Solution versus Flexee versus Vogue?

YorksG

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What would people think was the best value for money of those three? I know the costs are a bit different, but that isn't the main issue, it is what is best for the horses, the best after sales service would be useful too. I also have some concerns about the Flexee being made in India (mainly ethical concerns).
We have two youngsters who we intend to back later this summer and I want to give them the best start possible, so any experiences will be gratefully received :)
 

benz

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We have solution saddles, they seem to be good value for money as they are easily adjusted to different horses and they seem to hold their value second hand. Ours get thrown about all over the place and still look fairly new a couple of years on. Saddler is nice , helpful, knowledgable but quite a distance from us which makes getting appointments a bit of a faff. Horses are in great shape and have no back issues, in fact 'naughty' behaviour was reduced greatly after switching to these saddles. They are very comfy to ride in, secure and help with a good leg position. I have no experience with the other brands but if I was looking for a budget saddle I would certainly have a look at them.
 

SpottyMare

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I don't know about the after sales service as I bought my flexee (dressage model - the one that's just been discontinued) second hand on ebay for backing my youngster. But when I tried it on my other horse (to make sure I could ride in it - and yes I did check that it fitted him first) :), he seemed to go really well in it, was really responsive and it was comfortable for me too as well as putting me in the right position. So much so I'm seriously thinking about buying him his own Flexee GP saddle and selling 'his' albion.
 

YorksG

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Thanks SpottyMare, that is interesting, specially as we would probably want to be able to use them on the older horses as well.
 

benz

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Thank you for that, is the after sales service good (if perhaps not easy to arrange visits :) )

We haven't had any problems with them so don't know if they are good in if you did have to complain, but our fitter is great, she comes every 6 months and tweaks as necessary. I think it costs £50 and we have 6 horses to do! She is available on the phone and email too, good at communicating. I think we struggle to get her out as there are no fitters in our area so she comes from another county. On the whole i recommend them :)
 

YorksG

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Thanks benz, it seemed very dificult to get anyone to bring a flexee for us to see, they don't appear to hae demo models, just the agents own saddles. I am leaning towards the solution, although they are far from cheap!
 

GoldenWillow

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I've had or tried all 3 at some point on three different horses, and found the Solution the best option. I struggled to get the Vogue to fit, horse didn't like it and the memory foam in the seat is incredibly hard when it's cold in the winter, having said that I found that it's by far and away the most comfortable saddle to ride. Flexee it was the older fixed gullet model I tried but had many issues with it.

Solution was easy to fit, and horse liked it, the only thing I don't think the quality of the leather is worth the price tag. This isn't a Smart saddle though. I bought secondhand and know I could resell without losing a lot of money if needed.
 

Sheep

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I had a flexee, I liked it but it didn't suit my horse so I sold it.
With the ethical concerns, I believe Heather Moffatt has a very close working relationship with her saddler, he was over with her recently so as I understand it, this shouldn't be an issue.
 

hippocobamus

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I can only recommend the Solution (we have the native style for our cob). Yes, the price tag is more than the others that you've mentioned, but it really has been worth every penny and the after sales service has been excellent too. I think the design is more versatile than the others in terms of fitting to a variety of horses.
 

webble

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I had a flexee, I liked it but it didn't suit my horse so I sold it.
With the ethical concerns, I believe Heather Moffatt has a very close working relationship with her saddler, he was over with her recently so as I understand it, this shouldn't be an issue.

Yes she does, she has even had him riding her horses! I have never tried a solution so cant comment on that, they look gorgeous although the standard fit stirrup bar puts me off over Heathers set back one. I currently have a vogue and much prefer it to the flexee, they wear very well, I have seen a few older and second hand ones and they still look great. I agree the memory foam is hard at first in winter but no harder than a traditional saddle and it warms up pretty quickly
 

Sukistokes2

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I tried the flexee on my horse and it was ok but not what I was looking for, I tried the vogue and it was too long for my horse, the smallest size is 17", liked it however. I ended up buying the Fhoenix off ebay in a 16". Love this saddle, better then the vogue (imo). both my cobs are in versions of it. My friend now has a vouge and likes it, she tried the solutions and it did not work for her. At least with the solutions saddle you can rent them monthly until you are sure they work. I paid £500 and £600 for my saddles and am delighted with them. The HM system of selling saddles is frankly rubbish and they really need to review it. I had a lady out, HM trained and while she was lovely I was not impressed with her experience in fitting.(two day course) The fitters have to buy the saddles from the company, so say unlike Andrea Hicks, they do not carry a large stock and you can not buy the saddle from them. However good saddles.
 

Street_Skill

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I've used Solution Saddles for about 6 years now on a number of different horses and I have used both the original models and the Smart. I currently have a jump and a dressage saddle and am really pleased with them-the Solution range do not have any rigid parts and I think they are more traditional looking. I have to admit they are not cheap, but I got both of my saddles as ex-demo so got a decent amount of money off. I also think they have saved me a massive amount of money as all of my horses have changed shape and matured and I am certain I would have spent more than the initial cost of my Solution in reflocks/fittings and new saddles. The great thing is you can try before you buy and they also run a finance scheme. I am also really pleased with the quality of the workmanship and leather and I do think they represent good value for money.
 

junglefairy

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I would second Street Skill's comments, I bought a solution saddle a couple of months ago and am really impressed with every aspect, customer service, quality, fit and comfort.

My horse seems comfortable and a lot more expressive in the solution saddle. I feel comfortable and secure.

Like others have said they're not the cheapest saddles but in the long term probably favour well economically as because there are no rigid parts it should continue to fit a horse throughout it's lifetime.
 

PonyIAmNotFood

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Love my FlexEE, friend has a finesse and loves that, both her children's ponies are in FlexEEs too. All have benefited from them (straighter, better behaved ponies, children's riding positions have improved massively). Friend also tried a vogue, lovely saddle and horse liked it but was just out of price range. Not tried a solution, but would love to, could never hope to afford one tho!
 

springtime1331

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I've had the heather Moffatt phoenix and older SBS saddles. I ended up buying a solution smart native saddle for my connie x as she hated the HM saddles. It was expensive, although defo worth it in my own opinion. I would say that the only disadvantage is that the leather isn't as good as the price tag would suggest. I had an extended trial, fab customer service and a great fitter - I think they've really worked hard at growing the business by keeping the customer happy and making the saddles accessible through the various payment schemes.
 

YorksG

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Thank you all for your thoughts and experiences, I think that the piggy bank is going to be rather thin soon, as it looks as if the Solution is the way to go. :)
 

BlackRider

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I got a flexee last year and love it.

fits my horse really well, and I like that if he changes shape, I can alter the gullet.
 

BlackRider

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What did you find the service like, if you don't mind my asking?

They aren't always the quickest to reply, but I found out that Debbie who deals with the orders only works a couple of days a week.

It probably took about a week to discuss what size would be best (i dealt with Heather over that), and then once that was sorted, I paid on the saturday, and the saddle was here on the Wednesday (it should have been Tuesday but for some reason the courier didn't collect it on the Monday).

I absolutely love it, it fits really well, and they're a reasonable price too, my saddle fitter was on the yard and asked how I was getting on, she asked to see the saddle as she'd not seen one before and commented how well it had been flocked and put together.
 
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