What saddle for a 3 yr old, plan to do dressage??

[rubyrumba]

My 3 yr old is being backed now and I am looking for a saddle for her for when she returns. I plan to do dressage with her.
Any ideas as to what I should do as she is going to change shape lots!
Thanks in advance.

 

[MillbrookSong]

I would go for a wintec so you can change the gullets when she changes shape, that's what I'm doing with mine!

 

[rubyrumba]

Wintec dressage or GP?

 

[Tempi]

Thorowgood over Wintec any time - the shape of the Wintec tree curves slightly upwards which means they never sit quite right behind and you get some ''bounce'' at the back of the saddle.

Saying that ive been breaking in my 3yr old in a wintec and ive just used a back riser for it to even it out. Hes going to have my Wow dressage saddle fitted to him when he comes back into work next year (hes off now until March time).

 

[Supanova]

Just a word of warning i recently bought a Isabel Werth Wintec for my 4 yr old and 9 yr old. They only make the Cair versions now and not flocked. Anyway I found that my 4 yr old took a real dislike to it when it was cold and went up totally vertical which is completely out of character. I have since been told by a different saddler that the stuff that is in the saddles moulds to the horse as it warms up - therefore obviously if the temperature is cold to start with this takes longer and the saddle feels quite hard which some horses dislike. I am now looking for another saddle for my 4 yr old and I am having the Wintec flocked for my 9 yr old! She is asymmetric in her shoulders and it is slipping to the right, but because there is limited ability to change the inserts the saddler can't correct this without flocking the whole thing!

Don't want to be too negative about the saddle as I do really like it to ride in, but just wanted to share my experience!

 

[Tempi]

Just to echo the above, i would never get a cair saddle - like the poster has said they start off really cold and hard and some horses take a massive disliking to them. You can just get them flocked, but IMO i'd rather buy a better saddle.

 

[Oscar]

Backed both my two youngsters in an old jumping saddle, then bought them decent saddles for riding on. One had a Kieffer dressage with the new adjustable tree that I found new on ebay for a bargain, and the other I bought the Wintec Isabell with Cair!

Put the Wintec on after fitting it to her with the gullet thingy and went to put jockey on and she went spastic!! Bronked and bucked til jockey landed in a heap next to her and she was a jibbering wreck! Whipped the saddle off as it was the only thing that changed, tried the Kieffer on her and it was an ok fit - and she was as good as gold!! Saddle went straight on ebay and I lost £100 on it for about 30seconds use!

The Wintec only have adjustable front gullets, the tree itself doesn't change and I am told the tree is quite tight - in fact a friend of mine also has one for her dressage horse and her horse is a bit of a sod and is often seen with 4 feet off the ground at once and her laid in a pile at the other end of the school - I told her to try him in a different saddle, and she did and he was as good as gold that day!!

 

[rubyrumba]

So do't bother with a wintec at all? There is a flocked one on ebay at the moment? Thanks!

 

[Tempi]

I would stay clear of Wintecs, Thorowgoods are much better if you want an adjustable one. Mine has been fine for breaking in my 3yr old but i wouldnt use it for anything else.

 

[Britestar]

deleted

 

[SpruceRI]

Having had 4 different saddles for my youngster in the first year after backing, I wouldn't bother going for any particular type initially. Just what fits the horse at that given time.

One of ours was the adjustable gullet sort, but still it didn't fit her shape after a while. She was a cob though.... so maybe a lot different with the expansion and wither/no wither problem!!

 

[vickster]

I have a 3 rising 4 year old I plan to do dressage with. I bought her a wintec as a temporary measure but a word of warning, just because you can change the gullet doesn't necessarily mean it will fit the horse. The saddle is the wrong tree shape for her back, and I cant get it to fit whichever gullet I use! I'm now going to have her fitted for a WOW saddle as they are completely modular so within reason, everything can be adjusted so I shouldn't have to keep replacing saddles. Hopefully the saddle will do her for the rest of her ridden career.

 

[rowy]

I backed mine in an ordinary wintec gp and now a year later I have bought a made to measure harry dabbs dressage which is adjustible. only because he is so flat backed he is really difficult to fit.
i echo everyone else, dont get wintec, they are made with weird pannels which are more for narrower horses IMO as it rolls around like anything on mine and the thorowgood seem decent.