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 Veteran
Posts: 178
 
Location: IL | Why don't more people use these barrel saddles? What is the downfall or disadvantage? I guess my first thought is weight distribution, but the more I think about it, the less a "treed" saddle makes sense, even though thats what we've used for years. How could a hard piece of wood be better than something that conforms to the horse through all actions?... I recently started looking into these saddles and I am currently test riding one, I love it so far, and my mare seems to also...
Edited by Kizzy_177 2014-09-23 9:33 PM
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  Witty Enough
Posts: 2954
 
Location: CTX | Most of my friends have started riding a BM in the last couple of years.
I myself love it on my gelding because it makes it a bit easier for me to sit in the turns.
My mare on the other hand, I ride in a treed saddle because I need to be up and over her all the time or she shuts down on me. The BM makes that a bit hard for me. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
 
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Every body has their own likes, A treeless is ok for some but a treed is better for most.  |
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 Scorpions R Us
Posts: 9586
Location: So. Cali. | Simple Answer, Preference.
I run one my mares in one due to her having muscle damage in her shoulder and it being the only thing I've found now that fits her and she no longer has a sore back.
Do I love it....not really. I do love to go on long trail rides in it and sit in it all day at the barrel races because it is super comfy. However, I dont feel comfortable tossing it on a horse that may possibly buck due to it sitting so high, and feeling secure...some would think thats a good thing, others I've spoke to describe it as feeling 'trapped'.
So, I do enjoy the saddle for my current open mare because she's far more happy in it. But, I'm not about to go full treeless with all my horses.
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 499
Location: ARKANSAS | If you love it and your mare loves it then you have found your MATCH!! however the consensus of these saddles are either you love them or you hate them...my daughters love them and will ride nothing else and own several...i myself have tried them but i just cannot run in them as they tend to throw me to far forward...i ride the Just B Natural treeless saddle that rides like a treed saddle but with the benefits of a treeless saddle.. |
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 ...Dot Dot Dot...
Posts: 2062
Location: SW New Mexico | I look at my saddle as a tool..
If I have a super ratey horse, I will ride my Cecil Phillips... it enables me to get up and over a ratey type horse..
If I ride a free runner , I like a Bob Marshall treeless.....because it enables me to ride quiet and sit better in the turns..
This is my opinion, it's what works for ME.
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | I have one. It's ok to ride in, I hate running in it. IMO, it's more difficult to ride correctly because there is not as much support and stability there. I couldn't stop hitting barrels on my setty horse until I went back to a treed saddle. I'm not selling my bob Marshall because it comes in handy at times and I do like training some horses in it, but it's far from my favorite saddle. |
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 Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | I have 2 BM's and 2 treeless saddles. There are some horses that I just love a treeless saddle on and there are some I hate it on. For me it's more dependent on how a horse is made whether or not i'm comfortable in it. I prefer them on wide backed, rounder made horses than narrow horses and one that runs downhill is a definite no no for me. That being said, I will never sell these BM's because just as soon as I do, that ONE HORSE will come along that it is perfect on and i'll be looking for another. LOL |
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Location: not settling | Like everyone else said- its preference! I like my BM on some horses, on my gelding who is a push style it isn't as easy to ride in as it really sets you in, but with my free runner I love it. I like it to train in too. It really is what works for you and your horse though. |
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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
Location: PNW | I used to ride in one. I sold it because I always felt trapped like I was sitting in a bucket. I was MOST grateful to be riding in that saddle though when during a pole run my left stirrup fell off (the buckle had broken) and in my lurch to the left I lost my right one. We made a 20 second run that night, but if it wasn't for that dang bucket-like saddle, I would have come off. Lol
Now I ride in an Ultra Rocket by Caldwell, and I'll never ride in anything else. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I haven't jumped on the treeless band wagon because I have too many unknowns.
With a treed saddle the weight distribution is spread along the bars. If the saddle is properly fitting there will be no pressure points.
With a treeless saddle there are no bars, so nothing to distribute the weight, depending on how heavy the rider is all that weight is where you are sitting. If the rider bounces a lot then there is more pressure hitting the horse then the original weight as 9.81m/s squared gravity is added to the force hitting the horses back.
I also believe that there is not a one size fits all treeless, as the pommels are still wooden and make contact with the horses shoulders, there is no angle or flare of the bars to assist with weight distribution. I do know that circle y is now offering a regular and a wide treeless.
I have also heard that some of the treeless saddles fold in half, I don't think I could handle that as I am a forward rider when I want to sit down, I don't want to worry where my seat is.
I would love to see the weight distribution between a properly and improperly treed versus treeless via thermography to see visual results, as I have heard from chiropractors they discourage from using treeless. |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | cheryl makofka - 2014-09-23 6:53 PM I haven't jumped on the treeless band wagon because I have too many unknowns. With a treed saddle the weight distribution is spread along the bars. If the saddle is properly fitting there will be no pressure points. With a treeless saddle there are no bars, so nothing to distribute the weight, depending on how heavy the rider is all that weight is where you are sitting. If the rider bounces a lot then there is more pressure hitting the horse then the original weight as 9.81m/s squared gravity is added to the force hitting the horses back. I also believe that there is not a one size fits all treeless, as the pommels are still wooden and make contact with the horses shoulders, there is no angle or flare of the bars to assist with weight distribution. I do know that circle y is now offering a regular and a wide treeless. I have also heard that some of the treeless saddles fold in half, I don't think I could handle that as I am a forward rider when I want to sit down, I don't want to worry where my seat is. I would love to see the weight distribution between a properly and improperly treed versus treeless via thermography to see visual results, as I have heard from chiropractors they discourage from using treeless.
Bob Marshall always made pommels of different sizes and shapes, they just weren't advertised that way. I had one made with a trail pommel that is lower and fits a wide horse better than the barrel pommel. You're right, those pieces are not one size fits all--I had a round mare that would buck in a regular BM barrel saddle (it would pinch and roll), but was happy and comfortable in the one I had made for her (with the trail pommel). As for weight distribution, a good supportive pad is a must for weight distribution. I've never had a horse get sore from a treeless saddle, but I bet they could if you used the wrong pad and/or rode unbalanced. Of course, you can do that to them in a treed saddle as well. |
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 Regular
Posts: 58
Location: Georgia | I ended up with my BM because I had a hard to fit horse and it was the first thing I found that fit. I can see where they wouldn't be for everyone. I like that I can feel my horse breathe or if his back is tense. I do agree that it's preference and that proper pad is essential. The type of pad can really change the way the saddle fits. I have ridden my BM on high whithered TB types, short round QH types and my hard to fit mare who is high whithered, wide and round. It worked well on all of them because I adjusted the pad to suit the horse. I have never had a sore back on anything I've ridden in it. That said I can't say it's all I'll ever use. |
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Veteran
Posts: 178
Location: IL | Loving all this info.! Thank you everyone! I really appreciate it! |
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 Expert
Posts: 1320
Location: San Diego, CA | I started running in one last year. I thought they were the worst saddle option available prior to running in one now. I ended up with a BM due to my gelding being impossible to fit. Since I've switched over I love it and switched my husband over also. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 345
| I love my BM but this fall I have got a new horse and it will not stop slipping for nothing. Tried my saddleright pad my 5 star neither one works. any other ideas ? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 499
Location: ARKANSAS | I never had mine to slip when i used the impact gel...the navajo one with the fleece on bottom....once they started sweating a little that sucker was on like glue!!
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 520
| I was having a hard time fitting my horse (and still am) so I bought one. He is happiest bareback, so I thought this would be a good compromise. My horse hated it and so did I, I was in the saddle about 10 seconds before he gave me a full out bronc ride. Aside from that, I didn't care for the way it perched up on him. It just did not fit him right either, the solid cantle was far to flat for his back, so it only touched in the middle. |
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I Need a Xanax!
Posts: 2774
| Buckles - 2014-09-24 6:11 AM I was having a hard time fitting my horse (and still am) so I bought one. He is happiest bareback, so I thought this would be a good compromise. My horse hated it and so did I, I was in the saddle about 10 seconds before he gave me a full out bronc ride. Aside from that, I didn't care for the way it perched up on him. It just did not fit him right either, the solid cantle was far to flat for his back, so it only touched in the middle.
Did you buy it brand new or was it really new when you bought it used? If so, it does take quite a while for the padding to flatten out a little bit and not look all perched up in the front. I have bought several new ones and it takes about 2 months worth of riding for the padding to lose its fluffyness and actually sit "down" on a horse. I know what you mean about the "perched" up look though...when I bought my first one I was freaking out about that but since I had just paid a small fortune for it I had no money to buy anything else so I just stuck it out and now I'm glad I did. As for the bucking thing....I have had a few horses over the years who HATED how far back they tie and would buck every time I tried to ride them in a BM. |
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Veteran
Posts: 178
Location: IL | I would love to see that also! I wonder if anyone has done that yet?? I do realize that a treed saddle distributes your weight, but it's still a hard to believe a hard surface is better than than something that conforms to your horses movements when you're running a set of barrels. Since a horses shape is not the same in motion as it is standing still... But the idea that it is more comfortable to run a "free runner" in a treeless, and a "ratey" horse in a treed saddle makes sense... I guess it all comes down to preference in the end :) Although, like you said, I would be VERY interested in seeing the difference via thermography. I'm going to look into that :) |
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