Maryland Saddlery's Guide to Choosing and Fitting Saddles Issue 1 | Page 11

Saddle Trees
Smith-Worthington Saddlery Co.
Ruth Hanks

Plastic
Resin Tree

The saddle tree serves 3 purposes.
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It spreads the rider’s weight over a greater area of the horse’s back
It keeps the rider’s weight off of sensitive parts of a horse’s back (withers, spine)
It provides a form on which to shape the seat providing the rider with comfort
and support.

There are treeless saddles on the market and they are useful for riders who are using
several different horses with different conformations. One size indeed fits all. But
they are not good for long term, daily use. There is constant pressure on the withers
and spine which will eventually hurt the horse. Also, the lack of tree makes
mounting tricky, as the saddle will tend to rotate around the horse unless an
assistant pulls down the off side stirrup leather while you are mounting or you use a
very tall mounting block. Treeless saddles are good for balance training.
Saddle trees can be made of steel and wood (traditional) or plastic resins. Even
high-tech carbon fiber. Sometimes you need to take a saddle apart before you know
for sure, but here are a few hints so that you don’t need to do that. Turn the saddle
upside down and run your fingertips the length of the channel. Feel under the
panels.

Plastic Saddle Tree
If you feel an absolutely smooth surface beneath the leather, the saddle probably
has a synthetic tree. It is stiff and rigid. It’s often impossible to adjust the fit to
allow for different conformations. If your horse rolls on it, you usually throw the
saddle away. A steel and wood tree can usually be repaired and may only need to be
straightened without replacing parts.

Steel and Wood Tree with linen webbing
If you feel lumps and bumps and ridges, then you are feeling a steel and wood tree.
On a spring tree saddle, you will feel the spring steel bars and the gaps between
them and the underside of the strained web that forms the seat