Synthetic saddles

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Floxie

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I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to saddles - I really hate synthetic! But I'm also poor and realistic. I think I'd like to spend my money on a nice (second hand!) leather dressage saddle - but I was thinking maybe I could get a cheaper synthetic for hunting and jumping. Whether I like it or not, it would be lighter for him to carry all day, and easy to clean :D

I don't know a lot about them, though. I imagine they're not flockable so I'd be looking for one with a changable gullet? I'm sort of sold on the Balance concept (though not their saddles!) so I imagine I'd want something that wasn't too narrow fitting or could be adjusted. Can anyone recommend me anything to look out for? What might be suitable, what makes are good? Do they hold condition well enough to make second hand a reasonable option?! Thanks for any help!
 
I've been looking at the thorowgood T4 synthetic saddles, I'm the same as you i prefer leather but I'm on a budget im more likely to get a nice synthetic :-) the fact they are adjustable is great as it means i wont have to fork out for another if he changes shape again as i'm skint at the moment! (well thats the plan)
 
I really rate the GFS synthetic, it's nice and soft, well made. Similar in design to a wintec though but much better quality. I've never ever liked Thorowgoods I'm afraid, I've tried suede ones and leather look and they've just been ghastly.
 
holeymoley said:
I really rate the GFS synthetic, it's nice and soft, well made. Similar in design to a wintec though but much better quality. I've never ever liked Thorowgoods I'm afraid, I've tried suede ones and leather look and they've just been ghastly.
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What didn't you like about the Thorowgoods, the look or the fit / comfort?

Thanks all - gah, there's so many different types! I honestly don't know how people buy saddles :(
 
Well I love my synthetic ones:
I show in my Tekna( straight cut ), Dressage in another S Line Tekna, SJ in a T4 and hack out in my Wintec 500.
I love my Wintec for stickability!! ( GP verion ) and very comfy on long rides.

Its all personal choice.
 
Floxie said:
What didn't you like about the Thorowgoods, the look or the fit / comfort?

Thanks all - gah, there's so many different types! I honestly don't know how people buy saddles :(
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Both! , despite being the correct width at front, I always felt like they were very low at the wither and thus tipped me ever so slightly forward. With the suede one, It was just horrible to sit in, I felt like I was stuck to the saddle, then with the leather look one, it just had a massive seat despite being the correct seat size for me . I also felt with both that there was a lot between myself and the horse, perhaps this was down to the perched feeling though and not having the correct seat. This sounds daft, but I also like a 'nice' looking saddle, and to me Thorowgoods aren't particularly nice, they look bulky. I opted for the GFS one until I could afford a nice leather and it was very comfy for a synthetic.

I now have an Ideal Ramsay which is fab. My GFS is actually sitting collecting dust just now.
 
I thought the Teknas looked to have a nice price tag :) And they look nice online though I've never met one face to face. Stickability would be very useful :D

Am I right in thinking that Wintec, Thorowgood and GFS are the ones with changable gullets? Any others?
 
I'm another one that doesn't really like thorowgoods, I just found it to be bulky and cumbersome and a bit stiff and cheap. It was a T4 though so maybe the T6s are better? I have a wintec dressage saddle, I haven't used it for ages actually but I really liked it when my pony was younger and changing shape, it is an older one though so not sure what they are like now. I did think about selling it but then I think if I get another youngster at some point they are very handy.
 
Floxie said:
How big is it? ;)

Just kidding - I have absolutely no idea what I want yet :D
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I've not looked at the saddle market for a while but I know, Thorowgoods, Wintec, GFS and I'm sure Shires do changeable gullets. Is it the Shires Optimus? Also Bates but they seem to be a leather version of Wintec. I have used the old Wintec 500 and it was a fab saddle when my boy was a youngster.

lol, I'm sure mine's a 17".
 
Thanks :) Yeah, our local Wintec fitter visited a friend and brought the Bates saddles, seemed they were the leather versions.

So from looks alone, Tekna and GFS are currently at the top of my list! Tekna are pretty but their website is all form and no function, so I've no idea if they're adjustable or not!

I think I'm coming to the conclusion that I need an 18" :( It would be nice one day to ride without my arse hanging off the back of the saddle ;)
 
Mine are all wintec, never had a leather saddle so i dont know what i am missing. i have a cair, which i am a little dubiouse about. dont think the cair pads are what i thought they were. but i have a flocked one and it seems to be really good. you can stuff all sorts of extra pads in it to fit anything. mine is a high withered version.
the new pony is going to the saddle fitters tomorrow and i am sure he will come back with another wintec.

why is leather so much better?

d
 
I just think it looks nicer. And nothing beats the satisfaction, feel and smell of freshly cleaned leather :) Though saying that, my leather saddle is currently sporting a lovely flush of mould, so I'm open to conversion!
 
domsmith- From my point of view, after finally getting my own fitted leather saddle , leather is better as its softer and the panels of mine are made out of something tremendously soft and squidgy . While I do like Wintecs, my only gripe about them was the panels were pretty hard.
 
We have a Thorowgood T4 cob which has been a great saddle for a difficult to fit native, has "fish" rather than changeable gullet. We bought a Teckna on-line and asked saddler to fit, he was amazed it would ever fit anything and had an odd binding around the flap that dug into the shoulders.
 
Hahah - thanks, that's interesting!
Now have GFS topping the list looks-wise, Wintek creeping up into second, and Tekna floating around somewhere looking suspicious :)
 
Oh, I will also say, given I'm egging on the GFS ( :p ) that they look a lot better in person too, the picture the catalogues use don't make them look up to much.
 
holeymoley said:
Both! , despite being the correct width at front, I always felt like they were very low at the wither and thus tipped me ever so slightly forward. With the suede one, It was just horrible to sit in, I felt like I was stuck to the saddle, then with the leather look one, it just had a massive seat despite being the correct seat size for me . I also felt with both that there was a lot between myself and the horse, perhaps this was down to the perched feeling though and not having the correct seat. This sounds daft, but I also like a 'nice' looking saddle, and to me Thorowgoods aren't particularly nice, they look bulky. I opted for the GFS one until I could afford a nice leather and it was very comfy for a synthetic.

I now have an Ideal Ramsay which is fab. My GFS is actually sitting collecting dust just now.
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It's funny, I always felt the same about Wintecs!! I felt like the Wintec was huge in the seat, tried a suede-effect dressage (the isabell werth) and felt like I stuck to it in the wrong places, and that it tipped me forward.

However felt great in the Thorowgood, to the point of liking it so much that I bought a leather Saddle Co Event saddles once I decided to go back to the leather saddles (they are made by a guy who used to work at T-good so have very similar shape/feel to them).

Synthetic saddles are really easy to keep clean and to shine up for going out too, don't dislike the rain as much as a leather saddle, and whilst not exclusive to synthetics the adjustability is good.

One thing I would suggest OP is to get in a saddler and see which make fits your horse best, and feels most comfortable for you. Everyone has very different opinions as different shapes/feels suits different people/horses better. So get a fitter out who can let you try a few types, and se what fits you best.

Also WRT leather v synthetic, there is just an edge to a well-cared for leather saddle when all polished up compared to a synthetic. They are in my opinion more comfortable to sit in too. They also last longer - I have some 10 and 15 year old wintec saddles that look discoloured and generally a bit yeuch now - still perfectly functional some of them others have cracks in the girth straps, some minor cracks in the seats, and all of them have gone a bit hard and curled up in the flaps. In a leather saddle, a good oiling and plenty of leather feed will revitalise a saddle like that - not much you can do with a synthetic.
 
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Have just had a T4 for my cob, the standard one though not the cob one as he has withers.
Don't like the way it looks or the feel very much, but it was the best fit for my horse so I'm trying to like it for his sake!
I too feel as though it tips me fractionally forwards and I can't ever seem to get as comfortable in it as I could in my old saddle (leather GFS).
And the dust and hairs sticking to it drive me nuts!
I will persevere for a bit longer with it though, as my saddle fitter says it is a good fit on him and he does seem to go better in it. :)
 
I have had wintec 500's for 2 of ours, they both fitted very well which is the primary concern for me. One is slightly older and doesn't have the most comfy seat, but I use my Heather moffat seat saver. The newer wintec is much more comfy.

If money was no object it would be leather any day, new or a good 2nd hand. But at the time I got my wintec money was tight as I had just purchased a made to measure leather for my daughters horse and the wintec was the best fit of all the saddles in my budget the saddler had to offer. The 2nd wintec was purchased by my daughter because she was jealous of my wash and go saddle!

My saddler wouldn't touch synthetics to start with but she has conceded that the improvements in manufacture and material, ease of care and lightness have made them very acceptable and in many case better than a cheap/poor quality leather.
 
khalswitz said:
One thing I would suggest OP is to get in a saddler and see which make fits your horse best, and feels most comfortable for you. Everyone has very different opinions as different shapes/feels suits different people/horses better. So get a fitter out who can let you try a few types, and se what fits you best.
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This would be ideal :( It's what I did with my first horse - a saddler came out with a car full of second hand saddles to try on and I ended up with a lovely Albion (what a shame, eh!). But I can't find anyone who'll do that locally now. And to add to the complication I'm rather sold on the Balance concept (but not the saddles!) and I know they're fitted slightly differently to the traditional way - but I don't know enough to make that judgement myself if I even did find a traditional saddler to try things with!
 
I was a saddle snob (self confessed!) until I got my tbx lad.. hes got really high withers quite flat shoulders and a biiiig jumpers bump (he actually is really handsome lol) The saddle which fitted him to a t was the thorowgood hi-wither with a med/narrow gullet, I now own the gp and dressage versions for him lol..really comfortable and if he's a bit lively I find i can sit deep in it and barely move!!
 
I got a £75 quid synthetic thing from my local saddler. I cant remember the name of the brand, but its really comfy, and you don't notice that you are sat in a synthetic saddle. Its been far better than some leather saddles I have had.
 
Its funny the poster further up hated Thorowgood and loved GFS.

I bought a new GFS saddle and hated it, the leather was cheap looking and feeling and stiff and never improved.

I bought a Thorowgood cob saddle just for temporary breaking in of my youngster....and she's still wearing it 6 years on. Not only that, but she also has a biothane electric green and white bridle convertible to a head collar too. In Cairngorm weather it just makes so much more sense.

I have however a love for good saddles (I don't count GFS in that based on joy experience) so have recently bought a lovely secondhand Ideal H&C.

Thorowgood trees tend to be flatter than Wintecs (apart from a couple of special cob wintec models) so Tgood suit cobs better, Wintecs maybe TB types. So it's horses for courses between the two.
 
Thorogood T8! Its half leather and half synthetic and looks just like a leather saddle :) They're exactly the same as the kent and masters saddles as they're made by the same people and have the same trees. I have the GP and its so comfy and light
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
Its funny the poster further up hated Thorowgood and loved GFS.

I bought a new GFS saddle and hated it, the leather was cheap looking and feeling and stiff and never improved.

I bought a Thorowgood cob saddle just for temporary breaking in of my youngster....and she's still wearing it 6 years on. Not only that, but she also has a biothane electric green and white bridle convertible to a head collar too. In Cairngorm weather it just makes so much more sense.

I have however a love for good saddles (I don't count GFS in that based on joy experience) so have recently bought a lovely secondhand Ideal H&C.

Thorowgood trees tend to be flatter than Wintecs (apart from a couple of special cob wintec models) so Tgood suit cobs better, Wintecs maybe TB types. So it's horses for courses between the two.
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Totally agree!!! Except for the Tgood being flatter - I've found that the Tgood fitted both my v high wither TBs much better than the Wintec did. In fact, I've never yet personally found a horse that fitted the Wintec that I owned (a 2008 standard one) better than the Tgood I owned (a 2011 high wither). So maybe the Wintec fills the no-man's-land between high wither and flat-backed?
 
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