What are WOW saddles like?

Angelbones

Angelbones

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Just seen their ad in this weeks H&H mag, and have been thinking about a new saddle for my boy - and I like the sound of the flexible front which may help him as he has shoulder / wither issues.

Has anyone got one and what do they think? Good or bad. I do remember posts about them on here before about trying to get spares parts (?!) or similar. I am guessing you have to get them from one of their own saddle fitters as they sound specialised.

Many thanks guys

...may trot along to their Badminton stand and have a look but would love some first hand info too....
 
I have had wows for years and really rate them. They are especially great for young horses as you can get them altered if the horse changes shape. I think they are very comfortable too but know people who really hate riding in them (guess that's the same with most saddles though). I sold my old boy with his xc wow and I am getting a new horse vetted next week. If he passes, I'll be on the lookout for a new jumping wow that's for sure (still got my old boy's dressage one)!
They come up for sale pretty regularly on ebay etc but you would be best to get a wow saddle fitter to fit you one as there are many different types of panels and headplates, not to mention the adjustment of the air!
 
I love them. They offer so much adjustment (if needed) and i find them very comfortable, you can feel so much. They must be fitted properly in the first place though- you need a decent fitter as there is lots to get wrong (as with any saddle). But if fitted well they are fab and really do offer the horse alot more advantages over many other saddles.

Definately look at Badminton, they have the whole rang and you can ask lots of questions
 
I'm having the same thoughts, OP :D Also planning on accosting the WOW stand at Badders. Hoping they will have the mechanical horse to have a good sit on :)
 
I love mine! I've got jumping & dressage flaps.

It is probably the only saddle that I can get re-fitted from a chunky ISH to an ex-racer TB.

Also the airbags have stopped me getting a bad back, which is amazing as my sacroiliac joint was wrecked when I got rolled on at the age of thirteen...25 years ago. It is like having a new sacroiliac joint.

The flaps take about 11 minutes to change, without particularly rushing.
 
TBH I dont really like them at all. What puts me off even more is that to be a WOW saddle fitter you only have to go on a 2 day course to qualify.

They would be alright saddles and something a bit different from the traditional ones but the price is too extortionate for what they are.

Maybe I would be totally different if I had the money to throw away on one!
 
I have had no trouble with mine really. Originally bought it with 2 sets of flaps for my last horse who was hard to fit. I now have my WOW for jumping and a normal Ideal for Dressage for D as he is easier to fit and just meant I did not have to change flaps (Mind you only took me 5/6 mins with practise to change them)

As with all and especially these saddles make sure you get a decent reccommended fitter as some people on here have had problems.
 
I like them and have had good results with them. But you do need a good fitter so do your homework re fitters if you decide to try one.

I have never managed to change the flaps in less than 20 minutes. LOL! But I am rubbish at things like that.


Hence I have two!

The only negatives are the complex range of parts available and the weight. Plus I think they are a bit ugly! LOL!
 
I had a Wow dressage saddle, which I hated. I felt like I was sat miles above my horse. And non of my horses moved well in it. I also had problems when all the airbags went into holes within 2 years (and very light use as I didn't like it!). Wow did however repair them FOC, and also updated the headplate for me. Be very careful who you get to fit it (my fitter was useless, so the saddle was completely wrong for me and my horse), and make sure you try before you buy (I know somebody who has just bought one, ridden in it once and refuses to ride in it again as he hates it so much).

If you are going to be jumping in it, be very careful. After many problems with another make of saddle which uses flair (not Wow), and speaking to my current saddle fitter (renowned as one of the best) who was part of the development of flair, but left before it went into production when he realised the physics wern't working. When jumping the Flair allows the saddle to move and bounce on the horse's back too much. The air also compresses (think of a crisp packet when you blow into it and pop it) every time you land over a jump. The air bags are also a 1 size fits all shape, so can overlap, causing pressure points, and they can also move inside the saddle. This makes all your very small adjustments to air in each bag completely pointless!!!!!

Flair has it's place on a big moving, dressage warmblood. IMO it is not suitable for any form of jumping or fast work.
 
Thanks Charlimouse, that's very interesting and at this point in time makes sense to me. Re saddle fitters there is one guy on the WOW site who is based near to me so I am presuming he would be a good bet, but will go to see them at Badders to see what else I find out.
 
Charlie Mouse I find what you saying interesting, and can see how that could be correct... but it doesn't really fit in with the pressure testing information and diagrams on the flair/ wow website???

Who is the fitter who left during the flair development stage?
 
Angelbones said:
Thanks Charlimouse, that's very interesting and at this point in time makes sense to me. Re saddle fitters there is one guy on the WOW site who is based near to me so I am presuming he would be a good bet, but will go to see them at Badders to see what else I find out.
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You can also see many of the competitors using them, showing they are ok for jumping and fast work! francis whittington & kitty boggis both ride in them and last year i saw several others.

I think unfortunately charlimouse has had a bad time with the saddle but i would disagree with some of her thoughts (although i can see if she has had a bad experience that her comments are from her experience). The Flair will only allow the saddle to bounce if it is wrongly fitted- this will happen if you put too much air in. There are 100s of photos of wow saddles over jumps where you can see the saddle doesnt budge. And you wouldnt get people riding in them in international elite competition if they felt they were bounced about! With regards to the crisp packet, the air bags have a shaped layer of foam to ensure it doesnt work like that. Cair is like a crisp packet because it isnt adjustable but flair honestly isnt because the bag itself is softer and you adjust according to needs, again it may not work if you put too much air in.

re the flair air bags not fitting every saddle, they do make them in different sizes but ultimately it is up to the saddlers that put them in other makes of saddles to fit them properly. So if a saddler just puts them in anyway and they dont fit of course they will cause problems, move, etc. First thought dont say they can go in every saddle but that unfortunately doesnt stop other saddlers from saying so!

As said, you do need a good fitter. Some know more than others and have varying amounts of training and experience. But this is the same for every single make of saddle, not just wows. you have to do your homework and ask questions so you are happy with your fitter. They are worth every penny if they are fitted properly, they have had more development and testing than almost every other saddle.
 
I've just bought my second wow (jumping) and love it.
Previous was a gp with deeper seat which i used for Sj and eventing. Never had the slightest problem with it, now 5 years old and looks like new.
My new saddle certainly doesn't bounce on my horses back when jumping, neither did the GP but I do have a very good fitter. ;)
 
I tried one on the mechanical horse simulator at Burghley a few years ago and was quite interested, but my saddler who is great said they are VERY heavy. As I have a squirty Anglo, they wouldn't have worked.
 
smiffyimp- the latest versions of wows are much lighter. I have one on my tiny weedy thoroughbred who is very slight- she loves it!

I do like these saddles and they have really improved my horse's way of going. I did go through a phase where I lost confidence in them, but then later realised that there was something very wrong with the horse that I was using them on.

Anyway, I totally love them. So comfortable to dressage and jump in. Horses love them, have much improved, and built up huge muscle tone. One horse I had had KS surgery and would NOT go in anything else but his wow- and he had several top brand saddles specifically made to measure for him, and he put his ears back and moved like a donkey. The moment he had his wow put on- I literally did go 'WOW' ( pardon the pun!!) as the difference in his movement and his freedom of movement was immense.

ETS- Have got the flap changing to under 10 mins now !
 
Ive not read all the replies, but ive got one and i love it. Definately a very good investment. You need to make sure you get a recommended fitter for your area though as with most saddle fitters some are not so good. If a Wow is fitted badly it can cause all sorts of problems.
 
Absolutley love mine so does my horse. It has changed her way of going so much as they are not fixed anywhere if you knnow what I mean!!!. She has a very large upright shoulder which usualy means I have to ride in a dressage saddle so she can move forwards without ristriction. But as the WOW flaps allow for movement I can actully jump her again. (Cant jump in dressage saddle feel like im gonna fall of lol).
 
charlimouse said:
Flair has it's place on a big moving, dressage warmblood. IMO it is not suitable for any form of jumping or fast work.
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Better tell that to my grey fellow - he won't jump in an amerigo or any flocked saddle, but loves his wow.

However I do think that they need a little cushioning as the flair fits too well and you end up with with lumps and bumps. Therefore I use a good quality saddle cloth and sheep skin pad, which seems to have done the trick for us.

I fit the saddle myself so make sure its fitted to take the bulk of the pad and numnah, which of course means I normally run the flair on atmospheric, where its much more squishy than a cair panel and with your crisp bag analogy would only be gently inflated to cushion not bounce.

However wow's are not for everyone and I agree fitters are the vital element. Also the horses have a habit of changing shape, which means I think you have to do more adjustments to a wow.
 
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