Is your horse a suitable candidate?

Backs are round, flat, and low withered – these horses are ideal candidates for treeless saddles. These horses have a spine that almost creates a channel in the back, with well sprung ribs and a well muscled topline. Horses will also obtain this body shape when they are overweight. 

Medium back example:

These horses are also ideal for treeless saddle use.  Wither and spinal processes are a bit more defined than with the round horse’s back, but all of these backs are suitable. Some horses may have a higher wither and a rounder back, and can easily be accommodated with shims.  Horses with a similar topline to these may use the Sensation with no problems, so long as the rider is well suited to the back and suitable padding is used.

Higher wither, “A” framed horses with prominent Spines:

 These horses are not well suited to treeless use in general, HOWEVER – most horses with this conformation have some muscle wastage as well, from ill-fitting treed saddles that perpetuate the condition. If you are a lightweight rider and are doing mild to moderate work, the Sensation may be able to help your horse further develop his topline. We have many riders who are riding high withered or “A” frame horses with some specialized padding with great success. If in doubt, send us some pictures!

Atrophied Back:

This horse shows a classic case of an atrophied back – You can almost see the imprint of the saddle on his back. If you follow the roundness of his rib cage, the roundness ends abruptly where the muscle has atrophied from an ill-fitting saddle. The muscles drop away from the spine, and from looking at the rest of his body, its easy to see this horse was not born with this topline. This horse could be outfitted in a Sensation with a special shimming system designed to “fill in the gaps” until his muscles begin to rebuild. As the topline develops, the rider can adjust the padding as necessary.