Why doesn't Crest Ridge Saddlery offer treeless and flex-Tree saddles?

Several people have asked my thoughts on the differences between rigid, flex trees, flex panel trees and treeless saddles. I have built this whole company on my  experiences of  what works and what does not. In my experience, treeless and flex-tree saddles provide poor weight distribution, hence less comfort for your horse, than a well fitted conventional saddle.  

Rigid trees, such as all Crest Ridge Saddlery trees, have been around since Roman times. When they are properly fitted to the horse, our rigid saddle trees provide 178 square inches of weight distributing surface area.  The tree has to fit correctly for the bars in the saddle to have the maximum area for distributing weight. Assuming we have selected the proper tree for your gaited horse and that all 178 square inches of the bars are in contact with your horse's back, you can determine the pressure on a horses back by dividing the total weight of you and your saddle by 178.  If you and your saddle happen to weigh 178 pounds, a well fitted Crest Ridge saddle will place about one pound per square inch of pressure on your horse's back.

Flex-panel saddles do provide some weight distribution.  Flex-panel saddles feature panels joined to the tree at four pivot points.  I believe that all of your weight is basically focused on those four pivot points, which are usually attached to pads with a diameter of around four inches. If those pads under the pivot points work perfectly, your weight is being distributed over a mere 67 square inches or so of area.  If all of your weight focuses on 4 points, how can that be better than a properly fitted rigid tree which has 178 square inches of weight distributing surface area? If you use our 178 pound person and saddle example, the flex panel saddle is putting over 2.6 pounds per square inch of pressure on your horse's back.

Flex-trees, by their very nature flex and they cannot evenly divide weight. Anything that flexes cannot distribute weight consistently, equally and evenly.  The bulk of your weight is being carried at the point where the tree flexes, which is most likely directly under your rear.  The flex-saddle's flexing creates spikes in pressure, especially when your horse is moving at speed or in rough terrain.

Treeless saddles can work for some lightweight people. The limitation is that treeless saddles do not have a foundation. All of your weight is focused on the cheeks of your rear and there is little relief for your horse in that area.

My experiences have shown me that a properly fitted rigid tree saddle is the best for protecting your horses back and providing the rider a comfortable ride.  The benefits of the well-fitted rigid tree saddle increase with the rider's weight, the duration of riding, frequency of rides and the speed during these rides.  Since our intent is to produce the best saddle for the avid rider, Crest Ridge Saddlery only produces saddles with rigid trees and strives to work with you to match the correct tree for your horse.

We strongly recommend that you "check the fit" of your existing or any new saddle using our "Checking Saddle Fit" system.  If your saddle isn't providing close to 178 square inches of contact area, you should consider getting a different saddle or adjusting your saddle pads to improve your saddles fit.