Flocking or flair?

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Dufus

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Hello,
Sorry if this has been done to death but would you chose flocking or flair for your saddles? I have recently just sold my saddle which had flair as it no longer fit and now I need to replace it but don't know whether to stick with flair or go back to a flocked saddle.

My horse is a bit sore in her back but that is probably from the saddle no longer fitting rather than the flair but it is making me reconsider whether I should go back to flock and whether this will work better for my horse as possibly softer or whether a correctly fitting saddle with flair will be better for her and equally as soft as she seems to have no preference between flair or flock.

Is flair easier to get a precise fit?

What is everyone's preference and why? And can anyone recommend a saddle for a wide flat backed horse with huge shoulders that isn't K&M , thorrowgood, jeffries or wintec as have tried them all.

Thank you
 
I don't know if it has changed but I remember picking up a saddle with Flair, running my hand along the panels and finding a distinct join between the front and back Flair air bag. I also think that air is hard.

I have wool flocking and felt lined saddle on my horse and have never had any saddle issues. As he has got older his back has dipped slightly so the saddle fitter gave my a prolite pad just to lift the saddle a bit and there have been no further issues.
 
Archie and Monty have the same model saddle - an Ideal Event. They're even the same size and width (although minor tweaks to suit them) but Archie's has Flair and Monty's is flocked. It's just how they came when I bought them 2nd hand. I much prefer the Flair - it's quicker and cheaper to adjust if it needs adjusting and I find A's saddle much more comfy than M's. They're both chunks with big shoulders so might be worth looking at an Ideal.
 
There is an overlap, not a join, but because of the nature of air, which equalises balance over the whole area of the bag, it tends not to be felt by the horse unless the pressures in the front and back are very different. I do like to use a padded cloth because of it. Newer panels have a less clear overlap.

Air is not hard. If it feels hard then there is far too much air in the bag.

I love the adjustability and the guarantee it will not form lumps.
 
I have only ever bought flocked saddles until i accidentally bought one with flair and i have to say i am converted. Not to say i would rule out either just would be open to both now having had one.
With regard to your fit type i would suggest trying an ideal x
 
ycbm said:
There is an overlap, not a join, but because of the nature of air, which equalises balance over the whole area of the bag, it tends not to be felt by the horse unless the pressures in the front and back are very different. I do like to use a padded cloth because of it. Newer panels have a less clear overlap.

Air is not hard. If it feels hard then there is far too much air in the bag.

I love the adjustability and the guarantee it will not form lumps.
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Hi, I must say I never felt the overlap in my last saddle with flair 😊 I'm just so torn whether to stick with flair or go back to flock but I do think the adjustability is easier with flair than flock (but I could be wrong) do you find the air feels at all unable? Or is it likely that I felt like that because the saddle didn't fit rather than because of the flair?
 
Unstable feeling on flair is often because people, including official fitters, put too much air in. It's astonishing how pumped up some that you buy second hand are!

Yes adjustment is much easier with air, assuming you know the basics of saddle fitting. Flock needs flocking to be pushed in through small holes until it gets to the right place, while also trying not to create lumps. An untrained person would usually make a complete bodge of trying to add flock for themselves, but anyone with a pump can put more air into a bag.
 
I have one with flair - my horse is a nightmare to fit - massive shoulders, not much wither, flat backed. My saddle is an Ava saddle and both my horse and I love it
 
Cat91 said:
I have one with flair - my horse is a nightmare to fit - massive shoulders, not much wither, flat backed. My saddle is an Ava saddle and both my horse and I love it
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You could literally be describing my horse! I have looked at the Ava saddles but they are out of my budget but I can afford a second hand wow to give flair another go or to start the search for a flocked saddle but had nothing but problems previously with flock , I feel like my horse just isn't meant to be ridden! Lol
 
I loved Flair when we had horses eventing, it was so easy to get them adjusted as the horses changed shape through a season and none of ours ever seemed to object to it. The saddler that I have used recently has changed his tune about Flair as many of the originally fitted bags are nearing the end of their life span and need replacing, he persuaded me to change one saddle back to flock but I think that was more because it suited him!
 
EventingMum said:
I loved Flair when we had horses eventing, it was so easy to get them adjusted as the horses changed shape through a season and none of ours ever seemed to object to it. The saddler that I have used recently has changed his tune about Flair as many of the originally fitted bags are nearing the end of their life span and need replacing, he persuaded me to change one saddle back to flock but I think that was more because it suited him!
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Have you found that the saddle you've changed back to flock still fits regardless of being flocked or with flair? My horse is so difficult to fit but I have been put off the flair a bit after my last saddle but then that's probably because of the fit and not the flair and I dare say flocking would have caused the same problem on the same saddle ☹️
 
Dufus said:
Have you found that the saddle you've changed back to flock still fits regardless of being flocked or with flair? My horse is so difficult to fit but I have been put off the flair a bit after my last saddle but then that's probably because of the fit and not the flair and I dare say flocking would have caused the same problem on the same saddle ☹️
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The horse it had Flair for is now retired so it was flocked to fit a different horse - sorry not much help!
 
EventingMum said:
The horse it had Flair for is now retired so it was flocked to fit a different horse - sorry not much help!
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Ha ha no problem 😊 I suppose if the saddle fits then it shouldn't matter if I have flock or flair but it's finding a saddle that fits that is proving to be impossible
 
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