The panels are built on a tree but the bars flex back and forth and left to right. This is why the saddle will fit different horse body types from mutton withered to high withered and from narrow to large sloping shoulders.

There are pivots under the tree that flex with the horses movement. Because the panels flex with the horse, your body movement is lessened so you have a more comfortable ride. This saddle really freed up the shoulder for my MFT mare and now she gaits much better than in the Dixieland saddle I had orginally purchased.

I was extremely skeptical so I waited a year to see if my neighbor had any issues with hers such as sore backs, dry spots etc. She rides three very differently build horses. No issues occured.

So I took the plunge and have been extremly satisfied. And my neighbor liked my Contential saddle seat style so much that she ordered one and gave her Arizona deep seat to her husband.