I first tried the Ansur saddle after a re-exploration of bareback riding as an adult! I became addicted to the closeness I felt. I was more aware of the state of their back musculature, and of my balance.  Riding bareback kept me 'honest' in my riding... because if I started to ride like a fool I would just plain fall off!

When returning to riding with a saddle, I was incredibly frustrated.  I didn't like how far away I felt, and I was newly aware of how easily the horses could feel restricted by even the most well fitting treed saddle.

The Ansur disturbed me when I saw it. It defied all I knew about saddle fitting. I kept trying to pull the pommel up off the withers! But my horses never complained. (One of my horses gets a rub if he wears the same fly mask too many days in a row and he never has gotten a rub from this saddle.)

I understand the logic of a tree, and thought I surely need one to protect my horse's backs. So recently I tried many treed saddles, custom fitting them, finding ones made wide enough, with the bars set back, with changeable tree widths ... My horse Ovation, especially, would have none of it. The Ansur is the only one he likes. Personally, I'm with him!

Now, the Ansur is a bit like riding bareback, it will not support you or hold you in a place you are not balanced or fit enough to stay in. Because of that, it may not be the best choice for every rider at every stage in their development. No piece of equipment is perfect for everyone all the time. Sometimes we have to choose the lesser of the evils. I personally have a strong focus on bio-mechanics and although I believe this saddle allows the freedom I am looking for, my horses also develop healthy back muscles that help them carry me, and are in a balance of good bio-mechanics, which also makes me more weightless on them. So it creates a nice positive feedback loop!

Recently, after riding in the Ansur and loving it on a hard-to-fit horse of hers, a dressage trainer friend of mine and I were discussing the philosophies of saddle choice, and were wondering if we are really doing ourselves a favor by riding in saddles that 'help' us stay in position, and buffer us from our horse's movement. We found that some saddles make it easier for us to stay in position even when the horse's bio-mechanics were terrible. I don't think anyone should fight their equipment, but I also don't think the equipment should enable a lack of correct skills in the horse or human. We were commenting on how many trainers in the past rode in very minimally padded flat seated saddles with little or no knee rolls.  Like bareback, if something was going wrong you became very inspired to ride better and smarter! I think the trend towards saddles that hold you in place, wedge your leg back past where your hip can open without arching your back, and that 'protect' the horse so much from the rider that neither can feel anything ... is a danger.

I ride in the Classic model, which is like a glorified bareback pad with stirrups.  It is glorified because there are many layers of technology in saddle designed to disperse the weight.  The Ansur company does have models now that have a gullet and so have a 'twist' of sorts which can make it more comfortable for some riders.

You can email me with any questions or to assist you with an order at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Or you may go to Ansursaddle.com for more information and to purchase... and please tell them I sent you!

I decided to be a distributor for them because I found myself recommending them so frequently anyway, and so yes, I do get a commission on the sale, but believe me, I would not recommend it if I didn't ride all my horses in it and love it.

Remember, though, everyone and every horse is different. There may be a better option for you out there. I like the words of Buddha: "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense."  I would add: "...And unless your horse agrees with it, too!"