wintec saddles

china

china

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Im after a saddle for my ever changing mare. she is currently in my old albion dressage saddle that fits her well wither wise but is far to tight around her shoulders. She is completley different shape now than she is in the winter and she can get abit round in the summer so i was thinking of getting a wintec dressage saddle that i can change if she has a dramatic change now she is back in work. what are your thoughts on wintec saddles? good and bad.
 
i wont lie, i do prefer my leather saddles but she is ever changing! i havnt got alot to spend on a nice leather saddle. if she turns out anygood then i might get something nicer but for now something cheap and simple will have to do. shes not a really awkward shape, shes just a table with four legs!
 
I'm going to have to say I hate them!
all the ones I've ridden in (though only general purpose) have been awful.
In my experience they make my lower leg position really unstable, and my friends who've ridden in them agreed.
one woman at my yard believes she suffered from an extremely bad fall cross country because the saddle tipped her forward when landing after jumps, and at one fence which her mare really leapt over and then stumbled on landing, she fell off.

My saddler also said he had seen many sore backed horses caused by Wintec saddles as he feels they often sit on the withers too much, and because of the changeable gullet system, people 'fit' the saddles themselves, often incorrectly.

I have heard that the thorogood synthetic saddles are a much better alternative, but I have never ridden in one of those. I wouldn't touch a wintec with a barge pole.

HOWEVER I have not ridden in a Wintec dressage saddle, so I don't know what they're like.
 
I have had several different types for the same reasons as you and hated them with a passion *except* for the isabell. The others truly awful :(
 
I had a Wintec dressage pro for my veteran from age 28-33 (him!). I'd bought 3 saddles for him previous to that but as he aged he changed shape. The Pro fitted beautifully - he went more freely than he had done before - and lasted the rest of his working life. AND it was probably the most comfortable saddle I've sat on. Sold it to a riding school and everyone who uses it loves it too.
 
i will look into thorowgoods. i have a synthetic with the fish system in my garage that came with her but it sits up incredibly high on her!
 
I have a Wintec 2000 and I love it. I like the fact that it's synthetic as it rains a lot here and I don't have to worry about getting any spots on it.

It's funny, I consider Thoroughgood saddles garbage. Any one that I have seen/ridden in is cheaply made and never seem to fit properly (despite their 'fish' fitting system).

Many people have been surprised that my Wintec is synthetic.
 
I love my wintec dressage. I cannot compare these to thorowgood though as ive never rode in one, but deffo a thumbs up for dressage.
 
ive had both wintec and thorowgood, and i must admit the wintec fits my horse far better than the thorowgood and i think its far comfier to ride in. i can see how a wintec would hurt a horses back tho as it has quite a bananna shape tree and would bang about on a horse who has a straight back (mine has quite a curve in her back) hence then the thorowgood would be better suited. :)
 
I bought a wintec for my 8yo welsh mare, it is far too tight across her shoulders even in an xwide gullet, but it fits my 25yo perfectly as her back has dropped a bit and she has much more whither than my younger mare, i find it quite comfy.
On reccomendation from 2 saddlers i have just bought a thorowgood for my other mare and put her in an xxwide gullet, it looks much better, havent ridden in it yet though. (flat back and no wither type) Good luck!
 
I've had a Wintec saddle (different saddle) for two separate horses: the first was so-called professionally fitted, the second wasn't.

Both horses had a very sore back - the first started bucking and then developed a sore on his back. Poor horse, I wasn't so wised-up then and didn't take notice of the signs. Second horse - who'd always been mega good to tack up, started pulling faces, putting ears back and showing quite serious signs of discomfort.

Also, I found that the girth straps which were made of plastic, didn't last at all well and started to crack around the girth-holes - dangerous! Similarly their stirrup straps; the plastic started to crack around the buckle-line - and it happened suddenly with no warning, one minute OK the next dangerous. So I personally think the quality of their stuff is cr@p!

They were hot and sticky to ride on in the summer; and felt as stiff as a board, absolutely no "give" in them like you get in a leather saddle.

I've not tried the Thorowgood; but after my Wintec experience wouldn't be keen to trust another synthetic saddle ever again.
 
I had a Colligate saddle. Didn't fit my mare, but that was the fitters fault not the saddles fault.
However it is a leather saddle with a changeable gullet.
 
If you are buying a gp one dont touch the 500 the 2000 is so much better has leather girth straps too.

I couldnt use the 500 but have used the 2000 on a couple of youngsters and found it ok but wouldnt suit all horses.
 
I have a wintec close contact jump saddle and I love it. We have a pony in the gp and he is happy too. Much more confortable than the albion he had before!

I'm actually looking for a wintec dressage saddle (17 inch black) if anyone's got one for sale - love them!
 
I can really recommend the Bates Iabelle Werth (dressage)which is leather & has a changeable gullet, they also do a Wintec synthetic to the same design (Isabelle Werth) .They give you a really good position with great comfort & secure seat. Bates & Wintec are the same company.
 
I'm a Wintec fan and having recently got back from a weeks riding holiday when the boy and I were out for between 4 and 6 hours every day, both his back and my bum are fine.

One thing to remember though, with any adjustable gullet saddle, is that they are not a cure all. Just like any other saddle they either fit or they don't, all you are doing with the gullet is adjusting the width at the very front of the saddle. If the length is wrong or the shape of the tree does not suit your horses back, then that's that, you need a different saddle.
 
i have been to the saddlers today and have picked up a second hand wintec dressage with large blocks. it fits her far better than my current leather albion and i actually feel abit more secure in it. I have got three saddles to sell which will buy me a nice saddle for her eventually :-) the thorowgood dressage was of much better quality! lovely and soft but abit out of my price range at this moment in time :-)
 
The New Isabella Werth synthetic is great - it has a wider gullet and bigger panels (so the weight is spread over more surface) than the old Isabella.

It also has memory foam for the rider - so hugely comfortable - and the suade type material feels very secure.

Can't rate them enough - the only problem is that all other saddles feel rather insecure!!
 
I did notice that the surface area on the bottom of the saddle isnt alot so the weight cant be spread to evenly so i can see why horses get bad backs. maybe thats why they sell so many shock absorber pads?? and risers!
 
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