Flair...air?? Or traditional wool flocking?

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MissJessica

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I have a native...gets a little round in summer.
Used to use a grip pad but had his saddle altered a lot last winter, including balance straps being attached & it stopped any slipping & now the grip pad is seldom used.
I've noticed over the last month it slipping again, not as noticeable but just moving around.
Yes I can use my grip pad again & will do to eliminate the problem as it isn't huge.
But would an air type saddle be useful to us? To adjust easily as the seasons/weight varies?

Thank you for your advise in advance.
 
Personally I'd always go for flock every time.

Easier to get a better fit, and can easily be adjusted as needs be by any saddler.

If you go for FLAIR/CAIR or whatever, you'll need a specialist to do it, or that is my understanding.

Also the CAIR panels (on a Wintec) can be horrendously expensive to replace. I bought a used Wintec on e-bay, and got the saddle fitter out (like you do!). She said basically that the CAIR panels were as flat as a cow-pat and would need replacing, OR taking out completely and the saddle done with flock. Both options would have cost more than I'd given for the saddle - so a total waste of money.

If you have a native, then perhaps have a look at the Andrea Hicks range? They're specially designed for native ponies. "sbloom" on here is a fitter for them, and she'd be very happy to advise you.
 
Flair is nice (I don't like Cair) but you do need a professional to alter the fit and it can be tricky to find someone. Having said that I am less fussy with my saddles than some people and I have found that the horse is happy in the Flair saddle even if it isn't a perfect fit. If you want to adjust it yourself there is a saddlepad called Korrector made by the people who make Flair, the saddlepad has air panels in it which you adjust yourself and you use it in combination with a normal flocked saddle.

Your problem is likely to be that you had the saddle altered to fit in winter, when I imagine the horse was at his slimmest. If there's a large variation in weight between summer and winter and you want to use the same saddle you need it fitted in summer when horse is fattest, then use pads etc for winter to narrow it a bit. You can't widen it with pads.
 
Thank you MiJodsR2BlinkinTite
Never considered the native saddles, he would be a finely built Connemara but a native all the same.
I will investigate. Thank you.
 
MissJessica said:
Thank you MiJodsR2BlinkinTite
Never considered the native saddles, he would be a finely built Connemara but a native all the same.
I will investigate. Thank you.
Click to expand...

If you are investigating........ then be aware that there is another company/set-up selling "native pony" saddles as well as the Andrea Hicks one. I had a bad experience with that "other company".... PM me if you want as it is too risky to share it publicly. Or research on here and on other forums as there's plenty of info available.

PM "sbloom" on here if you want to know more, she's a good source of knowledge and very helpful. Their saddles are really lovely!
 
I always go for wool flocking, have no experience with flair but cair is awful ! moves around far too much.
I have a finely built Connemara and i found the Jeffries falcon event saddle is perfect, it's flat enough for a native but also comes quite narrow for a slighter native. Plus it's extremely comfy and easy to jump and do flatwork in. I have had a few Connies and it's fitted them all very well
 
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