OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011 THE RIDER /69 Saddlefit 4 Life The ongoing controversy – Treed or Treeless Saddles??


By Jochen Schleese. CMS, CSFT, CEE


www.saddlesforwomen.com www.saddlefit4life.com Biography: Jochen Schleese, CMS, CSFT, CEE


Certified Master Saddler, Saddlefit Technician, Equine Ergonomist


I am certain that discus- sion of this topic will become somewhat contentious since both sides of the argument have their ardent supporters. This is my educated opinion – and I’m entitled to it (as are you to yours!) But this is my column, so with the kind indulgence of the editor, I will lay out my side of the issue.


Several years ago in Europe a very expensive dressage horse had to be extensively treated because a treeless saddle had been hit- ting the horse on the spine, resulting in neurological damage. It was proven that it was in fact the saddle that had been the trigger. Only a tree can keep the rider off the horse’s spine. The horse has a horizontal spine, man has a vertical one. You may think that to a horse 180 lb or so of rider is of no consequence, but it is. The horse’s centre of balance is directly behind the withers, but because a tree-less saddle sits so close to the horses back, the rider cannot get far enough for- ward and will therefore be behind the movement - not to mention the risk of being past the horses last supporting rib. Also (especially for a man) the seat bones are closer together and tipped on a steeper angle, which means every time he sits, those bones are digging into the horses back. How long before that becomes terribly painful? A rider who goes on a 1/2 hour hack twice a week it wouldn’t have a lasting effect, but when we talk about an upper level dressage horse that has a rider 140 lbs or more pounding on its back for upwards of 40 minutes 5 days a week? It just doesn’t make any sense!


fibre-optic cameras and ther- mography scans – showing resulting bone chips and shoulder injuries to the horse. There is a reason why the majority of saddles still have trees - and the important thing is that the tree fits the horse both along its length and especially over the with- ers (the ‘vise-grip’ of the sad- dle!). This is where the stal- lion bites the mare during mating to immobilize her. There especially shouldn’t be too much pressure put direct- ly on the spinal processes of the horse, nor on the ligament system that runs along side the spine. Treeless saddles (which are essentially bare- back pads) may work for a while, especially if the horse has been ridden in a badly fit- ting treed saddle, but eventu- ally constant pressure will cause long-term damage. It is paradoxical to expect to buy one saddle that is hoped will fit forever with- out adjustments. In a well-fit- ting saddle the horse should begin to muscle up and change conformation so that at least annual adjustments will be required to accommo- date this growth. Continuing to ride a saddle without hav- ing it reflocked or refitted is doing horse a disservice, or there’s something wrong with the saddle. Using differ- ent types of pads to ‘fix’ the fit is a bandaid solution at best. A pad should be used on well-fitting saddle simply to protect the leather from sweat, and should be no more than a thin cotton layer. Many current books on equine anatomy will offer back up information to this statement (see specifically references to the supraspinous ligament sys- tem). Sometimes veterinari- ans are at a loss to explain equine ‘problems’ - often related to using the wrong type of saddle, or a badly fit- ting saddle. The unfortunate truth is that treeless saddles go against the logic of equine anatomy - they may work for a few years, but as has been reiterated, there is a reason that there so many more treed saddles on the market. Could it be that treeless is simply a fad? (and yes, fads can go on for many years!)


Yes, there will definite- ly be more freedom in the shoulder through the scapula than with a rigid tree, but there are a lot of other trees out there now that have more flex. Much scapular damage has been done by tree points, which is why a saddle with longer tree-points that actual- ly point backward is opti- mum! Yes, a tree can be very detrimental if it is not made correctly, but no tree at all causes pain as well. This has been proven with the use of


Not many people today have the luxury of time to learn to ride as well as the native Americans did - with or without saddles. Many people still need to use a sad- dle to even stay on a horse so you can’t really compare the two. Nothing would make us happier as saddle makers and saddle fitters than having bareback pads/treeless sad- dles universally accepted - they’re much faster and much cheaper to make, and little skill is required to sew what is essentially a leather pad. If this is truly the best thing for the horse, why have none of the long-established tradi- tional saddle makers jumped on the bandwagon?


Think of this analogy. Why do you not find high level human athletes pursu- ing their sports barefoot? For three reasons - support, com- fort, and protection that a shoe can give. There are only a handful of riders (from all over the world) at higher lev- els riding a bareback


pad/treeless saddle. Elite (equine) athletes require sup- port, comfort and protection to perform optimally. With- out a tree, a bareback pad/treeless saddle cannot protect the horse’s spine, support the curvature of the rider’s spine, and be comfort- able for both horse and rider. The rider needs to sit softly (only achievable with correct posture and support of the four curvatures of the human spine) and the horse needs to keep the longissimus dorsi loose, so the back can rise, the hindquarters can come underneath, and the weight come off the forehand. Much has been written about how wonderfully the horse moves in the shoulder with a bareback pad/treeless saddle, yet this ‘freedom of movement’ in the shoulder is ineffective and long-term damaging if the back is hol- low because the back muscle tightens due to the sharp seat bones of the rider. There is no support to the rider’s spine and no protection to the horse’s spine. The result is that all the weight is on the forehand, which is an unde- sirable consequence.


The majority of people riding have horses larger than the Indian pony (which was of course, traditionally ridden bareback), and common knowledge states that the bone density usually only holds up for an 800 lb horse. (most horses weigh much more than this) If the horse is not ridden off the forehand, damage will result to the lig- aments, joints, tendons, and musculature.


‘bareback’) but to ensure the health of athletes (human or equine) the educated consumer will choose the product which pro- vides the best support, comfort and protection. Obviously no one is going to convince anyone of any- thing they don’t want to believe in - bottom line is you should ride in whatever you are comfortable in, because no matter how well your saddle fits your horse (bareback pad/treeless saddle or treed sad- dle), your horse will never move optimally if you as the rider are not comfortable as well, because your discomfort will translate down. I don’t think anyone would argue that point, but the point is, please consider that the reason treed sad- dles have been around for so long is because they serve a distinct purpose - to protect, support, and provide comfort to both horse and rider. But use whatever works for you - just be aware that sometimes products appear on the market that seem to be a lot better than they really are, given the logic behind the manufacturing.


Nonetheless, a properly fitted treed saddle is far superior to a treeless saddle. Sometimes things that appear to be perfect solutions in the short term will prove to have less than satisfactory outcomes in the long term. If you tap the top of your hand, it doesn’t hurt much the first couple of minutes, but if you continue tapping for an hour or so, the tendons become very sore. Short term - no problem; long term - pain.


Mr. Schleese is a former member of the German young rider’s Three-day event team, and graduated from Passier Germany as the youngest-ever Certified Master Saddler at age 22. He came to Canada as the Official Saddler for the 1986 World Dres- sage Championships. Schleese has made the trade of saddlery regis- tered and certifiable in Ontario as the only authorized training facili- ty. Schleese has 60 employees and agents worldwide.


Saddlefit4Life® philosophy and diagnostic system. Saddlefit 4


He developed the


Life® is taught worldwide to DVM’s, REMTs, DCs, Trainers and Saddle Fitters. Through shar- ing expertise Saddlefit 4 Life® professionals are protecting horse’s and rider’s backs. Jochen states, “Horses should not suffer for the ignorance of the rider, nor should they be farmed out, or put down because of severe, irrepara- ble damage resulting from poor saddle fit.” Jochen’s passion and life mission to educate is improv- ing the well being of horses and riders worldwide!


In the past at interna- tional championships you likely will not see a bareback pad/treeless saddle – even race saddles, although tiny, do contain 1/2 trees to protect the spine. Of course, a saddle fitter will always state his/her opinion, such as the owner of the bareback pad/treeless saddle also has his/her opin- ion - we live in a free society where everyone is allowed to state his/her opinion - howev- er, for further input to form an educated opinion, please refer to the book “The Horse’s Pain Free Back and Saddle Fit” by Dr. Joyce Har- mann, DVM. She has made saddlefitting her focus - esp. the chapter on Saddle Con- struction, p. 37 - Treeless saddles. She mentions how important it is to keep the weight off the horse’s spine. More and more veteri- narians concur and investi- gate saddle fit, with research and evidence collected with MRI’s, fibreoptic or thermo- graphic cameras, and com- puterized saddle pads


Although some of the bareback pads/ treeless sad- dles have incorporated a gul- let into their design, without the tree you cannot bridge the spinal processes nor the spinal ligament system prop- erly, and therefore end up not providing the protection a properly fitted treed saddle will provide. Flexible, adjustable trees are an alter- nate choice to traditional wooden spring trees to pro- vide horse and rider with what they need to prevent long term damage.


There is nothing wrong with going barefoot, (or


Emotion should be taken out of this discussion, and it should be based on fact. More and more vet- erinarians are specializing in sad- dle fit and research evidence will become more and more apparent and available. Time will tell who is right….


Biography: Jochen Schleese, CMS, CSFT, CEE


Certified Master Saddler, Saddlefit Technician, Equine Ergonomist


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