Wintec 500 on a 4 year old?

blacksabbeth

blacksabbeth

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Hi i want to buy a wintec 500 for my 4 year old,do you think that this is an advisable move as she will be changing shape and whether it is worth buying as i have always heard good reports about wintecs on youngsters.Cheers.
 
my 13yr old cob has had the wintecs since about 5yrs old with no problems at all and my 5yr old welsh d has never worn anything other than the wintec 500 and has no problems i like it as its light for him and as i only hack doesnt matter if it gets soaking wet either
 
Thats brilliant i want a sadde also that holds some of its value and i have noticed that wintecs if looked after do hold there value,thats it i have definetly made my mind up i am getting one tomorrow!I also wanted a saddle that was light and i know that leather saddles and no not all leather saddles are quite a lump.Would you say cair system or flock i am swaying more for the cair?
 
both of mine are the cair,
the big cob has never had back trouble since getting the wintecs for him and pover the years as he changes shape and fitness its saved me pounds i would need about 5 saddles for him he changes so much

but i did find as my gypsy cob grew the 500 rolled as he got too broad and it sat too far on his shoulder, he is now in the vsd
but the welsh hasnt matured and is still quite narrow tb width and the 500 sits fine on him at the moment
 
My 5yo is in the wintec 500 and I really like it. Mine is the old design though, not convinced about the new design! I was looking to get him a bates once he's fully matured but it looks like they're changing design too :mad:
I'd go for flock, much more adjustable :)
 
Ok thats given me some ideas and questions for tomorrow,shes a cob x tb shes currently a medium at the moment,but im chuffed to bits all of the reviews have been brilliant so far,i do want the old style as i havent heard too much about the new and to be honest im not that overly struck on the design,i have ridden in a 500 and a 2000 before and loved them both,but always had a soft spot for the 500,so this is the one,thanx everyone much apprieciated.
 
When I got my horse as a 3yo he came with a CAIR Wintec but my saddler actually recommended I got the flocked Wintec but obviously it depends on the horse. He's now 6yo and I am so glad I got a Wintec and could change the gullets whilst he was changing shape. Thinking of getting a new saddle in the next year or so.
 
I've had a wintec GP on Lace since she was 4.
I also have a wintec dressage that has been used on an older horse (14/15).
I really like the wintecs as they will chage widths and luckily they fit Lace like a glove! :D
 
A very very common fitting fault with wintec saddles is that if they are the correct width and placed on the horse in the correct place with the point of the tree behind the shoulder blade, the back of the saddle will lift off the horses back. Its a simple test- just girth it up and lead the horse around and look for a gap between the underside of the saddle and the horse at the rear of the saddle. 9/10 it will lift up and no amount of fiddling will make it fit. Another common problem is that in order to clear the wither at the pommel the saddle often has to have a gullet fitted that is too narrow for the horse.

Also, you cannot adjust cair panels at all so are not adviseable for a young horse.

Personally i would look at the thorowgood saddles. They are better designed than wintecs imo and are more adjustable. And theyre cheaper!
 
I have a Wintec 500 VSD with cair on my 6 yo TB. I had it checked about 8 months and it fitted fine, I will admit that it did need move a bit at first but I was reassured that it just needed a short time to "bed in". (A very short time I should add as after a few days it stopped moving) I had my boy seen my a McTimmony specialist this week to give him the once over and a birthday massage lol and she said that his back was in brilliant shape. A testiment to how well his saddle was fitting she said. For me that is recommendation enough! I should also say that if you go on th Wintec website there is a mention of saddlers being able to adjust cair saddles with panels if this is needed and is worth a look into. As a caution though I should say that I recently bought a 500 Dressage saddle from ebay to try and unfortunately no amount of adjustment would make it be a good fit as it is just too tight at his shoulder. So not all Wintec saddles will fit all horses. But I'd imagine that is the case with any make of saddle. I'm now just wishing I'd resisted the temptation of the ebay bargain!
 
LMuirEDT said:
Personally I think u can have problems with any saddle so as long as you get it fitted by a proper saddler you can eliminate many of the problems.
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Yes, i agree. Unfortunately though many fitters are more interested in a sale than the horse. And with the problems i mentioned earlier they cant be eliminated because of the design of the saddle- the tree shape and the panel design cannot be altered.
 
teddyt said:
Yes, i agree. Unfortunately though many fitters are more interested in a sale than the horse. And with the problems i mentioned earlier they cant be eliminated because of the design of the saddle- the tree shape and the panel design cannot be altered.
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Many saddlers will fit the saddle they think you want fitted, not the one that suits the horse best. Saddlers seen to be very divided - there's those who think the wintecs are ok and will fit them to pretty much any horse, regardless of fit, as the price is good (don't know any saddlers who actually think they're great saddles!) and there are a very large proportion of saddlers who wouldn't touch wintecs with a barge pole..........

The older wintec design do not suit much apart from TB types. The tree is too curved for most backs (esp cobby types and young horses) and the panels at the back are far too sloped (cambered) for most horses. A lot of wintecs are fitted too narrow to lift the front to stop the 'rocking' caused by the curved tree. There is nothing you can do about the outside edges of the panels digging into the back - if you know what you're looking for you can often tell a horse who has a wintec 500 just from the muscle damaged hollows just in front of the loins :(

The new ones have a slightly better designed tree and panels but you're still better off with a thorowgood.

Look at thorowgood saddles instead. They have a selection of different tree types for different backs (unlike wintecs one-size-doesn't-really-fit-any) and panels types, plus the new ones have changable gullets too.
 
I like the thorowgood saddles but i dont know too much about them and have always heard good reviews about wintecs,but thank you very much for the advise,worst i will do is have a look a wintec and a thorowgood and way up the good and bad options.Ok i did not get one today but definetly tuesday as wanted some more opinions from you guys and other people.I think i will go for the flock then as by the sounds of it,it would be a lot kinder for her to have a saddle to change with her,how often do you find that yours needs to be re-flocked?Thanks everyone really apprieciate this.
 
Ok now i am becoming more swayed for the thorowgood,judging by her size now shes going to be a decent sized horse and i do want a saddle which is going to be kind on her back,what thorowgood would you recommend?Sounds like the thorowgood is a better saddle so far.
 
teddyt said:
Yes, i agree. Unfortunately though many fitters are more interested in a sale than the horse. And with the problems i mentioned earlier they cant be eliminated because of the design of the saddle- the tree shape and the panel design cannot be altered.
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That's a bit of a sweeping statement and I don't agree with it. I've never been persuaded by a saddler to buy a different saddle that I didn't want but maybe that's just me? I think the original Wintecs weren't that great but the more modern ones are much much better. As I said before each horse is different and would be treated as such by a saddler. Also I think it's often down to personal preference of the saddler.
 
I bought one off ebay (£120 as new) for our 4yr old, luckily it fit him well, over the next 18 months we had to change the gullet but once he seemed to settle out growth wise I bought him a Bates and sold the wintec on ebay for more than i paid for it. Sorted!
 
I have spoken to a master saddler re the two as I have a rising 4 yo who will obviously need a saddle when he goes to school in the future. The saddler recommended the Thorowgood also to me as a good starter saddle for young horses over the Wintec range so that is what I will be looking at.
 
LMuirEDT said:
That's a bit of a sweeping statement and I don't agree with it. I've never been persuaded by a saddler to buy a different saddle that I didn't want but maybe that's just me?
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No, I don't know anyone who's been persuaded to buy a different saddle from the one they wanted. That's the problem - many saddlers will tell you what you want to hear - 'yes that brand you want would be fine'. Lots of people say 'oh, I think i'd quite like a wintec' and hey presto, they get one fitted. :mad: Happy owner, happy saddlers. Horse doesn't get much say.

blacksabbath - get the saddle type that will suit her. There's three types - the TB saddle, the 'normal' saddle and the cob saddle. Depends what her backs like as to which one would suit. They fit a wide range of horses due to their good design, and they're well made. It's rare to find a horse a thorowgood won't fit, though they do exist obviously. Sadly they're often less comfortable than the wintecs for the riders (hard seats!) but sit you in a better position.
 
Ahhh I can see what you mean... When saddler first came to my horse I said this is what i have (a wintec CAIR), what do you think and she said no to the CAIR but yes to a Wintec flocked saddle. I didn't necessarily want a wintec but it fitted. However now you have me thinking about the psychology of selling stuff - LOL!

A friend did say that whenever a saddler has come out to her they've always told her she needs a more expensive saddle than she can afford but whenever my saddler has come out she's never mentioned changing the whole saddle.
 
Kallibear said:
No, I don't know anyone who's been persuaded to buy a different saddle from the one they wanted. That's the problem - many saddlers will tell you what you want to hear - 'yes that brand you want would be fine'. Lots of people say 'oh, I think i'd quite like a wintec' and hey presto, they get one fitted. :mad: Happy owner, happy saddlers. Horse doesn't get much say.

blacksabbath - get the saddle type that will suit her. There's three types - the TB saddle, the 'normal' saddle and the cob saddle. Depends what her backs like as to which one would suit. They fit a wide range of horses due to their good design, and they're well made. It's rare to find a horse a thorowgood won't fit, though they do exist obviously. Sadly they're often less comfortable than the wintecs for the riders (hard seats!) but sit you in a better position.
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I agree with all of this :) except the comfort bit, i have ridden in a wintec once and it was :(
 
Ok i think i might consider the thorowgood,as it does sound better all round for a youngster,like i said i do want something that my horse will be happier with and me i would rather adjust to it,if that makes sense?I do like the general look of thorowgoods as they do have a classier look no offense to anyone,and now i have got some more info on thorowgood saddles i am happy with trying one,the worst i will have to do is have a saddler check the both of them and see what the outcome is,either way i would be happy.Thank you so much everyone all of this is much appreciated.
 
Personally, another who absoloutely HATE wintecs. As others have said, the tree is too curved for 99% of horses, and they just don't sit down at the back if the correct width at the front. I had a wintec 500, it came with my first horse, and I got rid asap. Uncomfy, didn't fit me or the horse, and horse wasn't happy in it either.

However, after loathing the wintec so much, I didn't really want to get another synthetic. However my saddler stocks thorowgoods, and having tried different saddles and tree types on my rising 5yo, it was the thorowgood tree that suited her back shape. I have had it for 2 weeks now, and I am VERY pleased with it. It fits my mare very nicely, is comfy to ride in, and I am always getting comments from people about how it looks like leather. Nothing but recommendations for the thorowgood, but nothing but criticism for the wintecs!!!!!
 
I would have agreed with CB previously as when I got my current horse (at 4yo) he was fitted with a thorowgood. I really liked it and it looked good. However after repeated checks and adjustments by the saddler it still either slipped forward or back and always moved to the side when I mounted regardless of how tight the girth was. I sold it and changed to a wintec 500. Fits a treat and doesn't budge. Horse is also much more relaxed when being saddled now! I know there is quite a thorowgood bias on this forum but don't rule out the wintecs! Try them both :D
 
Well mine doesn't slip forwards, backwards or sideways, so all good :D

I would like to be proven wrong, as I'm sure I will be.... but I am yet to see a horse where a wintec actually fits them. I'm sure they fit some (although few?) horses, but I am yet to see them.
 
All good so far anyway lol. Mine was great initially too. I'm not thorowgood bashing here - I forked out enough for a T6 and I would buy another if it fitted, just trying to offer the OP some impartial advice. If wintec and bates saddles were as bad as some people on this forum seem to think surely they would no longer be in production? Granted I have also seen a lot of badly fitted ones, but sadly that applies to all of the adjustble ones as loads of people seem to think that they don't require a saddle fitter - just a gullet measure :mad:
 
The thing is, you can't say "I want/would like a saddle of X brand". It may or it may not fit.You must be open to most makes of saddle and buy whichever make fits both your horse, then you, best. Wintecs will obviously fit some horses, and Thorowgoods will not fit every horse.
Wintecs however do not fit more horses than they do fit.
 
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