Saddles were a simple concept in the middle ages when they truly came to use for knights in battle. Today, saddles have a much different use. The type of saddle, and the needs it must fulfil, are also much different. Saddles originally had a tree, a wooden, or synthetic structure in the center of the saddle that allowed the saddle to keep a firm shape. Unfortunately, every horse's back is formed differently, and a simple sizing chart of regular, wide and narrow tree , is not broad enough for each and every horse. New breaks in equestrian technology have allowed a treeless, and exchangeable treed saddle to be created, but they still have issues that have yet to been solved. Traditional treed saddles have hundreds of years of technology invested …show more content…
These saddles fix the issue of restricting a horse's movement by completely removing the tree. They are also lightweight due to often using a fiberglass pommel and cantle, with a leather and foam cushioned seat. Although this seems comfortable for both horse and rider there are many issues that still lie within the treeless saddles technology. Since their is no tree that directly separates you from the back of your horse, your movements are felt by the horse much more that with a traditional treed saddle. For short, infrequent trail or pleasure rides this poses no issue, but for long, competitive, active rides this can be painful. On the opposite end, feeling your horse's movements gives the rider an idea of where they need improve on, as well as how to fix your positioning and issues in your horse’s movement. Still, a treeless saddle needs every bit of the same attention to getting a proper fit as a treed saddle. Jochen Schleese had mentioned that sometimes a treeless saddle will simply not work for a horse, even if you try to custom fit it. Not all horses are prime candidates for a treeless saddle. In conclusion, both treed and treeless saddles have pros and cons that come with them. With competitive riding a treed saddle tends to be the more logical way to go, but with endurance,trail or pleasure riding, a treeless saddle offers advantages