Wintecs and Cair (esp wintec cob saddle) - good or bad

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Morgan123

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i realise 'good' and 'bad' are vast oversimplifications but i have three horses, all different shapes (welsh d, arab, tbxhanoverian), who all for various reasons need new saddles - OMG (but don't worry I'm not about to say that I'm getting one and just changing the gullet every time I ride lol). i like wintecs and I like that they're adjustable (though obv i'd get them checked professionally), and I like Cair. However, before I embark on bulk ordering:

Cair - reflocking it - do you have to get a specialist wintec person in to do this or can a normal saddler do it? how does it hold up compared to traditional flocking - does it stay soft? need flocking just as regularly? get lumpy quickly? etc etc etc....

the wintec cob saddles - what are people's experiences of these re: fit in general, slippage, quality, etc etc?

any other comments in general, good bad and ugly welcome so I can make an informed decision.

Thanks!
 
Personally I would never want cair - they can cause alot of problems without you realising, although I know alot of people like them I wouldnt have one.

Also reeeally dont like the wintecs (sorry!) the Isbell is the only one that I like, the others are really not my cup of tea. Also although they are adjustable gullets I dont think they are exactly simple to alter if you intend to use for more than 1 horse.

Hope that helps x
 
cair - doesn't need re-flocking, it is just a bladder of air. I wouldn't put a cair flocked saddle on my horse.

wintecs generally, I don't like tbh. If you are after something adjustable, with a cob saddle in the range then I really rate thorrowgood. Though if your horse is wintec shaped then obv that would be your choice! They do tend to have rather a banana shaped tree, and not that many horses have backs that suit them.

I would try and find a recommended saddler that stocks a few options to suit your preferences and budget and then see what fits your horse well.
 
OK thanks - you've both mentioned Cair causing problems and not wanting to use it - can you explain why? What does it do that's bad??

thank you!
 
Tends to be harder on the horses back. Because it is basically a fancy bag of air, pressure points can also be a problem. I must admit that I like a well flocked saddle with natural wool (hate the artificial stuff!), most importantly my sensitive mares agree with this!
 
Happy wintec customer here!! :D


I think the problem with wintecs is because you can change the width people think they will fit any horse, they won't! They will only fit a horse if the tree fits.

My wintec was checked by a qualified saddle fitter, he is happy with it, I'm happy with it and most importantly my horse is happy with it.
 
Cair - I like it and my horses do too. I have seen one horse take an immediate and massive dislike to it though - at least I think it was the Cair as the saddle seemed to fit ok. Cair panels can be adjusted with Wintec shims, which is a saddler job.

Wintecs - I do really like, particularly the new style which seem to have a flatter tree. They are very comfy, and I find put me in a very secure position.

Wintec Cob - Tried it and didn't like it. It didn't fit my Cob at all, but I don't remember why now. The Thorowgood Cob fits her much better.
 
Morgan123 said:
OK thanks - you've both mentioned Cair causing problems and not wanting to use it - can you explain why? What does it do that's bad??

thank you!
Click to expand...

I recently bought a wintec isabell with cair and the panels were as hard as concrete. My horse completely freaked when I put it on him. I have since had the cair panels removed and replaced with traditional flocking and my horse goes much better in it. The saddler gave me what she had taken out of the panels. It was cheap rubbish. The cair airbags were made of the same type of plastic as those heart shaped ballons you can buy and are only half an inch thick. The rest of the panel consists of layers of foam, the outside foam is like hard plastic. I would never put a cair saddle on my horse again. However I DO like the flocked wintecs.
 
I bought a Cair flocked saddle when they first came out and my horse loved it! Although the saddler said he had very easy conformation to fit to.

However, some years later my horse wasn't going so well, I wasn't riding much so I wasn't quite sure why. The saddle didn't look quite right somehow so I rode him out bareback to see what would happen-different horse! Closer inspection revealed the airbags had gone flat £150 to have new ones fitted, happy horse again.

My Wintec went the same way. Scrapped that one. I have a high-wither Thorowgood (on another, lankier horse), which is nice, but not as forward cut as the Wintec, also the girth straps are pretty naff on Thorowgoods IMO. Lanky seemed to prefer the Wintec-until it went flat, of course. ;o)

Personal preference and advice of a good saddle fitter's what you need-try 'em out!
 
I had a Wintec 2000 Cair and after six months replaced it with exactly the same Wintec flocked . I have had it 7 years now and have it checked regularly and reflocked with pure wool whenever necessary.

The reason I replaced it was that I felt the Cair quite hard and reckoned if I felt it hard so might the horse. I certainly found the flock more comfortable and hope the horse did too .
 
thanks all! someone mentioned preferring the newer models - how new is 'newer'? is the wintec 2000 the newer models, or the really really new ones (my friend has the close contact jumping saddle, which i like...)??
 
The new style ones came out in 2008, but some of the models, like the Wintec Cob stayed on the old design.

This is the new range:
http://www.wintec.net.au/wintecAllPurpose/index.htm

If you look, you can tell the differences between the new shape and the old shape by the shape of the bottom of the knee rolls (it curves back in towards the front on the new ones), the shape of the skirt (it's cut away on the new ones) and the texture of the panels (they're textured on the new and smooth on the old).

The only thing I don't like so much on the new ones is that the equisuede doesn't seem so hardwearing, but IMO they knock spots off the old design in other areas.
 
I have a Wintec cob for one of mine (who is apparently Wintec-shaped:)). I don't think it's quite as comfortable as the Wintec 500 for me, but the horse seems happy. I only change the gullet on the advice of my saddler, who has also reflocked it to ensure a good fit. Overall I am happy with it.
 
I have a 18 month old Wintec with Cair so one of the new ones and brought it as i knew my Oldenburg xtb would change shape a lot from 3 when she was broken. she is now 4 and it has been good for her. it is a GP and i have jumped in it, dressage etc. i had a master saddler check it (Mark Fisher) and he was happy it fitted her fine. i also use a sheepskin M elite half pad under her saddle and she is very happy in it.
 
very oddly I have a wintec and a TG for the same horse

The wintec is the dressage pro cair, the cair is soft and my WB loves it. I do ride it with a HM seat saver as I find it better

The TG I have is the Kent and masters jump saddle, it is flocked and again horse goes well in it

I must be the only person who has one of each for the same horse considering they are supposed to fit so different.

I used to work with a saddle fitter and did the initial fitting myself and then had them checked by a well respect Master saddler
 
I have only wintec saddles at the moment as 7-8 horses and budget does not extend to leather (bates), I have a saddle per horse, so the gullet does not need to be changed all the time.

I have had the saddles fitted by saddler and have them checked from time to time, I know that a lot of people do not like them that much, but they have more expensive leather saddles like bates, or treeless etc, which are not an option for me, if I could I would have leather bates saddles.

The last one I bought was an Isabell Werth Dressage saddle, for my oldest son to use.

The horses have had no saddle fit or back issues, some are flocked and some are cair.

I am happy with them.
 
Hello! Delurking after a couple of years...

I've just sold my Wintec GP - my cob changed shape and it stopped fitting him, whatever gullet I put in it. I've replaced it with a Thorowgood Cob so can do a compare-and-contrast:

The Wintec GP was comfier for me and easier to clean (mine had no equisuede stuff which attracts coat dust like a magnet) but I never really felt connected to my horse when using it. Sitting in the Thorowgood for the first time was a real eye opener as I never thought I'd be able to feel what was going on with his back end with a synthetic.

The Thorowgood is less comfy for me but more sticky so I feel more secure. And it fits him a lot better (the local saddler checked). I've never had an issue with cair, but overall I'd suggest you try a Thorowgood.
 
Baloon fille dwith air = Flair
Foam filled with air = Cair
Cair panel fit (aka flocking) is altered with slices of foam which slide in next to the original panels to adjust them.
 
I've just bought the new style Wintec 2000 with flock and love it. My previous loan horse had a Wintec with Cair and he seemed to like it and I never had any problems with it. However, after much reading of forums, reviews etc, went for the flocked version as more easily adjustable to both me and the horse. He's a 15.2 Irish cob (poss crossed with something) with a bit of wither, and the medium gullet fits him nicely, with just a little extra flocking around the shoulder and he seems perfectly happy. I find it really secure and comfortable, and even without the velcro blocks in (wasn't sure where to put them!) have remained firmly attached during 3 high-speed misunderstandings so far... The 2000 is slightly straighter cut than the Pro, but not as straight as the VSD.

Would still prefer a lovely new Albion set but until I win the lottery the Wintec does very nicely!
 
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