Lineup of six Freeform treeless saddles on a fence - offering balance, freedom & comfort for your horse.

Freeform Treeless Saddles

Balance, Freedom & Comfort - For You & Your Horse

Treeless Saddles for Trail, Endurance, Gaiting & More

Two Freeform Treeless Saddles sitting on a fence in a green field, one brown and tan and one burgandy and black. Handmade in Italy.

Saddles that Fit You & Your Horse

Buying a new saddle is an important decision you want to get right the first time around. If you look at the classified ads there are many saddles for sale and, in most cases, they are ill-fitting saddles. That's the reason they're being offered for sale... they didn't work for the horse and/or the rider.

One of the many compliments that we hear at Saddle Up is how happy our customers are to have finally found that perfect saddle that is right for the horse and for the rider. Our treeless saddles have a high percentage of customer satisfaction and are adaptable to so many different horses, that the need for owning multiple saddles is reduced down to just the one.

At Saddle Up, we want you to demo our saddles and see for yourself how incredibly comfortable they are. You'll find a variety of models to suit various riding styles and disciplines. Our saddles are very lightweight and made out of quality Italian leather that endures the most extreme use over time. Many customers hang onto their originals, but often purchase a new one just to experience some of our greatest upgrades.

Please feel free to call us to discuss your next saddle purchase. We have many styles to choose from and can also customize your next saddle to make it unique and reflect your personal color choices. Popular saddles include the Ultimate Trail, Pathfinder PJ, Navarra, Pathfinder, Tempo Dressage, Classic Cutback, Western Virginian & Western Barrel.

It is our pleasure to help you with the setup and fitting process. All Freeform saddles come with free one-on-one fitting to ensure your saddle fits both you and your horse over the years.

We've had customers tell us that after a very long search, they are grateful to have finally purchased a saddle that works and they no longer have to worry about whether their saddle fits.

View all Saddles

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.

Freeform treeless saddles offer full freedom of movement for your horse

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.

Dan Kybur, heavy weight rider, successfully competes 50-100 mile rides in a Freeform treeless saddle

Promotes Healthy Backs

Freeform saddles promote healthy backs! Our saddles are made of foam injected molding that keep the saddle off the horse’s spineAdjustable 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. 

Paulita Neff, Owner TreelessSaddles.com with her horse

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. Just email whitney.saddleup@gmail.com or give us a call (540) 271-4577.

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

Paulita Neff in the Freeform Treeless Saddle shop

Helpful Videos

Our Video Library includes a series on treeless saddle fitting, saddle spotlights to showcase new and popular saddles, saddle pads, set up tips and how to make quick changes with accessories, plus tips for gaited horses.

Watch Videos
Garrett Ford riding his horse Fury in a Freeform treeless saddle in The Tevis Cup 100-mile endurance ride.

Champions Ride Freeform Saddles

The most winning treeless saddle of the Tevis Cup:

2021 - Three top-ten Tevis Cup finishers rode Freeform.

2012-13, 2009-10, 2007, 2002 - Tevis Cup winners rode Freeform.

2009 - AERC Championship winner rode Freeform.

Photo: Garet Ford riding Fury, Cougar Rock. Credit: Core~Baylor Event Photography

Read raves from endurance riders
Best Saddle I've Ever Owned

Best Saddle I've Ever Owned

"I've been doing Endurance for about 20 yrs now. I went the gauntlet of saddle hunting and buying in order to fit our horses ever developing contours that came with conditioning and competing with sport and spent copious and obscene amounts of money in the process. My sister bought a Freeform (used). I was skeptical at first, since I had tried other "treeless" and adjustable saddles. So, I tried hers out - then I bought it off her. Two years later, I bought the Freeform Classic with the Cutback option and a set of panel inserts (for those special needs project horses) This saddle has been by far the best saddle that I have ever owned.

From the start, the difference in how my horses moved, responded and developed and felt were extremely obvious. Gone, was the bracing, the choppy strides during the latter part of our workouts, they became softer, more supple, more responsive and I could literally feel their back muscle work under my seat! We have had no pressure spots, no soreness, no short strides from a pinched back or core fatigue due to excessive weight. I have since ordered another one this last week, so I have two."

- Tammy Gagnon (Read the full story)

I'm in Love with This Saddle!

I'm in Love with This Saddle!

“I'm in love with the Ultimate Trail saddle and what it's done for my horse! I had gone looking for an alternative to my bespoke County saddle when my horse Blanco finally started coming back into work after a long bout of lameness. That’s when I discovered the treeless saddle & after much research contacted Paulita. We talked about what I wanted and what Blanco needed.

We've never been happier. I’ve had the Ultimate Trail saddle and Freeform pad for a year now. We’ve come so far. Blanco’s back is still changing, but through it all the saddle has fit both of us perfectly.”

– Brooks & Blanco (Read the full story)