Synthetic saddles - Wintec or Thorowgood??

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fine_and_dandy

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Just need a bit of help really as to people's opinions and experiences with these saddles. I've heard better things about the Thorowgood over the Wintec but would appreciate people's input on here in relation to the following:-

The fit
Comfort
Durability
How easy/difficult it is to look after
Value for money

Can't think of anything else but if you can offer any more info, feel free!

Been chatting to my saddler (also a friend) who favours one over the other. Saddle would be for my 14.2 connemara x TB mare who is a bit of a chub atm!!
 

Oh oh **jumps up and down waving arm in the air** Choose the Wintec and it just so happens Ive got one for sale!!!
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I have had both and slightly prefer the Thorowgood one. My Wintec was used for 3 years and did miles upon miles of hacking on it, with pleasure rides of up to 20 miles. It was comfortable, lasted really well and looked as good as new when cleaned up. Deffinately value for money. The only downside was the girth straps started to crack at the holes and split a bit...which was why I thought to change it before they got too bad.
The thorowgood (that I have now) has fared better in the girth strap area but still splitting a bit around the holes. I prefer the seat as it is swade (sp) effect and a bit more grippy, very comfortable indeed and looks good as new when cleaned up. The fabric seat gets a bit worn and shiny after a while but I am not bothered by this.
They are both dead easy to look after and wipe down with a damp cloth. I have been out in torrential rain for hours and they dry within minutes. They are also lighter from a carrying and putting on point of view.
Brilliant value for money.
 
Choose the Thorowgood I have one for sale (mine woud be no good as its for high withered horses/ponys) lol

I went and would go for the thorowgood over the wintec as it has a larger gullet & bearing panels
 
i have three thorowgod saddles and I LOVE them (I have one for sale at the mo) I have the T6 range and for fit and comfort i think they are fantastic easy to care for and good price when purchasing
 
I rode all last winter in a Wintec and have just put it on my boy again.

Trouble is, he has grown and the girth straps on the cheaper models are 1) plastic and (2) short. I have bought a longer girth, but on a cold wet day, the short straps are still a PIA.

Solution, Wintec 2000 from Ebay. It has longer leather girth straps and a suede finish to the seat and is just as comfortable. It also has slightly larger knee rolls.

One word of warning. Wintec knee rolls are detachable, via velcro and if you buy s/h you must get the seller to include the knee rolls too as they are almost impossible to buy.

I like mine and the OH has had hers for years and it still looks as good as when she got it (from Ebay
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I have had Thorowgoods (about 5 in the past and one at present) and I cant complain about any off them, providing they fit the horse well.

They are light weight, hard wearing, seem very comfy, easy to fix/re-flock and easy to sell on again should you wish.

They make them in a variety of styles and tree shapes etc so they can cater for different builds of breed.

Wintex use the same tree in all their saddles where as TG don't. TG also have the fish system so you can make minor adjustments to the shoulder area too.

TG's also seem to havea slighly more bannana shaped tree so you sit more snugly in the saddle where as the winten you seem a little more perched, but the wintec is still comfortable and mabe better suited to some shape of horses than the TG.

TG are bringing out a new saddle which is coming into production next week hopefully, which will go down well with the cob owners
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I'm looking at the ones with the changeable gullets as Kia is going to need a wide initially, but as she changes shape and gets fitter and her saddle needs change it is good to have the option to change the gullet if that does that trick as she changes.

She isn't high withered, she is short backed so it would be a 16" and brown as I think it will look better on her. Do you find either saddle support you and give you a more secure seat? I've ridden in saddles before that I have found to be shallow and I feel as though I am perching on it rather than sitting in it.

I think the one I was looking at for Kia was the T4 of the Thorowgood, or the Wintec VSD 500 or the 500.
 
I've got a Thorowgood which is THE most comfortable saddle I've ever ridden in. I have the T4 version.

Fit - pockets either side of the pommel allow for adjustment using 'fish' which can used to change width. Knee rolls are adjustable too.
Comfort - like I say, CANNOT fault comfort and stickability to seat.
Durability - to be fair I've only had mine just over a year but still cleans up as new.
Look after-ability - very easy
Value for money - so far, so good...............

Hope this helps
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Ok - had both - I had a wintec for my lad arab/TB cross and it did the job well because he changed shape a lot - but as others have said the girth straps crack at the holes. Other than that it scrubbed up well and was comfey. I only replaced it because I wanted a leather one for showing and found a dressage cut saddle suited me and horse better.

OH has a large/wide cobby mare... he had a wintec for her, which tended to slip around a bit, that was stolen and he replaced it with a thorowgood which I have to say fits her better than the wintec....

Ponio has a wintec wide - it came with him, fits well and is ok for day to day stuff, but i will be getting a leather one for showing.

I think, on the whole, thorowgoods are better if your horse is of the rounder variety
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I would personally go for a VSD cut myself, the one I had was the 500 GP and I got a secure comfey seat with that......although TBH I find the stirrup bars are placed a bit too far forwards and you can end up with an 'armchair' seat if you are not careful,
 
i have a wintec vsd, i'm struggleing to get it to fit to me but it fits my mare like a glove. i've only ridden it 4 times so can't really comment, my favorite bit is that its very light (compared to my geldings leather one)
 
I have had my wintec for 3 years now and it still looks brand new. The only thing is that as previously said the girth straps split, so i took mine to my saddler and he put leather ones on, definately worth the £25 that it cost me.
Kate x
 
Hmm she is a bit of a roly poly atm (she had been in the field to mature and is now coming back into work). I have to say I was stuck in the middle, although perhaps just favouring the Wintec but my concern was that I had heard it slips slightly more on, shall we say, the more "rotund" equines!! My saddler prefers the Thorowgood and after investigating into their range I admit I was beginning to swing towards them.

How do people find Thorowgood for general purpose, i.e. hacking, schooling and some jumping? Karen (saddler) is wary of Kia having a flap that is more likely to interfere with her shoulders as they are big, so we were looking at a straighter cut flap.
 
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TG are bringing out a new saddle which is coming into production next week hopefully, which will go down well with the cob owners
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Ooh tell me more - I've managed to get my boy fitted with a T4 cob but the flaps are too short for my legs and I don't really like they way they are cut but the dressage one looks too straight cut for hacking etc so would be interested if they are bringing out a new product!
 
The TG GP is not quite too forward cut, more straighter than a most normal GP's, which is good as it give them a little more freedom around the shoulder area for those that are a little awkward to fit or the rolly polly types.

I have used the GP for jumping/hunting and XC in the past on other horses as you can if you like move the knee block, so if your doing dressage you can put it back or if your doing jumpnig you can stick if forward or put a thicker one on, however if you have a pretty good seat you can do all 3 without a block in if you like!

However if you are going to be doing mostly jumping and feel better in something more forward cut, the newer models int he GP are more forward cut than the previous T4 etc. So if you buying, make sure you know which is the newer modle as the badge is now differnt.

The T6 is a beautiful saddle also
 
I have had a few of both
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Wintecs I personally don't get on with. I had a 500 for when I backed my Welsh Cob and it didn't seem to suit either of us and I found it a bit too forward cut in the flap department for him (he has large shoulders).

Recently I have had a Wintec VSD but have found that Wintecs are totally useless if you have a horse with withers. It fitted OK on the cob and also my Appy x TB but of the other horses here it didn't fit any of them (and I tried it on an Arab, Connie x TB and ID x TB). I was going to sell it but someone kindly pinched it last week!!!

On the Thorowgood front I have had various types over the years. We did have a T4 here until last week (again when someone kindly pinched it) and found it much better. It had the cut back head and suited our higher wither horses so much better and just seemed nicer to ride in.

However I don't particularly like the look of the suede seat. Hubby got on great with it though and loved it for hunting as it was so easy to dry off and clean later.

We are now looking at replacing saddles and am very interested in the T6 as they are more leather looking. Like you we want the ones with the changeable gullets and I want a dressage version and a GP version (possibly two).

From personal experience and having owned both I would definitely choose a Thorowgood over a Wintec.
 
It appears that the only TG ones in the 16" are the pony club ones and they do not look as though they have a deep enough seat.

Is it a standard for TG that the T4 GP doesn't come in a 16"?? Pony club one doesn'e have changeable gullet either!

And Kenzo - I would agree the T6 is a gorgeous saddle!
 
The PC ones are still a great fit providing you go wide for small cobby types, they seem to fit well on flat backed ponies so just because they dont change shape you may still find one that fits rather well, not only that but TG may adjust the flocking for you, they are very helpful, pm if you need any more info re TG saddles as I put you in touch with someone that works for them.
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Wintec trees are too curved for flat backed horses and only suit a true to type tb. The panels are also very narrow and sloping, and also incredibly hard and cannot be reflocked to suit the shape of your horse.

Thorowgoods are a much better design and they have different trees according to the breed.

I have had both. The wintec came with a horse that I bought but I never used it on him. I bought him a thorowgood to use while my SC saddle was being made for him. I had the dressage version, and it was fine for hacking and schooling. Seat is deep but not too deep. The wintec is much more flatter therefore less secure.
 
I absolutely love my Wintec 2000. Great fit and sooo comfortable. If I had all the money in the world, I wouldn't change it.
 
Ive had both, hated the Thorowgood - the suede stuff was horrid and regularily rubbed the top of my legs and inner knee. It was uncomfy as hell basically and the GP one I had didnt seem to offer much wither clearance at all (fine for my flat withered one at the time but cant think itd fit much else!).

I had a Wintec Cob for one of my current horses - the CAIR and changeable gullet is very useful and it was 10 times comfier than the Thorowgood. So Id definately say it was better! I also use a Wintec dressage saddle on my TB x Luso who has prominent withers and it fits great, he prefers it to his £750 leather GP!
 
Personally, I would never touch a Wintec, they really are not very good saddles and not very well designed. Thorowgoods all the way for me. Comfy for horse and rider, easily adjusted to accomodate changes in the horse, sensible prices and long lasting.
 
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I've got a Thorowgood which is THE most comfortable saddle I've ever ridden in. I have the T4 version.

Fit - pockets either side of the pommel allow for adjustment using 'fish' which can used to change width. Knee rolls are adjustable too.
Comfort - like I say, CANNOT fault comfort and stickability to seat.
Durability - to be fair I've only had mine just over a year but still cleans up as new.
Look after-ability - very easy
Value for money - so far, so good...............

Hope this helps
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I second all of the above. I have a T4, and it is fab. I have a welsh D mare, and it suits her brilliantly. I did get it fitted by a professional saddle fitter and it cost £350, so probably a bit more than the wintec, but definitely more comfortable, and looks much nicer - less plasticy. Mine is made from equisuede. It brushes up like new if it gets mud on it. I would thoroughly recommend a T4.
 
Another vote for Thorowgoods. I have had Wintecs and could never get them to fit correctly on any shape of horse I had from Cob to TB to Highland to ISH. I found it good to ride in but useless to fit.

Have went back to Thorowgood for my Tb and loving it, very good fit and comfy. I like that the saddles come in different shapes to fit the different shape horses, unlike Wintec. I've just bought a second one - dressage - that fits both my horses. Really enjoy riding in it.

If your on a budget and want something adjustable and lightweight maybe look into a second hand Saddle Company saddle? The do a lovely VSD/Woeking hunter, and infact the GP isnt particularily forward cut and that coupled with the soft serge panels makes them ideal for big shoulders.....
 
I'm going to agree 100% with Magic_Magpie. I hated the Thorowgood I tried on Chubbles. The suede annoyed me and I felt there was too much saddle between me and my horse. Wintec's all the way for me...well untill i can afford a leather! :P
 
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