Flexee-Opinions anyone on Heather Moffat range?

[sjp1]

In fairness, my comments were nothing to do with the fact that she had thrown her toys out of the pram on this forum.

My comments were due to the fact that I actually owned a Vogue saddle and at £1300 I expected it to be as good if not better than the Freeforms, Barefoot etc. treeless saddle. If there were problems with weight distribution on the Vogue which is meant to be the top of the range, I would fully expect the same problems, if not more, on the budget range Flexee.

Unfortunately, and I am not a great big fat heavy rider, the saddle caused my horse to get raised lumps under the stirrup bars.

If the saddles are only suitable for dressage, then I really think it would be much better to say that - my horse is a grey so whether or not he would have had white hair growing through I can't say.

All I can say is that it didn't suit us, and I would certainly not recommend them for anyone who wants to do more than dressage in them.

 

[dressagelove]

Well personally I think its bonkers not to try a HM saddle based on an over heated thread on the internet. Especially with the minefield that saddles are!

I have a vogue and love it, now have a very spoilt derriere that is unhappy on anything else I know lots of people with them who have nothing but good to say about them, also know a few who didnt get on with them. At the end of the day not every saddle will suit every horse, however these to my mind have the least likelihood of doing actual damage.

Rider style and weight do play a part with these saddles too, if you are one sided/insecure it will show up quickly!

For the person who said soft treed is like half baked cake - what a weird way to look at it! For me its the best of both worlds! Its not got the rigid parts which in so many cases cause atrophy, shortened stride and back pain but it does have layer upon layer of shock absorbing materials to support the rider and spread the weight, rather than a thin pad with stirrup bars attached like the cheaper treeless saddles!

As of this morning I am on the hunt for a new saddle for my dressage horse, and my physio recommended HM saddles, I think I am going to give them a go, this sounds absolutely ideal for what I am looking for. Going to try one on trial, plus this people I most respect on this forum also like them

I also think it is ridiculous to not try the saddles just because of an online thread, it wouldn't put me off trying them.

 

[Parker79]

As I mentioned previously...my saddler doesn't supply HM saddles and therefore if I did try them I would have to use a fitter I have no experience of.

If more people had been positive about the HM saddles then I may have been willing to take a look myself...but as it stands I have a good saddler and with so much negative feedback (including people in my yard) then I do not feel confident.

I do not want to try it....I want to feel totally confident with what I put on my youngster as making a mistake may cause him a lot of discomfort.

 

[dressagelove]

As I mentioned previously...my saddler doesn't supply HM saddles and therefore if I did try them I would have to use a fitter I have no experience of.

If more people had been positive about the HM saddles then I may have been willing to take a look myself...but as it stands I have a good saddler and with so much negative feedback (including people in my yard) then I do not feel confident.

I do not want to try it....I want to feel totally confident with what I put on my youngster as making a mistake may cause him a lot of discomfort.

I wasn't having a dig OP, I was just stating my opinion in terms of the thread I found some helpful opinions on this thread too, so thanks for starting it

 

[Parker79]

I wasn't having a dig OP, I was just stating my opinion in terms of the thread I found some helpful opinions on this thread too, so thanks for starting it

Oops - was that blunt? wasn't supposed to be!

 

[TigerTail]

As I mentioned previously...my saddler doesn't supply HM saddles and therefore if I did try them I would have to use a fitter I have no experience of.

If more people had been positive about the HM saddles then I may have been willing to take a look myself...but as it stands I have a good saddler and with so much negative feedback (including people in my yard) then I do not feel confident.

I do not want to try it....I want to feel totally confident with what I put on my youngster as making a mistake may cause him a lot of discomfort.

Your saddler would have to do a session with HM on fitting her saddles in order to sell them The cynic in me says she will poo poo them because she cant sell them.....

Heather rides all her own horses in vogues, the flexees have all been trialled on her own horses so she puts a lot of faith in them. I wanted something I would feel happy to put my baby in and also that wouldnt need replacing in 3 months when she changed shape, for me that was a vogue

 

[hollyandivy123]

Bargepole. Touch. Wouldn't. Without comprehensive pressure data on THE HORSE YOU'LL USE IT ON.

Look on ebay - see how cheaply past models from HM are going for, compared to their £1k+ original price tags. Google Phoenix/Fhoenix saddles and pressure issues/white hair/stirrup bars.

the trouble is you could say that about most saddles on ebay ideal saddles £1200 new selling for £350-500..............the older models are cheaper but then so are the older models of most saddles

any saddle will have different pressure points depending on who is riding, i guess with the statement "Without comprehensive pressure data on THE HORSE YOU'LL USE IT ON." you also pressure test ever new saddle rider combination?

yes i have a phoenix............had it for 6 + yrs never a problem never a white hair, sorted out the asymmetry that i gained from a well known treed saddle brand! also allows for weight fluctuations and shape change over the years. i am not saying it is perfect but you forgot to tell the OP that she should goggle white hairs and damage from any other manufacturer..ideal............albion ...........etc

you need to if you wish to have a balanced perspective

 

[JennBags]

I don't profess to know anything about tree-less saddles, and haven't ever thought of buying one, so haven't done any research, however, I'm another who won't ever buy a Heather Moffett product after her disgusting display on HHO. I wouldn't want to give her business any of my hard-earned money. There are always alternative products out there, so I'm not cutting off my nose to spite my face

 

[catkin]

OP - as the saddle is for a youngster, here's a couple of thoughts brought about through having been through a similar process with a youngster:

you are so so right in being concerned about the fit for your boy - but also think about saddle fit for yourself - every baby will have wibbly-wobbly moments, and downright spooky/bucky/'don't understand' moments. They can get very, very worried and upset if you are unbalanced (or worse). If you have never ridden in a treeless you may find the feel very different. Do you want to be dealing with that as well as a baby horse?

you will find that the whole shape of the back is likely to change as the horse matures, not just the width. You just have to accept that any saddle for any young horse is likely to be temporary, and you are likely to go through quite a few saddles in the first 3/4 years. A good understanding saddle-fitter who carries a wide range of options can help a lot here - even better if they carry good second-hand ones that you can PX every few months if they can't be reflocked/adjusted to fit. Also get them to show you how to check for saddle fit (apologies if you already know how to do this) - mine did and super-useful it's been too.

Hope that helps a bit!

 

[Parker79]

Thank you Catkin

Do not apologise....happy for any advice! I have spoken with my saddler, she is confident that a Kent & Masters saddle will be a good option, she will be coming out to check him soon before making a recommendation. She feels it has enough adjustment to last for some time. She is out to our yard all the time so I will keep getting in checked!

So not certain...but may be getting a Kent & Masters and will look for a 2nd hand one as I'm in no rush! Obviously this is to be confirmed...she may turn up and change her mind but she has experience of Friesians and so that was her best guess until she checks him.

I cannot back him properly til next spring, but I want to do groundwork with tack on and start sitting on him, maybe some walking.

 

[mystiandsunny]

any saddle will have different pressure points depending on who is riding, i guess with the statement Without comprehensive pressure data on THE HORSE YOU'LL USE IT ON." you also pressure test ever new saddle rider combination?

A treed saddle of any make, will fit the shape of the back or not, will be wide enough or not, will be correctly flocked or not. All that is fairly easy to tell by eye and by feel, incl by a test ride. I have had treed saddles stop fitting as the horse changes plenty of times (and I've got plenty of horses, all had from youngsters, so lots of experience), but it's so easy to tell I've never had a horse damaged by a treed saddle in any way.

With treeless saddles, you can't see that. Without a port lewis impression pad or similar, you can't SEE where there is insufficient pressure distribution from the girth/stirrups. Also, problems can show up many months down the line, in a saddle that initially seemed great. I have seen a treeless fitted by a specialised fitter, with the recommended adjustments, cause quite a bit of damage, despite concerns raised by me and by the horse's rider - over muscle atrophy etc - all pooh poohed by the (HM) fitter who said it couldn't possibly be the saddle. Well, when the hair fell out under the stirrup bars on each side and grew back white, they soon stopped singing that tune. A real shame for the poor horse, who had months off work as a result. That was a few years ago, and said horse has been deliriously happy with a treed, SC saddle ever since. If it gets a bit wide/narrow it can be adjusted, and it's pretty obvious as soon as this happens.

I'm sure HM saddles fit some horses beautifully. I wouldn't use something where I couldn't assess its fit day to day however. Too much risk.