Think Ill get a WOW saddle

i really love mine!! lol il tell u anything u want to know.
i tried a bates one and liked it but couldnt justify speding that much money on it..and it didnt fit very well at all!!

my friend, myinstructor and i all bought one at the same time-and none of us have had issues with them at all...the lady who has just bought my horse now ants one after riding in mine.

A lot of it for me is A comofrt for us both and piece of mind that it fits well and can be adjusted to my hearts content
 
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i really love mine!! lol il tell u anything u want to know.
i tried a bates one and liked it but couldnt justify speding that much money on it..and it didnt fit very well at all!!

my friend, myinstructor and i all bought one at the same time-and none of us have had issues with them at all...the lady who has just bought my horse now ants one after riding in mine.

A lot of it for me is A comofrt for us both and piece of mind that it fits well and can be adjusted to my hearts content

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You have sold her
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That was quick.
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i have a deep seat
with giant fixed block dressage , and fixed block jumping:)

holly jane-yes first people to see her..no qualms on price at all...saw her 4 times in total, flew through the vet:):)
although sitting here feeling very sad as she went today:(
 
They take a little while to get used to but can be really nice to ride in if they fit you well.
Whether theyre good for the horse's back or not is a contentious issue.
 
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They take a little while to get used to but can be really nice to ride in if they fit you well.
Whether theyre good for the horse's back or not is a contentious issue.

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What do you mean about them being good for the the horses back? I only want it for Archies sake not mine!
 
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They take a little while to get used to but can be really nice to ride in if they fit you well.
Whether theyre good for the horse's back or not is a contentious issue.

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Really? Why I would be interested to know? Not being funny just interested as I have no desire for one at the moment.
 
Another thing i will just add is a fitter is the most important, i was very very sceptical of them tbh but after really looking into them and they are becoming increasingly popular with top riders also there is no reason in my mind why they should cause any discomfort-in fact trees in saddles such as albions and stubbens i have been told are awful for horses backs...as well as some of the others like devoucoux/butet etc as gorsgous as they are
Obviously they cant be that bad as riders get fantastic results in them, so its probably just what ever suits your horse best.

i didnt honestly find them wierd to ride in-just comfy adn could feel my horse swing more-first time i jumped in mine took me by suprise as she felt really powerful!
 
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They take a little while to get used to but can be really nice to ride in if they fit you well.
Whether theyre good for the horse's back or not is a contentious issue.

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Really? Why I would be interested to know? Not being funny just interested as I have no desire for one at the moment.

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I havent really formulated an opinon myself yet as I havent ridden in enough wow saddles.
I have heard some people say they that unless they are perfectly adjusted they can form pressure points and that the wow fitters arent always that great at judging when alterations need to be made.
Like any normal saddle I suppose- if the fit isnt perfect then you're likely to get problems!!
 
yeh true bossanova-im very very lucky that i have a great fitter-she used to be an equine physio and picks up on the tiniest unbalancedness(is that a word??) from you, and very very careful about the fit.
millies back was a lot better and looked a lot better since having mine.
 
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I havent really formulated an opinon myself yet as I havent ridden in enough wow saddles.
I have heard some people say they that unless they are perfectly adjusted they can form pressure points and that the wow fitters arent always that great at judging when alterations need to be made.
Like any normal saddle I suppose- if the fit isnt perfect then you're likely to get problems!!

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Yet many top riders have a couple of saddles that fit many horses and they just bung a pad underneath. So surely any saddle can form pressure points if not correctly fitted?
 
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I havent really formulated an opinon myself yet as I havent ridden in enough wow saddles.
I have heard some people say they that unless they are perfectly adjusted they can form pressure points and that the wow fitters arent always that great at judging when alterations need to be made.
Like any normal saddle I suppose- if the fit isnt perfect then you're likely to get problems!!

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Yet many top riders have a couple of saddles that fit many horses and they just bung a pad underneath. So surely any saddle can form pressure points if not correctly fitted?

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Def true.
The thing with Wows is that often they are adjusted to fit in with the amount of muscling on a horse's back- one side may have less air in it than the other to suit both horse and rider's one-sidedness. If the horse then builds up muscle on that weaker side the saddle may create pressure and tilt slightly.

I use the same saddle on my lot even though they are slightly different widths- the narrower one just has a prolite added underneath and the wider one only has a cotton numnah. Saddler's very happy with that!!
 
Hmm, I didn't know that. Don't know much about them, not sure I like that idea, I mean the concept is great but in practise I'm not so sure.
 
The MOST important thing is that you choose the right fitter - worth giving Maggie or David from First Thought a call to ask who they HIGHLY recommend in your area. I had tons of trouble with mine, but David came out yesterday and now it is fine, I hunted in it yesterday - but he had to give me a new seat and new panels because the ones I was sold were totally and utterly wrong - hence it was sat gathering dust for 8 weeks
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With all saddles is vital to have them checked regularly- a horse changes shape with the seasons. Ive had my WOW for 2 years now and it took a few fittings to get it spot on.

The good thing with WOW is that its fully adjustable so if the horse changes from medium to wide... and back (if its a chubster like mine), its easily resolved.

If you take a wintec for example, the tree is fully changeable but the fit from front to back and from side to side isnt....

Again, its comes down to the fitter (as with all saddles) and I cant recommend Fioan Reddick enough (same fitter than FranA uses). The good thing wth Fiona is that she really cares...and if it isnt right...she wont sell it to you...
 
A wow tree broke on cross country at Blenheim this year.
Also, can get probs where airbags overlap if get a ridge forming, some horses don't like the half panel design. They are also fairly hefty saddles!
 
I have the same saddle, flaps & fitter as FranA & my WOW is fab!! I tend to sit left of centre because my right sacroiliac joint got wrecked in a crashing fall where I was rolled on & my right ankle got trodden on in a different fall, & the air in mine was micro adjusted so I sit centrally. Result - horse instantly stopped being crooked!

My back can't stand too much jarring so previously I've ridden in Heather Moffatt seatbone savers or HM saddles with the padding built into the seat. The WOW also prevents the back ache. Even in sitting trot!
 
I looked at both at Burghley this year and after another livery at our yard had one fitted, which fell apart within two months and her horse had to have over 10 weeks off through a bad back, I decided to go with a Sue Carson....

Personal choice really...... I sat in both and didn't like the WOW, plus there were the other factors which were taken into consideration!
 
My dressage saddle is a Wow and it fits Charlie very well. He is an awkward shape and would have otherwise needed a made to template. My saddler chose the seat and knee blocks which would suit my riding best, and it just felt right from the 1st time I got on it.
 
i loved the feel of mine, but it did not suit my new mare at all unfortunately. Fiona was brilliant, came out twice after first fitting, changed panels both times incl trying a non-flair panel, but could not resolve the problem and gave me a refund.
i was concerned about the metal pieces, as there must be ridges where they sit under the panels. the edges of the airbags were also a concern tbh.
i'd now like a traditional saddle whose underneath i trust, but with a WOW seat, cos it was the comfiest thing ever.
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I can't stand them!! I rode a clients horse in one yesterday and am currently nursing a very sore back as a result. Every time I sit in one the same thing happens. They just seem to set off my lower back every time.
 
I love mine, Im going to buy another soon for my baby horse.
My sec D changes shape quite frequently and I was forever getting the saddle fitter out - now I just change the plate (I have a choice of 3) and away we go.
When I ride my friends horse at the weekends I complain bitterly because it feel so uncomfortable after my WOW - even though it used to be mine ! lol
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I bought a wow last year and my horse no longer chucks me off. Enough said!!!!!

Ive just bought a jumping one in the hope we might jump again next year. Having had the wow I wont risk going back to anything else with this horse.

However, I probably wouldnt have bought one if I had not been having "issues"!!!!

The right fitter is essential. Some are definitely better than others.
 
Im on my second now and have been riding in them for a number of years and i adore mine.

In regards to a couple of things. Yes, the saddles can be adjusted tiny amounts to accommodate for muscle abnormalities; such as one side being more developed than the other. The idea however, is that once this problem is resolved, either due to correct saddle fitting or to correct schooling, the changes are removed. In that sense, if you have a saddle fitted with a lot of custom adjustments, it should be altered quite frequently to begin with.

I like the flair, but i can only go on my own experience with it really and its worked wonders for both my horses. Both my chiropractor and my osteo are huge fans and they're people i trust. Flair provides extremely good pressure distribution and that at least has been tested quite thoroughly. Again, the adjustment on the flair has to be done well as overfiling the air bags can create problems (for one thing, they will perch and roll in a very bizarre fashion and for another, very compressed air is hard which goes against the concept).

Fitting - yes, its important they fit well. There seems to be a misconception amongst some that you can buy one and put it on anything and it will fit, which obviously isnt the case. I must admit though, ive never ever had problems with getting the saddles sorted. I was unhappy with an initial fitting i had for Jack and contacted the company directly, Maggie and David then came and fitted a saddle within the week. Since then, ive always been able to get fast responses from them via telephone and again this week, they've been enormously helpful on an alteration i want making when im in a country with no fitter.

They can feel strange initially. They have a very wide twist for one which can feel very peculiar to some people. This combined with a slightly curved area at the top of the riders thigh creates a huge contrast to conventional saddles. It tends to be however, that once you're used to it, you don't want to go back. The fact that you tend to feel more of whats going on underneath also puts some people off i think as it feels quite strange initially.

Once you get used to the saddle, its very easy to make minor adjustments yourself. Gauges are available on the website that allow you to check the headplate width that the horse should be in very quickly and with practice, the headplates are changeable in a very short space of time. (Incidently, the new headplates have reduced the weight of the saddle quite a bit). You can buy the pumps to alter the flair yourself also, although they generally dont recommend this until you've had the saddle for a while, had a number of checks and fittings and have a good feel for how the saddle should be.

Mine gives me peace of mind I suppose. I can make minor adjustments to it easily and dont have to stress over him losing muscle / gaining muscle and so on.
 
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