Freeform Info

Last updated 01/10/2009

FREEFORM INFORMATION

FREEFORM TREELESS SADDLES are hand made by a small family orientated company in Italy, just outside of Verona. They have been making equine horse tack for many years, their speciality being Western Saddles which have won them prestigious awards. They ventured into making their first treeless saddle in 1999 (the Fitform) which progressed and advanced in 2003/2004 into the Freeform Classic. Since then, the saddles have further improved and other models and designs have been added. We consider Freeform saddles to be a work-in-progress as we all constantly strive to help improve and advance these beautiful, Italian treeless saddles.

Freeform’s are an excellent example of saddling in the 21st Century. They are the first of their kind to utilise the very modern process of foam injection moulding to produce a complete saddle, not just small parts of it – a true revolution in the world of saddle making. This not only gives the Freeform saddles their quality, but the moulding process ensures symmetry at the core of the saddles and allows them to follow the contours of the horse without relying on the forced shape of a rigid saddle tree.

Their unique structure gives Freeform saddles a distinct benefit for many horses and riders. The breathable foam core makes these very lightweight at around 3.5kg. The flexibility of this allows the horse complete unrestricted freedom of movement, encouraging them to move as nature intended and provides a close-contact feel for the rider, giving both a much more comfortable riding experience. Although fully flexible, pressure testing has shown the Freeform saddles to have some of the best weight/pressure distributing results among treeless saddles that are comparable to a well made, well fitting treed, making them the ideal compromise between a bareback pad and a treed saddle.

A flexible aluminium arch in the pommel section of the detachable seat gives a self-adjusting fit to suit several horse shapes. Whilst these saddles are not a "one-size-fits-all" solution, their overall flexibility potentially allows the rider to use one saddle on more than one horse when used in conjunction with a properly designed treeless numnah.

A fully adjustable stirrup position allows the rider to place their stirrups so the ideal shoulder-hip-heel alignment can be easily attained.

The self-adjusting girthing is a free-swinging arrangement and caters for most horse conformations. This positions the girth automatically in the girth groove irrespective of where the saddle is placed on the horse. The internal section of the girthing is set on a "Y" system to help distribute the pressure over the bearing area of the saddle and to assist in saddle stability.

The seats are fully detachable and being available in a few different styles as well as sizes, they are also fully interchangeable. They are designed to offer the rider different forms of support depending on their preferences.

The standard width and shape of Freeform saddles may allow the low, wide withered to the very flattest, widest horses some wither and spine clearance without the need for additional shimming. High withered, atrophied horses will need extra shimming to gain the necessary clearance. These can be the most difficult group to fit a treeless saddle to as it relies on the customer having the confidence to constantly assess fit and make adjustments to the shimming accordingly.

Stirrup leathers specifically designed to go with the Freeform are dressage style to reduce bulk under the rider's leg and have a reinforced nylon core. There is also the option for an attachment so ordinary English leathers can be used.

When it comes to treeless saddles, having the right numnah is a necessity and should be considered an essential part of your saddle rather than an extra piece of equipment. Most commercially available numnah's are not the right shape or size for these saddles but more importantly, most of them have bulky seams and it is this that can cause pressure point's along the spine. Without the rigidity of a tree, the"gullet area" cannot be made as roomy and as the saddles are flexible, the rider’s weight will also affect the amount of clearance over the spine and withers. Because of this, any small amount of room can be taken up with a bulky seam of a conventionally made numnah. This is why we offer a selection of numnah's specifically designed for use with the Freeform and other treeless saddles. They are all pocketed and can therefore be custom shimmed to suit varying horse shapes as well as offering extra cushioning when needed.

For those who are unsure, "shimming" is a process of adding foam layers to a suitable numnah to adjust the fit of a treeless saddle in the same way a saddler adjusts the fit of treed saddles by adding/removing the wool flocking. The benefit of shimming is that the rider can make the adjustments as and when it’s needed.