Why Treeless Saddles?

Riding your horse in a treeless saddle is like a dream come true for you both – finally, a saddle that maximizes your connection for balance, freedom and comfort. Offering:

• Full freedom of movement for your horse
• Solutions for hard-to-fit horses & riders
• Easy tacking up with a lightweight saddle

Balance, Freedom & Comfort

Freeform saddles provide extraordinary comfort for you and your horse. The experience of sitting in a treeless saddle is similar to bareback riding, only much more comfortable and safer. You have very close contact with your horse. You immediately experience the wonderful feeling of your horse’s free, muscular movement and rhythm beneath you. You feel comfortable and secure in your seat, not to mention your improved balance. You feel relief from back, knee and neck pain.

Another definite advantage to these saddles is that one saddle fits almost every horse’s back. As a result, your horse experiences unparalleled freedom of movement.

These lightweight saddles are easy to handle when tacking up. They are suitable for most types of riding with distinctive characteristics that appeal to rider and horse preferences.  We pride ourselves on our customer service to help you make the initial small adjustments available to you to have the perfect fit for you and your horse.

Fundamental Technical Features of Freeform Saddles

Adjusts to Your Horse’s Movements

The Freeform treeless saddles are flexible in directions that allow the saddle to adjust immediately to the movements of the horse. The construction of these saddles allows for free and full extension of the horse’s shoulders, unencumbered by the rigidity of a tree. The pommel area is non weight-bearing and the horse can move forward without restriction or pain. This helps to build or rebuild the horse’s topline.

Best Weight Distribution

Freeform saddles are designed to give the best possible weight distribution.  With either our attachable panel system, using poron, or a custom built saddle pad we can achieve phenomenal weight distribution and freedom of movement for your horse. We are able to do computer scans that are clean and clear. This is huge in fitting the horse's withers, spine issues and heavier riders (175-210 lbs). During a rising trot and two pointing, the rider’s weight is distributed over the entire footprint of the saddle. Please watch our saddle fitting videos for more helpful information.

Promotes Healthy Backs

Freeform saddles promote healthy backs! Our saddles are made of foam injected molding that keep the saddle off the horse’s spine.  Adjustable stirrup attachments on all models allow you to place your stirrup where you need for better balance (and allows you to save your knees).  Y girthing spreads the pressure of the girth across the entire saddle for your horse’s comfort.  High-withered horses will be very happy with our cutback option, which is available on all saddles. Remember a saddle should not only fit when your horse is standing still, but should fit when he is in movement.

Provides Improved Contact

The Freeform saddle looks and feels more like a normal saddle to the rider but provides improved contact and all the other benefits of a treeless saddle.  It is an anatomically shaped one-piece foam mold covered by Italian leather. A flexible aluminum arch in the front part of the detachable seat provides wither clearance.  These saddles totally adjust to the shape of any given horse while providing good stability on the horse’s back. Freeform saddles appeal to those who plan to show or compete with their horse.

For more details about the technical features of these saddles, see: About Freeform Saddles.

Pads & Accessories

Choice of pads is more important with treeless saddles than conventional saddles, to provide stability, cooling, and full protection of the horse’s spine and loin area. Whether you ride endurance, english, dressage, long distance, trail or western, you'll find a full line of the best treeless pads in the industry - from Freeform, Skito, and more. We also offer custom-designed accessories for each saddle: girths, stirrups, seats, leathers, panels, bolsters etc. 

In Paulita & Whitney’s words: “Let our experience help you.”

Hi, I'm Paulita. For more than two decades I’ve been riding in a treeless saddle — hard endurance miles and many trail miles, too. Years ago, in searching for a saddle that would fit one of my horses, I came across treeless saddles.  They were kinda new to the market.  I did months and months of research before buying my first saddle. My treeless journey led me to design my own saddles.

After years of designing and fitting Freeform saddles, I’ve taught my knowledge to our daughter Whitney. She would love to share our knowledge with you by helping you with the correct fit. We specialize in making things a whole lot easier for the hard-to-fit horse.

There are a lot of treeless saddles on the market these days. I’ve seen just about all of them. And yes, some of them have given treeless a bad name. And yes, some will collapse onto the spine of the horse. And yes, some will roll with rounder horses. And yes, some are just cheap crap, they don’t work or hold up. Pardon my French.

Some of the very expensive treeless saddles that are lovely to look at offer no options for fitting. These saddles have very narrow gullets that just don’t work well, either.

I have offered several different treeless saddles here since I opened Saddle Up, LLC. As you can tell, I have removed all but the Freeform Saddles. As you read through my web site, I hope you will see why.  Please, if you have questions, call or email Whitney. We're here to help make this a fun and enjoyable adventure for both you and your horse.

We are happy to talk with you about which saddle is best for you. Reach Paulita at paulitaneff@gmail.com. (To schedule a phone call with Paulita, please email first as she is often out of cell range.) Or email Whitney at whitney.saddleup@gmail.com or call her at (540) 271-4577.

Happy trails & happy saddle fit ~ The Freeform Gals, Paulita & Whitney