People who fit their own Wow saddles - quick question :)

milliepops

milliepops

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I am already a happy Wow owner, currently having a xc saddle, previously owned a dressage saddle and following a spur of the moment decision today I now have 2 more!! Ooops! (bought for a song, it would have been rude not to :wink3::wink3::wink3::rolleyes3:)

One of them I'm pretty sure that it will fit my little cob nicely. The air bags are way too full as usual with 2nd hand wows so it's hard to say at the moment but I had a fiddle with different headplates and it looks like it will be OK when deflated a bit. The other... don't know yet.

Anyway. The question is, if you adjust your own saddles how do you seal the ends? Do you have the proper wow glue stuff? I've got a Korrector so i have the pumps and clips etc, and having played with that I think I'm confident enough to do it myself. My horses will let me know if I make a mistake ;)

All pointers, hints, tips etc welcomed :)
 
I've got the glue. It's still in the tube :) seven years, never less than three in use, sometimes five.

Every now and then I cut 2mm off a splayed end, and I've never had a problem with a leaking tube. I have, though, seen uneven inflation on a korrector because there was sealant in the tube.

I actually never pump up two bags at once. I find it much easier to get them to balance if I count pumps into one bag at a time.

It's great to be able to fit your own, I've saved a mint!

PS I've got a new flat seat on a flat y bar I can't use if anyone needs one. Making noises like a budgie (going cheep :D )
 
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Other tips.

The panels are fastened closed with velcro. If you need a wider gullet, tighten the velcro.

If you need an airbag, buy one and put it in yourself. Leaky airbags can be fixed with superglue, I've got one still going four years after I glued up four holes in a seam!

On a periodic basis, say once a year, pull the tubes right out to their full length. If you don't move them now and then, they can stick to themselves as they get older, and then put a hole in themselves when you pull them out to alter the fit.

If buying new, always buy a panel one size smaller than the seat unless you are VERY heavy. The surface area is still huge, and if by some chance you have to put the saddle on a shorter backed horse it will still fit.

Girth straps are attached with webbing loops, you can buy spares, it doesn't need a saddler to replace them. Front girth strap can be fitted either to the head bolt as a point strap, or normal.

Some horses hate the feel of the overlapping airbags. Use a wool numbnah or a thin gel to avoid this.

If buying second hand, there are a batch of seats manufactured around 2007 with headplate fixings that come loose, so check first. WOW can fix them but it's a pain to send it off to have it done. There is also a batch of overfilled seats from the same time, which many people find extremely uncomfortable. If its a deep seat but doesn't look deep, it may be one of these. There was a fair bit of substandard leather around in 2008, thin with bad stretch lines in it.

There are two types of seat, resin and leather. The leather is lighter and newer. You can tell the difference in a photo by how much the stirrup bars show, they are very visible on resin seats and there is no stitch line on the edge by the bars.

Older panels have a stitch line at the back which can sit on the horse's back. Avoid these, they learned to move the seam higher quite quickly.

Get a tap. WOW screw holes cross thread at the drop of a hat!
 
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ycbm said:
Making noises like a budgie (going cheep :D )
Click to expand...

lol, never heard that one before, brilliant :lol:

Cool, thanks. I shall place an order with Wow then. I'm quite excited and starting, after many years of getting other people's opinions on my saddles, to trust myself to do it! I am so so cautious I'll be unlikely to mangle anything too badly I guess.

Got a very manky wow GP to clean up while I'm waiting for the delivery :D Looking forward to getting rid of the old Albion that just does not suit me!
 
ycbm said:
Other tips.

The panels are fastened closed with velcro. If you need a wider gullet, tighten the velcro.
If you need an airbag, buy one and put it in yourself. Leaky airbags can be fixed with superglue, I've got one still going four years after I glued up four holes in a seam!

On a periodic basis, say once a year, pull the tubes right out to their full length. They can stick to themselves as they get older, and then put a hole in themselves when you pull them out to alter the fit.

If buying new, always buy a panel one size smaller than the seat unless you are VERY heavy. The surface area is still huge, and if by some chance you have to put the saddle on a shorter backed horse it will still fit.

Girth straps are attached with webbing loops, you can buy spares, it doesn't need a Sadler to replace them. Front girth strap can be fitted either to the head bolt as a point strap, or normal.
Click to expand...

Super duper, thanks. I am going to replace the girth straps on one as they are stretched out of shape. Good tips on the tubes, and I was going to peek inside the panels tonight when I take it apart - hadn't thought of just doing them up tighter :o I DO need a wider gullet ideally but only slightly, so that's a handy thing to know.
 
lol thanks, I've had a resin seat before in one I sold on, and one of the ones I picked up today is resin. I actually found the other one quite comfortable, seemed a little more padded, it was a shallow seat. This is deep (and looks it ;)). The other is leather, as is my xc wow.
These both had the lightweight headplates in which was interesting as I'd never seen them in the flesh. Will be swapped out soon.

Amazingly I've never managed to cross-thread the ones I've had, and I was swapping jump & dressage flaps for a while.... ;) but perhaps I should add a tap to my box of goodies just in case. Would be incredibly frustrating to have to wait for somehting in the post when you just need a small adjustment!
 
You've jogged my memory, another for people who don't know (you obviously do) The coloured alloy head plates are not safe, can fracture in use, and are no longer sold by WOW. It's a shame as they really do reduce the weight.

Also, newer steel gullet plates are reinforced at the arch, old ones aren't.
 
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ycbm said:
You've jogged my memory, another for people who don't know (you obviously do) The coloured alloy head plates are not safe, can fracture in use, and are no longer sold by WOW. It's a shame as they really do reduce the weight.
Click to expand...

They were incredibly light, what a shame they didn't work out.
Ooooh can't wait to get my bits and bobs now, GP saddle has cleaned up a treat.
 
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