The Orthoflex Express Lite saddle (Road to Tevis #87)

This post has been a long time in coming. I got this saddle in April, 2021. I learned it was an original Orthoflex Express Lite saddle thanks to my post about it on the AERC Facebook page. (You can see the post and read through the many comments here.) At first, I thought it would be a solution to Fantazia’s saddle-fitting woes. I mention it in a post (Update on Fantazia’s soundness) from May 2021. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out, but I’ve still got a lot of use out of it.

The Ortho-flex Express Lite saddle

I got my saddle from some friends who had bought it new decades ago. They loved it, but the horse they had used it for died, and the saddle didn’t fit their new horses. It’s one of the original Ortho-Flex models by Len Brown, who has since moved on to other things. Ortho-Flex has apparently gone through many owners. I cannot comment on the current models, only my old one. First I will describe the saddle, then list the pros and cons of the saddle itself, and finally move on to issues of fit to rider and horses. (Scroll to the bottom for more pictures.)

Description

The original Ortho-Flex Express Lite is a beautiful saddle, especially compared to the other endurance options I have tried. The leather is good quality and tooled, and those parts of a saddle you expect to be leather, are for the most part, except (curiously enough) for the stirrup “leathers.” They are made of some sort of synthetic material. My saddle came with faux sheepskin covers for the “leathers”, I didn’t think I’d like them, but in fact they improve the comfort, especially when riding with jeans (which I usually do). The stirrups themselves are wooden, covered with leather, and neither too light nor too heavy.

The saddle is sturdy, with a high pommel and knee rolls. The seat is padded, with a twist that is narrower than I had expected at first. It has large flaps (the largest I’ve had on a saddle since I rode saddle seat). The billets are attached to the flaps, which means you need a short girth. Similar to Reactor Panel saddles (see my post about mine here), the Ortho-Flex tree sits on two panels that are attached with four discs, two on each side. The idea is to allow the panels to flex and adjust to the movement and conformation of the horse. My saddle came with two sets of panel covers.

Above: You can see the discs between the leather-covered tree and the panels better with the panel covers off.

Pros

1. The saddle’s sturdy construction makes it very stable. You can easily get on from the ground without rolling the saddle, even without tightening the girth much.
2. It’s comfortable, especially at the walk and lope. Padded seat is very comfy.
3. Lots of attachments to tie things to.
4. The panel covers are easy to take on and off, which makes keeping them clean easier.
5. It looks nice! Especially with a chestnut horse.

Above: The panels. On the left I am holding the panel cover open. They are easy to put on and take off. On the right, the view from the bottom without the covers.

Cons

1. I don’t like the way the billets attach to the flaps. You have to lean way down to tighten the girth from the saddle (common to many endurance–and dressage–saddles). Because they are attached, you have less flexibility in girth length.
2. The plastic stirrup “leathers.” It does make them lie flatter, so I know why they are like that. Thick leathers might tend to rub on top of the flaps. But I really don’t like the look or feel of synthetic tack.
3. I don’t like the knee rolls, but that’s just me. They get in my way when I’m posting. Some people love knee rolls.
4. Weight. This is the heaviest endurance saddle I’ve got, though it doesn’t hold a candle to a good Western saddle. I haven’t weighed it, but I’d guess it’s around 15-20 pounds (will weigh). That’s not an issue for me because I am small. But it could be; lighter is always better, all else being equal.
5. The discs where the panels attach may create pressure points. I’ve never seen evidence of that in sweat markings, but others have mentioned the issue. I do believe this is a problem with Reactor Panel saddles as well, but with RP, you can move the discs. You cannot move Ortho-Flex discs.
6. The back of the tree panels (not the attached ones) has the potential to rub on a horse’s loins. They seem to stay clear of my horses’ backs, but on the other hand… I’ve had fit issues.

Above: The billets attach directly to the flaps. On the left, you can see them on the horse. On the right, I am holding the saddle upside down in my lap, so you can see the underneath of the flap.

Fitting the saddle to my horses

In the end, the Ortho-Flex Express Lite saddle doesn’t fit either of my horses well. I knew from the first time I put it on Jazz that it wasn’t going to work, but I did hope for a while that it would suit Fantazia.

Fantazia

The Ortho-Flex really seems to fit Fantazia. It doesn’t move out of position, no matter how steep the hill. The ends of the tree panels stay free of her loins. It’s never left weird sweat marks. She has never demonstrated sensitivity when palpated (whereas she gets extremely sore to the touch with the Reactor Panel). However, when I used it repeatedly for arena work (i.e., lots of loping circles), her back became sore. She would walk off doing what felt to me like “the mare walk”. I call it the mare walk because I’ve seen it more with mares. (Watch my YouTube video of it: Mare walk: What is wrong?)

Now, I cannot be certain she was doing this, because it was only slight. I have ridden plenty of mares who have shown a much more pronounced soreness. (Most of these were fillies on the track.) No one has been able to tell me for sure what causes this. I have heard speculations about hocks and reproductive organs. In any case, Fantazia walked off strangely when I’d been using the Ortho-flex all the time in the arena. I assumed it was a lot of sitting a lope.

It’s also true that it fits her best when she’s on the thin side. The other day I used it because she was thin (and I was only doing a short ride).

I used the saddle at Sesenta Anos 2021. The first day, I completed the 50-mile ride with the Reactor Panel, newly fitted by me with help from Dana Gasner. I don’t think I did a good job, because at the end of the day, Fantazia was sore under the saddle. So the second (50 miles) and third (25 miles) days I used the Ortho-Flex. I was careful to stand up in the stirrups much of the time. Not sure if that helps or if it would have been fine anyway, but she wasn’t sore at all on those two days.

Still, it wasn’t a perfect fit. (That seems to be an old Stonewall, which I will write about soon!)

Jazz

The Ortho-Flex was the first saddle I put on Jazz. It looked like it fit well enough, at least to start with, but it rode up on him. This suggests that it is too narrow, though the truth was that he bucked like crazy. Bucking also makes saddles ride up, especially when the girth isn’t that tight. (It wasn’t). (Read about Jazz’s first five days and watch the video of him bucking.)

I did try the saddle on him after that. Just like with Fantazia, it seemed to cause him to be a bit sore walking off after mounting. I never noticed pressure spots or soreness, but I decided not to use the Ortho-Flex with Jazz. Fortunately my Zaldi seems to fit him very well.

What about rider fit?

The original Ortho-Flex Express Lite saddle fits me. It’s not perfect. I prefer a smaller twist (not that this saddle has a large one). I do not like knee rolls. This saddle is super comfortable for me when I am sitting in the saddle (walking or loping). But it’s not as comfortable to trot in, and you spend most of the time at the trot in endurance. If it had fit Fantazia well, I would have sucked it up and learned to live with it. But it’s not ideal.

On the other hand, this is the perfect saddle for putzing around at the walk. I love how easy it is to mount with. I love the look of it. The seat is very stable, and it puts you in a good position for Not Falling Off (always good).

Verdict:

I’m not selling the saddle, even if it doesn’t fit either of my current horses or me perfectly. It’s just a nice saddle to have around. Someday I might have a horse that it fits well, and it’s perfect for the long slow hill climbing that is the perfect endurance conditioning.