BATES saddles

I have a bates elevator, got it off eBay for £500 it is my favourite bit of kit, lovely to sit in and comfy as fr horse and rider, even though it's forward cut but sits further back so gives real clearance to her shoulders, she absolutely floats under it, it allows such freedom of movement. Can highly reccomend, I would not put anything else on her back
 
Love mine! and really was not sure when i got it. i got it because i had a horse i was about to back, and it has grown with him its been great and i would not think twice about having another.
 
I have a bates dressage saddle with interchangeable gullet which is worth it's weight in gold, changed the gullet twice already where otherwise I would have had to buy two saddles, however have heard reports of the interchangeable ones snapping cross country in the jumping saddles but don't know if they were bates so if you are planning on getting a jumping one with a changeable gullet I would look into it, otherwise they are very nice saddles :)
 
Daughter has a Bates Caprilli & loves it! It's the only saddle she has so uses it for hacking, dressage, showjumping, xc - everything!! She says it is very comfy :D
 
Buzzybee11 said:
I have a bates dressage saddle with interchangeable gullet which is worth it's weight in gold, changed the gullet twice already where otherwise I would have had to buy two saddles, however have heard reports of the interchangeable ones snapping cross country in the jumping saddles but don't know if they were bates so if you are planning on getting a jumping one with a changeable gullet I would look into it, otherwise they are very nice saddles :)
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Never heard of this happening and have had many Bates saddles over the years - I've just had to reluctantly hand over my Bates Olympia tothe young rider who has my young horse on lease.

Now going to by a Wintec 500 wide for my fat Clydie. Wintec is also part of the Bates company.

They are awesome saddles, and seem to fit every type of horse.
 
I have a caprilli GP and its really comfy too hack in. Have just got another jump saddle though as the back of the GP is quite high cut and not ideal for jumping - especially if you're going XC and need a body protector as it does catch the back of the saddle.
 
my gp is super comfy, horses like it too, have used it on a few.

Considering a dressage, oht oh!
 
my 16hh tb has a bates close contact for hacking a bates event for jumping and a bates innova for dressage , my 17 warmblood has a bates gp for hacking and an innova for dressage , love all these saddles , the event is over 10 years old and looks as new
 
I'm adding to this interest post as keen to find out abit more about their jump saddles :-)
Anyone got any experience of the elevation or momentum??
I have a wide horse with broad shoulders. He currently had the bates vsd wide but I need something with lower leg support and knee rolls for jumping in :-)
Thanks in advance!!!!
 
sbloom said:
I know it looks really mean of me to wade in, with everyone loving Bates it seems, but they don't suit every horse, especially wide horses, and I have a major issue with the shape of the headplate:

http://saddlefitter.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/changeable-gullets-details.html
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Not mean at all sbloom. However, you will never find a saddle the will 100% fit every horse.
Saddles should fit both the horse and the rider, something that a lot of riders seem to forget.
I myself am guilty of saying "ooh kentur/keiffer/rivera (whoever) make a nice looking saddle, I want one." Just because I want it, does not mean it will fit my horse. The average horse rider does not have the expertise to necessarily choose the right saddle without expert help. I love my saddle fitter, she is worth her weight in gold. She is blunt enough to tell you if your saddle will not fit your horse, however as she does not work for a manufacturer or saddlery shop, she can find you a saddle in your price range that will fit both horse and rider.

I personally have Bates saddles and I love them. I have 2 Isabells that are the same size and both fit me and my very different horses very, very well (14.3 andy x tb x riding pony in a med-wide gullet and my 16.2 ottb in a med gullet).

I will admit to not knowing about the headplate shape though. The only reasoning I can come up with for it is, maybe they don't want to risk activation of myofascial trigger points and muscle wastage if the wrong gullet size is chosen? Angling the end of the gullet out slightly would possibly follow the shape of the trapezius and caudal dorsal serratus muscles and avoid digging in to them in the event of a tight fit?
It was an interesting article. Thanks for posting the link :)
 
Ive got the Bates Caprilli close contact jump saddle and absolutely love it, hack, jump and school at the moment in it. lovely soft ride for me and great fit for horse, nicely cut back giving plenty of space for good shoulder movement. I will defo be investing in a dressage one from Bates.
 
I like them because my Tb is significantly croup-high and I can make adjustments within the newer panels to assist in balancing his saddles.
B-)
 
I also have a Bates Isabell. At first I wasn't really in love with it, and actually considered selling it. But I decided to brake into it first, and actually it turned out into the best saddle I've owned yet (and my previous saddle was a devoucoux).
 
I have a Caprilli. I loved it when I got it and so did horse, but it went flat :(

So I had new Cair panels put in and we loved it again :)

But it went flat again :(:mad: Should be back with me on Monday, having been stuffed with proper flocking. :)

I'm all excited-it's like getting a new saddle! :D

It fits the horse fine from a tree/gullet point of view, it's very comfy (getting a bit thin on the seat now it's 12 years old ish) and reasonably hard to fall out of :o The seat is quite deep.

If you aren't getting a new one, check the panels (Cair). The warranty on new ones is for five years I think. Sadly, due to the problems I've had (same issue with Wintec 500) I won't get another. Shame really.
 
I don't really understand why you'd hunt out a Bates saddle for showing....but if you do then a VSD is probably best, a lot of saddle though even for local showing.

Going back to why the headplates might be that shape, my only thought is that the change in angle (which creates a pressure point in every case I've ever looked at, whether in the "right" or wrong width headplate) enables the pommel to be maybe a cm higher than if the kink wasn't there, so allowing the seat to be deeper which riders like. It also means the trees are curvy from front to back hence they really don't suit natives and other flat backed horses.

I'm sorry, I think there are much better options out there for most horses, especially as they're not cheap saddles. I refer you again to:

http://saddlefitter.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/changeable-gullets-details.html
 
sbloom said:
It also means the trees are curvy from front to back hence they really don't suit natives and other flat backed horses.

I'm sorry, I think there are much better options out there for most horses, especially as they're not cheap saddles. I refer you again to:

http://saddlefitter.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/changeable-gullets-details.html
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The New Wintec Wide (same as the Bates Wide) most definitely does suit flat backed natives and does not have a curvy tree. Mine fits my haflingers brilliantly. I also have a New Wintec for my TB, no pressure points and both saddles are better than leather ones I had previously even though they were professionally fitted.
 
Clava said:
The New Wintec Wide (same as the Bates Wide) most definitely does suit flat backed natives and does not have a curvy tree. Mine fits my haflingers brilliantly. I also have a New Wintec for my TB, no pressure points and both saddles are better than leather ones I had previously even though they were professionally fitted.
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Ditto this. I've just bought a Wintec 2000 after previously not being a fan but am very happy with it. I have a Connemara and he seems as happy with it as I am.
 
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