# Torsion treeless saddle - anyone else have one?



## unclearthur (Feb 25, 2012)

I once helped a friend try a Torsion saddle on her AQH. With little experience of treeless saddles at that time I believed there was no way the saddle would not put pressure across the horse's back where the stirrups attach, since this is normally spread by a tree.

Despite a couple of hours trying, including powdering the horse's back to make a pressure mark show up more visibly, we failed completely. I was suitably impressed, though not with the saddle itself which I didn't like as it felt there was nothing under my leg.

If you find yourself tipped forwrad I would suggest the most likely explanation your horse is croup-high so the saddle balance is biased forward. If you normally ride in a conventional English seat (ie. stirrup leathers vertical) this can tip you forward onto your fork and your feet automatically move back, particularly if your weight is not down into your heel.

I'd look at the saddle on the horse from the ground to check if it's sitting level. Lack of a tree means the saddle follows the horse's back profile and cannot be levelled with extra flocking (good) or by using a narrower tree (very bad). So if you think the Torsion is sitting down in front I'd suggest extra thicknesses of padding in front to level it first, and if this works it may be worth investing in a graduated pad of some sort. 

Best of luck


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## justicehorse (Oct 17, 2012)

Congrats on the torsion!! I have had my torsion for almost 9 years and love it! However, it is critical to use a saddle pad designed for treeless. I use the equipedic enduro pad which (to me) is the best pad for the torsion, although I imagine the HAF pad would work well too. I also use wide aussie irons instead of standard english irons. The torsion needs to be placed more forward than many people would normally set the saddle and if too far back will give you a downhill and/or pitched forward feeling. Also, it is more of a bareback riding position, not english, which takes some adjusting to, but once you figure it out, you and your horses will be very happy!

And yes, it is an expensive saddle... but it will last for years and years. I have put a few thousand miles on my saddle and have definitely used/abused it, but it is still like new.


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## Fargosgirl (Jan 12, 2012)

I have a treeless and it really cannot be over stressed that you MUST have it properly padded! Which may mean that it needs shims in the front to keep it from tipping forward. 

I was having trouble feeling like I was "riding down my horse's shoulders" and my horse was very reluctant to move out. Shimming the front of the saddle really helped both problems.

Also be very aware of feedback from your horse. I chose a treeless because I thought it would be easier for me to lift and more comfortable for my horse. Recently I tried out a traditional saddle on my horse, he instantly showed by his attitude and movement that the treed saddle was more comfortable to him. Even though I like the treeless better for me, it's my horse's vote that counts, I will be switching to a regular saddle again.


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## kiwi79 (Nov 11, 2011)

Thanks for the input  it came with a memory foam saddle pad which the previous owner said was specifically for treeless saddles. It doesnt have any branding though so not sure what make it is. 
I went for my second ride in it this afternoon and still feels very strange to me! I lengthened the stirrups which helped a bit with my balance, definitely have to concentrate on keeping my heels down to stop my legs from going out behind me. 
I placed the saddle further forward this time, so should it almost be up over the withers? While I was riding I looked down and the saddle pad looked quite tight over them, the pad is cut to the shape of the saddle so doesnt leave much room to lift it to leave some room when putting it on. 
My balance overall still felt quite strange like i could easily tip off to one side, maybe I should have gotten a treed saddle given that I dont have the greatest balance these days :-(


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