

I like the looks of the Barefoots, so far - I'd like to try their dressage model as they say it's legal to show in them.

Hi, I'm new at Barn Culture and I prefer and usually ride western, no matter which horse I ride. When I was a kid in Texas, my dad had a cowboy (Jeff) working for him and while taking him home one evening, he asked Dad to stop at the tack store. Jeff whipped out $1500 (now this is in the 70s mind you and that was a lot of money for a saddle!) and we took Jeff and saddle home. When we got there, he rolled the stirrups under and around the saddle and dumped the entire saddle into a 55 gal drum filled with water, left it overnight and rode his horse the next day with it.We picked him up a few days later (Jeff's truck was getting fixed this whole time) he loaded the saddle in the back of the truck and again asked Dad to stop at the tack shop on the way. He carried it in, threw it on the floor, grabbed another off the rack, looked at the owner, and said, "That one galled my horse", walked out, and loaded the new one in the truck. Now the new saddle he had for many years and he swore it never galled a horse. I believe him 'cause it's never galled any of mine since he gave it to me in 1992. This saddle set prfectly on a 16 hand (boney whithered) 5 gaited Saddlebred, several PocoBueno/Jesse James QHs, an appendix (QH/TB), a rescued Mustang, small Arab, and currently a big Paint and a great granddaughter of king. I've had many saddles but the creak of this old saddle is like music to my ears and after an all day trail ride up and down the hills of Kentucy where I now reside, my botton is in great shape. I've never had another saddle that fit so many horses. And I do mean proper fit. Anyway, the saddle is a Sonny Perry cutting saddle built on a roping tree, with a tall pommel. If you ever see one, sit in it. You'll take it home. Well enough blathering from me. This looks like a nice site. Happy trails, Stetson

That's a funny story Stetson. Thanks.

 1500 bucks is a lot of money nowadays too! I rode bareback as a kid and still wish I could. I'd like a little traction to help my less than flexible self stay with my ponies.

I use a Bob Marshall treeless saddle and LOVE it!  I have the endurance style.  I use a specialty Skito Treeless Pad along with a ThinLine pad underneath.  The Skito pad uses specialized foam that properly distributes the rider's weight and gives the horse spinal cleanrance.  The ThinLine pad aids in weight distribution and is non-slip.  It also keeps the nice wool fleece of my Skito pad clean .

I am a heavywieght rider, well over 200 lbs lol, and my horses do great!  They are happier during their rides and move out very well.  I feel just as stable as I did in my English and syhthetic western saddle, with no problems sitting spooks.  I use an over-the-neck aussie style breastcollar for trail riding, as we have lots of up and down hills.  For a cinch I use a 100% mohair roper style cinch.  I don't use a back cinch or crupper. 

Since getting this saddle I have no more back or hip pain and my knees are much more comfortable on long rides.  My seat is more secure as I am more relaxed and comfortable.

I HIGHLY recommend a treeless saddle for anyone with hip or back pain like myself, or for horses that are hard to fit.  I would recommend you demo a saddle and pad through a good treeless dealer.  Treeless saddles do have to "fit" the horse and rider, so having a dealer help you work through any issues is very important.  I was lucky in that the first saddle and pad I tried worked for me, but that doesn't always happen, lol.  There are MANY treeless saddles out there, so there is something for everyone!  Just keep in mind that you get what you pay for...  Stick to quality well known brands, like Bob Marshall, Torsion, Freeform, Sensation, Trekker, Barefoot, Bandos, Fheonix, Ansur, Treefree, etc.  Stay AWAY from the copycats like Hilason and Sydney Saddleworks.  While some of their saddles may work for some people, they are low quality with iffy workmanship and no testing behind them.  The good brands use a lot of test riders to work out the small details.  You can be assured that you're getting a quality saddle. 

If you can't afford the new prices, still demo one from a dealer, and then try to find one used or an ex-demo saddle to save some money.  That's what I did.  I got my Bob Marshall for $400 off the new price.  It was a return that was too long for the former owner's short backed horse.  It was only ridden in a few times and in great shape! 

Here's my horse with her new saddle, shortly after I got it.  I changed the stirrups out to padded endurance stirrups with cages.  Also, the stirrups look really forward, but they're not.  It's the horse's belly pushing them forward, lol.  I am a Dressage rider and have no problems keeping my leg well under me when riding.  My saddle is an 18" (17" western, 19" english equivalent) endurance model with an upgraded 4" cantle, leather covered, and tooled accents.