wintec saddles

Didn't fit my D x Connie (solid boy, more D like) at all. I found them horribly uncomfortable as well, and when I had one on my old mare I had to use a seat saver (and I have a well-padded bum!)

Have you considered a Saddle Company saddle? Adjustable by a trained fitter and gorgeous to ride in - they really seem to "cradle" you and make you feel very secure. Mine helped loads with regaining my confidence as I really felt I was sitting down into it rather than perched on top :)
 
I'm open to all ideas and it does not have to be a wintec. I just want a well fitting saddle that won't cost a packet because as its for a youngster he will no doubt change shape a bit in next couple of years and I don't want to lose a lot of money on buying a expensive new saddle that I will have to change in a few months time and possibly only get half or less of what I paid for it.
 
The wintec VSD saddle fits cobs well as its cut back at the shoulder worked well on my heavy until he outgrew the max XW gullet!
 
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I have a wintec.. fits my Welsh D fine?

To be honest, I am always worried about leather saddles.. if your horse changes shape dramatically that saddle will not fit.
 
Cannot stand them. For a similar price-range saddle I much prefer Thorowgoods - maybe it's just because I have never really found them to fit the kind of horses I have very well, but I am sure they are perfectly good saddles if they fit your beast.
 
I've bought 3 2nd hand Saddle Company saddles for 3 different shaped horses, they have all been adjusted to fit very well, and they are all leather. I didn't pay more than £250 for any of them :)
 
I have a T6 robert whittaker saddle on my boy. Its built on a cob tree, looks BEAUTIFUL! and fits like a glove! The bonus is, becuase its slightly more forward cut, but doesnt impinge his shoulders at all its brilliant for longer legged/bigger riders on a short backed horse :) I wouldnt touch a Wintec with someone elses barge pole!
 
selinas spirit said:
What would you suggest for a sec d out of interest. I'm not saying I will get a wintec, just don't want to spend a huge amount on something he will grow out of quickly.
Obviously, it has to fit and will be fitted by a saddle fitter.
Bearing in mind the low resale price of second hand saddles don't really want to buy new and lose out after a few months of use.
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A saddle that is meant for the breed is more likely to keep working. I only fit one brand and obviously can't promote it, I use my real name on here if that helps with Google :)
 
Just had a new wintec 500 cair supplied and fitted, nothing but problems. Turns out the saddle is also faulty and has screwed up the ponies back. Will never have another again
 
JulesT said:
Just had a new wintec 500 cair supplied and fitted, nothing but problems. Turns out the saddle is also faulty and has screwed up the ponies back. Will never have another again
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A friend had an Albion fitted and then screwed up her horses back because of the fitter and it was broken.....she has since gotten another Albion and it's fitted fine by someone different. Just because you have had one bad experience with a male doesn't mean they are all bad.

Hope your pony gets better soon.
 
Another recommendation for the Heather Moffett FlexEE - my Arab x was a nightmare until we tried this and we've not looked back since. Bonus is now she has upgraded the materials of the latest version, more of the originals are now becoming available second hand. It's the best saddle I've ever had, for both me and my mare, and didn't cost the earth.
 
I had one for 12 years for my mare. Fitted perfectly and loved it

Have brought 2 2nd hand both had broken trees. So just be careful when buying a used one

I bought a bates saddle for my youngster. Spent a grand and it doesn't fit. It's lifting at the back. Been adjectives 4 times in a year and I'm still not happy. I'm totally gutted. I love the saddle it's so comfy for me :(
 
I love my wintec 2000 AP, used it on my old cob for 8 years. Unfotunately it doesn't fit my two current horses (tree is too curved for my flatbacked beasts). But I'm keeping it "just in case" for the future lol!
 
I love my Wintec although my boy is so narrow shouldered and high withered that a wintec front riser pad is needed too (thats with the narrow gullet)
Great easy care saddle that we both are comfortable in :)
 
Personally I like them! Had a wintec wide for my wee highland when he was growing- was under comfy and soooooo light! I wished I hadn't sold it :(
 
I think they are absolute junk. Before I sat in a wintec I thought all saddles were much of a muchness - WRONG! Uncomfortable, and threw me about once I got out of walk, I thought I'd forgotten how to ride!? Thought it was just me but then a very experienced friend who rides professionally said the same about one she had tried!
 
Just a word of caution OP if you're thinking about buying a CAIR wintec on any of the secondhand sites; I bought a Wintec on one of the well known secondhand sites with CAIR which was reasonably priced and got the saddle fitter out to my boy to have a look at it.

She said oh dear, the CAIR is basically b@ggered :( It would have cost more than I gave for the saddle to have it either re-done with flock or the CAIR replaced, so I'd basically wasted my money. Because of a considerable time-lapse (due to a delay in getting the saddlefitter out) I was unable to do anything about it basically as it would have been too late.

So be aware.

I bought another Wintec, a Wintec Wide for my low-withered, flat backed traddie cob: it was AWFUL. It didn't sit right, the shape of the whole thing was cumbersome and ugly and it was the most uncomfortable saddle I've ever ridden in. I felt completely unstable and certainly wouldn't have been able to sit one of his bucks in it. It was totally unstable and slipped to the side on mounting and whilst riding. These saddles are bummed up as being custom-designed for wider ponies and cobs but it certainly didn't suit mine!

I've also tried a Thorowgood Cob saddle: was so damned uncomfortable in it that after half an hour I had to get off and walk :(

Am not impressed with synthetic saddles. Think they need to have a lot more research and development into them and the way they fit, the replaceable gullet should have been a good idea but IME you cannot get a really accurate fit with a metal bar, simply because horses are not always a pre-determined size! Plus frequently there is an issue of assymetry and to put a metal bar on a horse with an uneven back isn't going to help, period. Plus it is not really possible to achieve correct adjustment from front to back, i.e. curve, to suit particular backs. The other danger with them is that people buy them for their horses because they're cheap and think erroneously that they can be made to fit virtually anything, without realising the damage they can do.

In the end I sold the Wintec Wide as I was sick to the back teeth with the blessed thing; and picked up an old Lovett & Ricketts saddle for £50 at a local equine car boot, brought it home and it fitted my boy perfectly, later confirmed by a Master Saddle Fitter. I've softened it up at bit and cleaned it, and its the best little saddle I've ever bought TBH.

Agree with poster above that synthetics are junk. Which is a huge pity, as they could be soooo good, and a very handy addition to any tackroom. But for me, I'll avoid them like the plague thanks.
 
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I`ve seen so many used leather saddles that had serious faults I wouldn't buy one, some are ok, but I think thorowgood have it right, I school young to older horses in them and the horses seem to function and improve and develop the paces correctly in thorowgoods, and I ask a lot when I get the horse going, I find if the horse can function under the saddle, I can sit well and forget about the saddle almost.

they are the result of a lot innovative developments, and the trees are always straight and true.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
I bought another Wintec, a Wintec Wide for my low-withered, flat backed traddie cob: it was AWFUL. It didn't sit right, the shape of the whole thing was cumbersome and ugly and it was the most uncomfortable saddle I've ever ridden in. I felt completely unstable and certainly wouldn't have been able to sit one of his bucks in it. It was totally unstable and slipped to the side on mounting and whilst riding. These saddles are bummed up as being custom-designed for wider ponies and cobs but it certainly didn't suit mine!
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Same here, both mine and my friends' were the wides for trad cobs - yuck...
 
Agree! Awful things.... I've found Wintec and Thorowgood both incredibly uncomfortable. And there is no moulding of the saddle flaps so if you have the Wide or Cob versions you have to have the hips of a teenager!!!
 
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