Slipping Barefoot
Customers often ask whether our saddle system has sufficient grip on the horse's back. Riders doubt that such a flexible saddle offers the same safety as conventional saddles.
A new Barefoot saddle with vps system® (stands for "vertebrae protecting system") should be individually fitted and will require an initial “riding in„ phase during which they adapt to the horse's back and the padding has time to settle down and form around the horse’s contours. After this phase, the saddle no longer sits on top of the horse like a rigid form; it will have settled down and adapted itself perfectly to the shape of the horse's back.
After this initial phase, the saddle sits so firmly that it will no longer slip, even when riding in difficult terrain. Horses benefit greatly from our special spine protection system (vps® System), consisting of various flexible materials, which absorbs pressure and distributes the rider’s weight evenly over the horses back and at the same time gives the spine complete freedom of movement. After this initial phase, the saddle sits so firmly that it will no longer slip, even when riding in difficult terrain.
Horses benefit greatly from our special spine protection system (vps® System), consisting of various flexible materials, which absorbs pressure and distributes the rider’s weight evenly over the horses back and at the same time gives the spine complete freedom of movement. Click here for more informatin about the vps-system.
The Barefoot saddle therefore adapts to the horse during initial use - this process takes a few hours of riding to achieve. When the saddle is put on the horse for the first time, the rider may experience a slightly wobbly feeling and seem to be sitting “enthroned” on top of the horse for a short time, but the materials we use allow the saddle to shape itself to the horse's back without losing its stability within a short time.
Otherwise the Barefoot saddle would be comparable to a bareback pad and would lose its shape immediately when first used.
We recommend the saddle pad Physio for horses with flat withers (suitable for use with various saddle models in our range). The underside has a layer of special material (Sympanova), which keeps the saddle firmly in place even on difficult or very round horses after the initial riding-in phase.
Click here to Saddle underlay Physio