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.
Freeform Classic Treeless Saddle
The concept of going Treeless has intrigued me for some time. I like the idea of having a saddle that will fit multiple horses and I liked the idea of finding a saddle that gave me the close feel of bareback riding with some additional support. I first tried a Barefoot Cheyenne, but it just didn’t do it for me. I didn’t like the Nubuck leather (which showed wear almost immediately) and I found that the stirrup position put me in a chair seat so I was always slightly behind the motion of my horse. In many regards it was a glorified bareback pad — the seat has very little structure and if you have a wide horse it can cause some discomfort in your hips.
I have really enjoyed my Freeform. It is more traditional in appearance (mine is black calfskin) and its seat has a narrower twist, which makes it quite comfortable. But the two outstanding features are 1) that it has an interchangeable seat, which allows you to use the saddle for several riders and 2) you can adjust the placement of the stirrups. I bought the saddle at a time when my daughter (aged 9) wanted to ride a friend’s pony. This pony was extremely wide, and even my wide tree saddle didn’t fit her. Plus my daughter is so small that I didn’t want her swimming in an adult-sized seat. I found the saddle used on the yahoo treeless site ($700) and then bought a smaller sized seat for my daughter. I can’t believe that more saddle manufacturers have not gone the modular route because it makes so much sense from a consumer perspective.
I’ve had the saddle now for about a year and I’ve still very pleased with it. It’s comfortable on both of my horses (which are very different shape) and the leather has held up well. In this regard, I much prefer the calfskin leather used on the Freeform over the Nubuck. The saddle is easy to clean and still shows little wear. The model I have has wool underneath.
I’ve been using this saddle with a Skito pad and have had no problems with my horses’ backs. I find the saddle to be quite stable on my horses’ backs, although I never mount from the ground.
My only complaint is that the saddle does not have as much of a close contact feel as some of the other treeless saddles, but I think the feeling of a twist is worth the tradeoff. Some people say they use this saddle for jumping, but at least for me, the flaps are too straight. It’s much more similar to a dressage saddle.
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