# flex tree saddles



## Sunny06 (Jun 22, 2009)

DO NOT be tempted to purchase a flex treed saddle. With age (and with age I mean not long after you have it) they stretch and will sit on the spine wrong causeing a sore back. Believe me. We've had a few. They aren't really so great. They made bumpy, sore backs.

Consider yourself warned.


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## Tennessee (Dec 7, 2008)

Flex trees = one of the worst inventions for the saddle. Do not buy them.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

My husband rode a Big Horn flex tree for several years and loved it. It seemed to fit every horse he tried it on. I didn't know there was a problem with them.


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## Sunny06 (Jun 22, 2009)

There is a problem. They stretch. Not all, most.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

He only had 3 years and maybe 100 hours in it. It seemed like a nice saddle. He sold it because he made the mistake of riding in my Don West and had to have one :lol:


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## SouthernTrails (Dec 19, 2008)

There is Only One Brand of Flex Tree in a Western Saddle that is Good, that is a Ralide Brand.

The others are Imported Junk or Have other Problems, like weight limits, material separation problems, etc.




.


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## Sunny06 (Jun 22, 2009)

^ Oh, made that mistake before, lol.

(directed to Vidaloco because Southern Trails posted .000000364 seconds before me)


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

I heard good and bad things about them. However when I look at some I found they are the best for the round horses IMHO. My paint with high withers and funny back was not a good candidate for it, so I ended up with nice treed saddle.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

Nope, NO dry spots. If you're getting dry spots at all, then the saddle doesn't fit. If it slides back, then you're putting it too far forward, or your horse has a serious lack of muscle behind the withers.

A great solution for wither hollows is a Skito Correction saddle pad. They have a shim made just for that issue and it works really well. My DH's gelding has the same problem and with the right shims, his saddle fits a LOT better. You use the Skito pad over a saddle blanket or thin felt liner pad (1/2" or thinner).

I would recommend against Royal King saddles. They are imports and not good quality. The auto-adjust tree can "stick" and break pretty easily. I would look at quality older used saddles. You can get a good older Circle Y or Textan for around $300-600. My Full QH Bar Circle Y fit my wide mare well. My DH's gelding goes better in older Semi-QH bars.


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## garlicbunny (Apr 30, 2009)

*flex saddles*

Oh No, I thought I would hear some good things from people that love theirs, ok, maybe from some whom didn't like them...

I do appreciate your input. Why when you research something does it become so complicated that you end up more confused than ever?? No need to answer this.

Thank you all so much, guess I will try to find a saddle fitter, that might be my best bet..


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## garlicbunny (Apr 30, 2009)

*flex saddles*

As if it couldn't get more confusing! Thanks to all of you. A friend knows of a saddlefitter from Kentucky that comes up here in OH regularly for chiro and saddlefitting. Another friend or two of mine are going to see if they will come to our barn.

I usually tack up in the barn where it is very low lighting. Today we trailered out and while brushing him outside the trailer in the light I noticed some white hairs mixed in with his normal coat color. I am wondering if this could be from bad saddle fit as it is exactly right where the dry spots are behind his withers in the pocket.

Except when I ride with others I have been riding bareback pad and have only owned this horse for about 2 1/2 months, isn't this way too early to see the white hairs from a bad fitting saddle? (about once a week since I disovered the saddle wasn't that great of a fit)


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## SouthernTrails (Dec 19, 2008)

Dry Spots can be caused by extreme pressure points from an ill fitting Saddle, the pressure is so great the sweat glands get closed/squashed, thus dry spots.

In some cases if the pressure is too great the cells around the hair follicle can be damaged in a few months, thus causing white hairs, doing it that fast I would say is rare, but not impossible.


Can you get us some pics of the Saddle on your Horse without a pad?

.


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## Jewel (Aug 21, 2009)

I have had 4 flex trees, an Abetta synthetic, 2-Textan Flex Trees and 1-Circle Y Flex Tree, I have a very hard to fit Arab mare and I love the fit. They fit so many horses and in the Circle Y, I do feel it flex with my horse and it is a totally different type of ride. The saddles have improved from when they first started making the flex trees. I love them. C.


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## Jillyann (Mar 31, 2009)

I would personally never buy a flex tree!!! there are just too many things that can go wrong with them...


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