Synthetic Saddles.....

[MizElz]

Hi there everybody!
just wanted some opinions regarding synthetic saddles....has anybody ever had any really bad experiences, or are they as good as they're made out to be? I'm about to have a Thorowgood Griffin Dressage saddle fitted, and hope that I'm not wasting my money! Couldn't afford to buy leather though, and my horse is a nightmare to fit so couldn't really go for second hand!

Cheers! (and hello from a newbie

!)

 

[TiaPony]

I have a synthetic but am saving and saving for a wow so that I can have a leather saddle with lots of flexibility. Whilst I don't mind the synthetic, it will only be temporary
x

 

[piebaldsparkle]

I haven't voted as I would always go for which ever saddle fitted me and my horse the best. Most saddlers carry a selection of 2nd hand saddles, so why noy ask then to bring some when they come to fit your synthetic. I have both a leather VSD and a synthetic Wintec 500 GP (which I use when it is raining). Have to say the leather saddle is more comfortable and fits my horse fractional better. Both are checked for fit yearly (or sooner if required), by a master saddler.

 

[Paint it Lucky]

I agree with piebaldsparkle, I would always get the saddle that fitted my horse best regardless of material. As a result I now have a thorowgood high wither GP and it is v comfy and a great fit on my horse. In the past I've always preferred leather but I'm now thinking decent synthetics can be perfectly good.

 

[Selkie]

I bought a wintec saddle earlier this year so I could go to the beach and ride in the rain. Now wear it all the time as it fits better than my leather one.

 

[Tia]

If I could find a second hand leather one that fitted, I'd go for it any day of the week over synthetic. If I couldn't find one that fitted, I'd ride bareback until I could afford a new leather one that fitted.

I think you can surmise that I would never have a synthetic English saddle.

 

[Chex]

I would always go for a synthetic, leather is just a pain (but thats probably because I'm too lazy to look after it

)

 

[sp33dy]

My friend has a Wintec adjustable gullet saddle which she bought about 8 years ago, the tree borke when the horse untied itself in the stable and rolled on it, Wintec replaced the tree (I'm not sure she let on that was how the tree broke) and redid all the stitching which was starting to wear - this was after 8 yrs of use. So she is a happy synthetic owner!
I agree though that the most important thing is the saddles fit!

 

[fizzer]

The fit of saddle is most important but i prefer leather every time

 

[goldengryffindor]

i prefer leather but i have two wintects at the moement and i love them they fit my horse really well, are comfy, and i think they are really well made. i also love that you can change the gullet whenever you want.

 

[the watcher]

I have had a number of synthetic saddles. I can never find a Thorowgood that fits, so have abandoned those. Wintec are OK with Cair, I do have one of the close contact saddles, and in the past I have had a Wintec pro dressage saddle, my only criticism of them is that the back of the saddles are very narrow (not the close contract, that is wide and flat at the back) so while they might fit on the wither the GP and dressage styles were not right at the back for my horses. It took me a while to buy a replacement for my Wintec dressage saddle, and I have just replaced it with a second hand Stubben , so I guess that answers your question

 

[lizzie_liz]

I prefer leather saddles and in fact would always go for leather saddles. All my saddles have been fitted by a saddler and are checked on a regular basis by our saddler