Wintec Saddles

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poiuytrewq

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Now i used to hate Wintecs with a passion but since buying a horse last year who had a Wintec 2000 I'm a slight convert! I was pleasantly surprised at how comfy it was and like the fact it was so light weight, especially as i love my Acavello gel seatsaver which adds weight.

As posted yesterday the saddle i purchased (Albion K2) is too narrow for the horse. Its likely he will loose some muscle although i'm hoping not too much but he is going from dressage horse to a general hacking/funride kinda horse! The Albion is probably still going to be too narrow.

I have just got so many outgoings right now - car needs a service, I pay grazing yearly which is of course now due... and so on that paying out a lot more money on a saddle I'snt feasible.
Seeing what my saddler had on his shelves in second hand stock today made me a bit sad! :( Mine was £650 and if i get my money back on it i still need a further £300 at least to replace it for similar.

So i genuinely began to wonder about actually (cant quite believe I'm thinking this!) buying a new Wintec 2000? (unless there is a better model?)
Currently riding all the time in his owners dressage saddle which they have lent me and are in no desperate hurry to have back but I'm so conscious of the fact its not mine and was so expensive. I'm constantly in and out of the car with it and hanging over gates or doors etc
 
If you like this type of saddle, and feel it suits you AND your horse, then go for it! You should manage to pick one up reasonably cheaply on E-bay, but just a warning from my own experience - beware of buying Wintecs with CAIR on E-bay as often the CAIR panels will be well and truly kn@ckered and the saddle will be useless. If you are buying a used Wintec on E-bay (or any of the second hand sites for that matter) then much safer to go for a flocked saddle rather than CAIR.

I've always disliked both Wintecs and Thorowgoods with a passion, then recently went to view a horse which had a Wintec 2000 (older version) on it - and found that I was actually very comfy in it!! Which came as a complete surprise. So maybe, just maybe, there IS a half-decent saddle which they managed to produce after all!

I had a Wintec Wide for my traddie cob, and it was awful, rolled around on his back like a pig and was the most unstable, and uncomfortable, saddle I've sat in, hated it!

PS (edited): this is just me being me, but I would be inclined to ask a professional to check the fit of your saddle - dunno if there's a local Wintec fitter that could help you. You don't need to buy the saddle from them in the first place ;)
 
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Ha, I was amazed! Went to see a horse who came with tack and commented on the way "bet ite a bloody Wintec!" and it was but... It was fine!
I have looked at them second hand and the odd thing is that they are £550 ish new and £150 tops second hand, nothing inbetween. I dont want a really cheap old knackered one but they don't seem to come up second hand otherwise. Not sure if this is a good thing (people keep them as they like them!) or bad (they loose £400 by walking out of the shop)
Pro saddler has checked the Albion and said it can be stretched out a bit but after reflocking will be the same fit as it currently is and in his opinion wasn't the saddle for me or the horse.
Thorowgoods and K&M i found make me feel a bit tipped forward and in the wrong position.
 
Don't take this the wrong way , OP, but it sounds a bit like you are lurching from one thing to the next ;)
I really wouldn't buy a new Wintec if funds are short, there are usually lots around second hand. But you really need to get someone to look at it on the horse, to make sure it is suitable first. My cob came with both a K2 and wintec - one fitted well, the other didn't fit at all. Just take a little bit of time to find out, especially while you have the use of something, otherwise you could end up with another unsuitable purchase :) The chap at Malvern fits wintecs, (not sure where you are in the cotswolds) but the girls on my yard get theirs checked by him and seem happy.

Maybe get hold of a saddle cover or saddle bag to protect it while you are borrowing the dressage saddle?
 
I don't think they hold their initial price brilliantly, OP - I sold cob's wintec for £120 and it looked pretty new.
 
Your right I guess i am lurching from one to the other! I will absolutely get a fitter out. I would have booked it today at the saddlers but the fact they were all so expensive. I don't want to pay a fortune for some thing that looks old and tired.
I've been ringing round more local saddlers trying to track down a wider Albion at a more reasonable price but its not going well.
 
There are plenty of really good quality second hand leather saddles around for way less than £650. Look at saddlesdirect, sheepham saddles and others - these are just the ones I happen to know. I would look at Ideals and similar, and get a few on trial for the saddler to look at. If the horse is only going to be a hack / fun ride type, then I would never spend more than £500 unless he really needed something special due to conformation.

http://www.sheephamsaddles.com/shop/242-black-paul-jones-17-5-medium-fit-jump-gp-event-saddle/

http://www.sheephamsaddles.com/shop/336-farrington-17-5-whgp-mw-fit-brown-english-leather-saddle/

http://www.sheephamsaddles.com/shop...model-17-5-mw-gp-saddle-immaculate-condition/
 
Being more specific there is this posted 7th october

'black Albion K2 jumping saddle medium 17 1/2 inch immaculate condition
£650
Hereford, Herefordshire'

and one on the 10th with a narrow-medium adjust tree for 795

there are a lot more medium wides, and I would think that most saddlers could adjust the trees in them to your horse's template.
 
have you thought about a saddle co saddle..can pick them up in good nick second hand for about 300 and can be totally adjusted by a saddler. They're not everyones cuppa tea but just something else to think about :)
 
Really quite like the Ideal actually on Sheepham saddles site.
I think I'm a bit worried that I'm going to eat into my budget by getting saddlers out who have nothing I like!
Medium is too narrow.
We once had a Saddle Co saddle and tbh I really hated it! I never really felt it fitted properly and sold it on fairly quickly. Also I know several people locally who love them but can never get a fitter out.
I say hack and funrides but I do want something nice, he's very sensitive but I am a Wobbleberry so who knows!! I may end up being fully a fledged competitive rider ��
 
ester said:
Being more specific there is this posted 7th october

'black Albion K2 jumping saddle medium 17 1/2 inch immaculate condition
£650
Hereford, Herefordshire'

and one on the 10th with a narrow-medium adjust tree for 795

there are a lot more medium wides, and I would think that most saddlers could adjust the trees in them to your horse's template.
Click to expand...
How adjustable is the adjusta tree? Completely as in narrow-wide or just slightly?
 
New synthetic will cost about the same as second hand leather, but the advantage is that, as long as the tree is right, the saddler can get one that fits - rather than potentially trying lots of leather saddles that don't. It depends on circumstances, but it does make life easier buying new - not all saddlers carry enough second hand stock to be sure of having something that suits both you and the horse.

I've got the Wintec Pro. I said something very rude indeed when the saddler got it out of her van, but I'm a complete convert - it fits the horse, it's comfy and I feel secure. It has a very flat tree, which may or may not suit your horse, but certainly worth looking at!
 
poiuytrewq said:
How adjustable is the adjusta tree? Completely as in narrow-wide or just slightly?
Click to expand...

It is advertised as narrow to medium so no I would think they do two, one narrower, one for the wider fits,

I thought from your previous post you wanted a medium (but got the MM) but then you say it is too wide?

Personally I'm an ideal fan but that is partly because that is what fitted him ;)
 
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