# Treeless, bitless, & booted for endurance riding



## equestriannextdoor (Dec 10, 2019)

Hey,
I can only provide anecdotal info about the treeless vs treed piece. A friend who has successfully competed to 75 miles noticed that her horse was sore with a treeless once she was doing 50 miles consistently. She switched to Specialized and took the time to learn how to shim her own saddle. This has made a world of difference for her and her horse.

Personally, I've completed up to 25 miles bitless and mostly barefoot with one comp using EasyCare LoveChilds glued on. 

For the bitless piece, you need to work on responsiveness despite adrenaline. On top of the care required to go bitless safely, the one thing I am still working on is when adrenaline is coursing..

As for booted vs shoed, you will need to condition the feet in the same conditions as the competition twice as long as you would need for shoes. The Ontario Competitive Trail Riding Association (OCTRA) website has a lot of great information on doing this. If you decide to go with boots, I recommend you take the time to make sure the fit is good for the distances you want to travel and gradually do this. 

I hope that helps!

Chloe


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## fireandicehorse (Nov 21, 2020)

equestriannextdoor said:


> Hey,
> I can only provide anecdotal info about the treeless vs treed piece. A friend who has successfully competed to 75 miles noticed that her horse was sore with a treeless once she was doing 50 miles consistently. She switched to Specialized and took the time to learn how to shim her own saddle. This has made a world of difference for her and her horse.
> 
> Personally, I've completed up to 25 miles bitless and mostly barefoot with one comp using EasyCare LoveChilds glued on.
> ...


Thanks! What kind of treeless saddle did she use?


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

I haven't found that horses need more conditioning to go in boots vs shoes. The boots cannot rub anywhere, and must fit very well so they don't come off. You'll need to carry spares. They provide more protection for the sole than boots without pads.

Many people go bitless, and S hacks are very popular. Mechanical hackamores provide leverage versus a sidepull, for example.

Any saddle requires impeccable fit. That can be harder to achieve with a treeless, because they can change with heat over the miles. They usually work best over distance with light riders and horses with rounder/lower wither back profiles. An Icelandic might do fine in one.


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## equestriannextdoor (Dec 10, 2019)

fireandicehorse said:


> Thanks! What kind of treeless saddle did she use?


She rode in a Bob Marshall for years and loved it!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Yes to boots needing to fit impeccably. a few years back when I went on a week long long distance trail ride, most of the 100+ horses were shod. Those that had boots caused repeated slowdowns as we waited for the rider to replace thrown boots, over and over again. one of the problems is that if you cannot mount from the ground, (and treeless saddles can make that difficult), and there are no 'mounting' rocks or trees or hills nearby, and you throw a boot, or it twists, or whatevver, . you get off to correct that and then find it a challenge and time waste to get back into the saddle.


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## RoadRider / Rios Dad (Jul 2, 2009)

Taught engineering for 45 years and a saddle is about spreading the load over his back. Something a treeless
saddle will not do. You need a saddle with a tree that properly fits his back.
Also use shoes. You don't want boots that can and will be lost if the footing is muddy or muddy water crossings
I have run thousands of miles in endurance and haven't had a single problem in either of these 2 areas


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

MOD NOTE

Thread closed. Please check the date of a thread before replying. If you see the message "This is an older thread...." then please refrain from replying. Start your own thread on the topic. The OP has not returned to this thread in well over a year.


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