Wintec saddles - your opinions please.

Equus Leather

Equus Leather

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I'm looking at getting a Wintec for my loan horse as the one she has is a working hunter saddle....

Anyway, am looking at the 500 and the 2000, flock and cair....what are peoples views...are they comfy? Do they fit well? Do they last?
 
I don't particularly like my wintec 500 with cair. Wasn't my choice of saddle but it isn't awful. I don't like the cair, and mine is not an amazing fit. It is just over a year old (I think) and is still in perfect condition, it is not that comfy for long rides, but again not awful.
 
I have a wintec 500 VSD with cair - fits my girl beautifully, also a good fit for me but not a particularly soft seat - I use a seat saver. However for the money its excellent. Also I dont have to worry if it gets wet, very useful with the current weather!
 
I had a wintec close contact with cair and sold it.
Absolutley hated it, everyone told me i should get one because they were great!
It just didnt feel right and i kept adjusting the knee pads and made no difference!
No thank you.

I ride in a working hunter saddle all the time, mine is leather though!
 
Cair is horrible IMO. They are always over-filled, concrete-like, and not adjustable. Go for flock if you get a Wintec!
I like Wintecs but don't think just because they're adjustable that they'll fit any horse, because they won't. *IF* they fit, they're great (as with just about any other saddle!). I hate the ones with the equileather seats as they're far too slippy (the 500 GP and dressage, the CC etc.) but Maiden has a 2000 GP with the equisuede seat which fits her very well and I love it. I also have a Pro dressage which is nice but a bit flat-seated really (which was why I bought it initially). If I ever save up enough money to buy a new horse, and then again enough, I'd much prefer to get a Wow. But then you could easily buy three Wintecs for the price of one Wow - you get what you pay for!
Basically, if you like Wintecs and they fit your horse, get a 2000 and get it with flock.
 
They do last well, but I found the wider you have to go in the gullet, the more it lifts off the horses back.... fine for medium width horses, but other than that... I dont think they are that great! I have the 500 dressage with cair, have had it 4 years now and do use it quite a bit.... and its still in very good condition!
 
I have 2 wintec 2000 saddles with cair, and i have to say its the best saddle that ive ever bought!!! My friend tried mine out once and went and bought one herself.

I have the wide gullet in one for Mae and its the best saddle thats ever fitted her, Mo has a narrow/wide fitting, before we got him he had a badly fitting saddle and it rubbed his whithers, the wintec one is really good for him.

Also with me having a bad back, i have to say that its the best saddle ive tried.
 
I had my wintec saddle fitted by a qualified saddle fitter, It fitted my girl perfectly and was really comfy. Wintec have put thousands into research and if the saddle is fitted properly they are fine and I think look great for a synthetic, I think that with all saddles some suite some types of horses more than others. My horse was a thoroughbred x but I rode in one on a stiff cob and it was uncomfy, I had ridden him in a leather ideal before and it was better. Talk to a qualified saddle fitter and I'm sure they can advise you.
 
Cair has been recently updated and it now has a foam layer also in it- Cair works well if the saddle fits... im a bit of a leather saddle person so cant say im a big fan of wintec but they are made by the same people as bates (weatherbeeta) and i love my bates so they cant be that bad! i think for a budget saddle they are ok though!
 
My horse is TBX and the wintec has not done his back any good at all,but saying that i cant blame the saddle only the fitter.
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I have a Wintec 2000 with Cair and i love it!! I find the saddle comfy (regularly do endurance rides in it) think the equisuede is fantastic - great grip!!, I have never had any problems with my cair panels - they have always been even and not too hard / soft etc.

I dont agree that they put you in a funny position - never had any bad comments when riding in mine, but saying that not evey saddle will fit every horse and rider combination - depends also on the shape of you and your horse so blaming the saddle is a bit mean.

I have had 3 now for 3 different horses and know at least 5 other people/horse combinations using them and they have all got on really well with them as well so all a matter of choice!!
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'm looking at getting a Wintec for my loan horse as the one she has is a working hunter saddle....

Anyway, am looking at the 500 and the 2000, flock and cair....what are peoples views...are they comfy? Do they fit well? Do they last?

[/ QUOTE ]


you rode Lance in the wintec 2000
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good for bad weather, i agree with ArcAngelOvidius about the wider they go the more the perch, but then again my mare is rather odd shaped, tiny shoulder and massive flat black- what you would expect for connie x warmblood thoough. Not comfy for long rides but great in the rain and mud, have kept mine to jump in as i have show saddle now aswell. I just dont think they look very smart, much prefer a well fitted leather one.
 
I have had a Wintec 500 flock for about 7 years now and I love it!!! It has fitted every horse I have had and is very comfortable. I have never had any back problems with any horse that has worn it and I have used it for all disciplines. The only thing I find is it doesn't put you in the best position for jumping and it tends to whop you in the butt upon landing.
 
I had the 500 with Cair, absolutly hated it. It wasnt very comfy and put me in a terrible position. I also found it looked greyish rather than black after a while.

I sold it as it did not fit my horse, but I wouldnt buy another.

I am about to purchase a Thorowgood T6, I sat in one at the weekend and it was lovely, nice deep seet and much better quality than the Wintec. I am going for the synthetic again as Baron has very high withers so i am limited with the leather unless I pay over 1k to get one fitted
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my mare is a b**gar to fit,she was a extra wide in august and now she's a wide.I choose the wintec wide and although at first it seemed fine (and it was the only saddle out of about 50 that fitted) but recently when she spooks i feel very perched on top and it's even harder to stay on! I've decided to trade it in with a leather one that has masses of knee rolls as thats what i really need with a sharp,stressy 4 yr old mare! I'm not really into synthetics anyway but was told by my fab saddler that it would be a waste of time getting a leather one as she'd change shape all the time (very true,she's a WB!)
but i'm going to get a older one,rather have a old leather one to these any day,their just not on the same par IMO.
 
I have a black Wintec 500 17" wide with cair, it is pretty much brand new that I will be putting on ebay this weekend. I bought it just to have something while my new saddle was being made. I have a spare gullet fitment which I believe is a medium. PM me if you're interested.

I think as far as the Wintec's go, you either love them or you hate them. I absolutely lovely my Wintec Pro dressage saddle, it fits lovely & is really comfortable.
 
I have the Wintec 2000 with Cair (purchased April this year), and love it. Super-comfy and due to Equisuede it's very grippy, Ronnie seems to like it and moves very freely in it. My saddle fitter says that Cair is the best thing for youngsters' backs. My Cair is firm but also squidgy, so it feels like it has give in it when it's needed to have it. I am thinking of getting a Bates ultimately but I'd stick with the Cair.

Position-wise I've not noticed that it puts me in a strange position (nor has my instructor) but it's taken me ages to get the stirrup length/knee block combination correct for jumping. Trial and error ultimately.

As for wear, the Equisuede seems to be standing up to the use (average 4-5 times/week) and in proper downpours too. Very very easy to look after (I've cleaned it only 4 times since I've had it
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My friend had the Wintec 500 on her (lively) TB and I found it a bit slippy when he started leaping about, hence why I got the 2000. I think the Equileather can be prone to being slippery.

If you've got the budget, I think a well-cared for leather saddle beats a synthetic one, but if you don't have bottomless pots of money, or if like me you have a young horse that could change shape at the blink of an eye and no longer fit a saddle, then a synthetic one is a great compromise. I've had the gullet changed in mine twice since I've had it, which has been a very useful feature.
 
I think you either love them or hate them.

Personally I love my Wintec dressage and Wintec Wide (both with Cair), both very comfy for me and horse and fit fab!

I first got a Btaes with Cair for my WB mare and the difference in her was amazing!
 
I've got a brown Wintec 500 with suede seats and I love it - my horse has very high withers and pronounced shoulders so needs a saddle with a deep gusset. He also changes his weight a lot between winter and summer (despite my best feeding efforts!) so it is essential to have a saddle where I can change the gullet.

I have recently bought a brown Wintec dressage saddle and even my instructor who has leather saddles said it was comfy after she had ridden in it.

I'm not a huge fan of the position that my friend's Isabel Wintec puts you in though - I find the seat too deep and restrictive
 
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