Torsion Extra Light Treeless Saddle
Before I bought the Torsion Extra Light, I’d already owned two treeless saddles, a Hilason, which I hated, and a Barefoot Cheyenne, about which I had mixed feelings. The Cheyenne convinced me that I would like Treeless riding, but that I hadn’t found the right saddle.
I spent a lot of time researching saddles before I bought the Torsion. I liked what I read about the brand. Torsion saddles have been around for many years and are used by quite a few endurance riders. I felt that the saddle design was well tested and that it had demonstrated success. I liked the design of the Extra Light because it is a minimalist saddle. It weighs only about 5 pounds and there is little between you and your horse. As part of my research I spoke extensively to Jeannean Mercuri at GoTreeless. She was very helpful about narrowing my choices down to the Extra Light.
Right before Christmas, two years ago, my “perfect” saddle came up on eBay. It was an Extra Light that had been used only a dozen times in the right seat size and in Buffalo leather. A discussion with Jeannean confirmed that the saddle was as advertised and it ended up under my Christmas tree (a great gift from my husband). I thought that it was excellent value for the $700 I paid.
As soon as I sat in this saddle I knew I’d made the right choice. It puts me in a very balanced position, I feel secure and it has an amazing close contact feel. My only complaint was that I found the leather seat to be slightly uncomfortable, but a sheepskin cover fixed that. This saddle is very wide over what would be the twist on a treed saddle. This could be a problem for some riders, especially if they are on a horse that’s quite broad.
This is a very well crafted saddle. The stitching is tight, the quality of the leather is excellent (I really like the Buffalo leather; after two years it still looks new), and the saddle is balanced and even. While the Extra Light does not have a gullet like some of the other designs, the bottom of it is shaped so that there is no interference with my horses’ withers.
I use either a saddleright pad or a skito pad under the saddle and have had no problems with back soreness. I have used this saddle on three horses — my warmblood who is quite wide with low withers and wide shoulders; my TB who has more prominent withers and a short back; and a Lippizan/arab cross who wears an extra wide tree. With each horse it’s important to slide the saddle back to it’s natural resting place on the horse’s back.
I have not had any problems with slippage. I do not use a breast plate. The saddle uses a short (dressage) girth. I have a Wintec girth that has worked well. I have had a few “challenging” rides in this saddle including some spooks, and I always felt secure in the seat and confident that the saddle will not slip.
The stirrup attachment is via rings. This is not ideal as it does not allow the stirrup leathers to detach from the saddle if they get hung up, or if the rider were to fall and get their feet stuck in the stirrup. It is a good idea to use safety stirrups or a Barnes Buckle, a very useful safety product that is used in the UK,as a precaution.
This saddle does not give the same amount of support as a treed saddle, or even as much as the Freeform saddle that I also own so might not be suitable for someone who does not have good balance.
