Does anybody have an air filled saddle?

[Cyberchick]

And what are your thoughts on them? I am looking to get a second saddle in the new year as at the moment I am riding all the time in my jumping saddle and it's really not helping me on the flat as you can imagine.
I once rode a friends horse that has an air filled saddle and it was one of the most comfy saddles I have ever sat on but i'm not sure if it was because of that or the make of the saddle or th horse in general was a smooth ride.
What are your thoughts on these as I don't know a lot about them to be honest.

 

[ester]

I have a flair dressage saddle.

but only by default as that is what my saddler had in that fitted. I do like it and on vid you can see whilst I am sitting to trot the air does seem to compress and expand as some say that the air can be too solid.

Am not sure they would suit all horses, Frank has the bounciest trot ever and I really think this has helped me to be able to sit to it.

Am not sure if when the air bags fail I would prob have it replaced with flock.

 

[Ranyhyn]

I have a cair saddle. I like it very much, horse goes well and has no back problems..

 

[teddyt]

I have two and love them. There are two systems with air- cair and flair, i have flair. Flair have four air bags and are adjustable, so excellent for asymmetry which most horses have. You can also do very fine adjustments, much easier and more accurate than with flock. And if you make a mistake or want to change it the next day you can! You shouldnt have the panel too pumped up though but thats the same principle as with flock.

Cair is just a bit of foam inside a sealed bag with a bit of air pumped in. Cair is not adjustable, is often hard and the foam inside can compress leading to the tree being very close to the horses back.

Flair has been shown (pressure testing) to absorb and disperse more pressure than the same saddle on the same horse with the same rider but flocked. The cair research is cr*p! They compared two totally different saddles, a cair one and a flocked one and said cair was better! But they were different saddles!

You can have flair put into most saddles.

 

[f_s_]

I have a flair saddle, think they are called "WoW" saddles now (someone will tell me!!

)

Anyway, I have had it for thirteen years, is adjusted regularly and has been fantastic. Comfortable for both the horse and rider.

I don't think the Cair panels are quite the same, they are quite solid and don't "give" as much. The flair ones do squash down, and they do have to be adjusted , but it's a great saddle

 

[charlimouse]

Air filled saddles are like marmite, you either love them or hate them. It is the same with the horses, some horses like the air, others don't. My horse started rearing over after 6 months in a flair saddle, so I stick to flocking!!! An interesting point my flair saddle fitter made (when my air bags seemed to have moved) is that the bags are a one size fits all system, so depending on the type and shape of saddle you want the air bags may not fit in well, so may then move (as mine did!!!), obviously altering the fit of the saddle, and causing problems for the horse. I said was this not a complete design flaw, and the saddler refused to answer (which I found a bit worrying). If you go for an air filled saddle be VERY careful who you get to fit it, and if your horse doesn't seem to be happy, it may just be that the air doesn't suit him, so don't let a saddle fitter sell you a flair saddle if you horse seems unhappy when trying it out!!! (and believe me they will try and sell the flair, as it means more money for them, not only when you buy the saddle, but they charge a fortune for the 6 monthly fittings aswell, plus the £300 to get the air bags repositioned after they have moved!!!) If you search the threads on here you will find plenty about Sue Carson and Wow, which are the 2 main flair makes.

 

[teddyt]

Sounds like you had a bad fitter charlimouse. There are different sizes of air bag and yes, they dont fit every saddle. But your fitter should have been honest about that! Air bags shouldnt move, so if they did they were either badly fitted to the saddle or the wrong size. Its not a design flaw but a flaw in the person who fitted the airbags and/or your fitter!

Any saddle should be checked every 6 months, not just flair. And flair cant make a saddle fit, just as flock cant, if the panel and tree are wrong. Also, just like flock, if the air is badly adjusted it can be detrimental to the horse.

Properly fitted with a saddle that fits, flair does give the horse many benefits. Occasionally horses dont like flair because you can feel the rider much more (as the rider can also feel the horse more) compared to a flocked saddle.

As with any saddle though, you have to try it and see if it suits you and your horse.

 

[dwi]

I love my Flair saddle, would never want to go back to a normal flocked saddle now, its so comfortable for Daisy and for me.

 

[cptrayes]

I never use anything but Flair. I have had Cair in the past and the horse got a sore back with it, which it never had with flock and has never had with Flair. There is an airbag overlap with Flair that some horses are sensitive to. I find the answer is to use a Geleze.