WOW saddle - cant help it

[JACQSZOO]

OK - cant help it, need to do a bit of research, even if I am not supposed to be getting excited!
Can anyone who has had a WOW saddle tell me a bit more about them. I've looked at the website but its all a little technical for me

Also can anyone recommend a fitter in Shropshire? Is it possible to have these saddles on some sort of trial before you buy? Tis a lot of money to spend only to find out after a week it is'nt suitable for everything you wanted to do.

ETS In my over excitement I forgot to ask. I have had terrible trouble trying to fit G with a saddle - he is short backed with a large shoulder making it nigh on impossible to get a GP big enough for my backside and small enough for his back. Currently I have an Ideal Event VSD and I'm not really keen. I would like to have both a dressage and GP saddle and this seemed like a good option. He also has a severe lack of muscle on his back, which was starting to improve before he went lame

So something that will grow with him would be ideal I think. Tried Saddle Company and he hated it and bucked for the first and only time under saddle. Do you think a wow would be the best option for us? Or at least worth a go?
Thank you very much.

 

[I_A_P]

i think that you can have say an 18" seat for you, and then 17" panels for the horse.

i really like mine, i have jumping and dressage flaps and get on well with both.
also with the shoulder issue because the flaps move away from the horse so to sspeak they do not interfere with their movement.
anything else you would like to know?

 

[Eceni]

I don't have one yet but am in the process of looking - have PMed you...

E

 

[lillie07]

I don't have one yet but have sold my other saddles to fund one (with jump and dressage flaps) I can't wait

 

[Weezy]

This is who you want to use - she only does WOW, knows her stuff and is a friend of my saddler, so very highly recommended:

Lorna Hamilton

Ashton Close Farm

Snelston

Ashbourne

Derbyshire DE6 2DL

Tel: 01335 324003

Fax: 01335 324008

Mobile : 07971 630513

Email: lornahamilton77@aol.com

 

[Eceni]

Will she come down into Shropshire?

and

will she lend a saddle for a week?

E

 

[Weezy]

Yes she is the agent for Shrops - not sure she will lend a saddle, not many people do that! because they are modular I would think she has one of each seat type and flap type and size (as my saddler did). These are obv needed for showing a client how the WOW works and would be needed for appointments. But you never know until you ask!

 

[Muffin2]

Be very careful about buying a WOW saddle. My ID has been off work for nearly a year because of being fitted with a WOW saddle which had the wrong head plate in it (it was far too narrow) and it has damaged her withers and we don't know if she will ever be right again, she is only 7. The guy who fitted this saddle purported to be a WOW trained fitter and I had long conversations with WOW about him as apparently he had damaged many other horses. They did not want to know and as far as I know he is still fitting them in the New Forest, Dorset area. He was not interested in helping my horse and in fact owed me some money for other goods ordered. I have heard a lot of bad reports about WOW saddles doing damage over a period of time to horses backs.

 

[sylvapak]

kit had some, i liked them, but kit hardly used them and tended to use her albions instead. not sure why! I hated seeing all these expensive saddles being thrown all over the place, on the floor etc!

anyways, what i have heard of them, they are not as good as they are made out to be

that doesnt really help
sorry!

 

[Eceni]

Ah hell....

and there I thought I'd found the perfect saddle

rats

other words not fit for publication here

so where do we go from here?

E

 

[lillie07]

Me too!!

On the other hand though I know lots of people who have had amazing experience with them- I guess as with all saddles it is down to the saddle fitter- the above poster was probably just unlucky. You hear horror stories about dodgy saddlers all the time- you don't normally blame the make of saddle- just the poor fitting of it...

 

[KatB]

Get a saddler you really trust, and one that doesnt give a mnkeys if you buy one from them or not.... can recommend a VERY good saddler in Bury St Edmunds, bit of a trek but they do travel.... PM me if you want the no. to talk to them.

 

[Eceni]

I had a good saddler in Martin Wilkinson in Herts... which is a tad closer than Bury st Eds... would love to find one here, only that the finding out costs such huge amounts of money and there's such a lag between trying one and finding the next and I haven't found a saddler yet that *someone* doesn't hate...

sigh

going to give up on saddles and ride bareback

E

 

[KatB]

Fair enough! Ive been lucky, got alot of recommendations for my saddler and my pony is quite happy with his saddles.

But it is SUCH a minefield, and everyone has different opinions on what is good and bad. Can I ask what problems you've had Eceni?

 

[JACQSZOO]

[ QUOTE ]
This is who you want to use - she only does WOW, knows her stuff and is a friend of my saddler, so very highly recommended:

Lorna Hamilton

Ashton Close Farm

Snelston

Ashbourne

Derbyshire DE6 2DL

Tel: 01335 324003

Fax: 01335 324008

Mobile : 07971 630513

Email: lornahamilton77@aol.com

[/ QUOTE ]

Is this who you used Weezy?
Like others have said you hear so many dodgy storys about saddle fitters and saddles, it really is a mine field. I have never been in this position before where I will have this amount of money to spend on a saddle. I want to get it right. Having never seen let alone sat in one I really need someone who knows there stuff and isn't going to take advantage.

 

[hollyzippo]

I have had mine for 3 1/2 years and cant recommend enough. I see so many badly fitted saddles in my job so dont let 1 persons bad experience influence you- that could happen with any type of saddle (and often does). A wow should be properly fitted by a qualified person- but due to its nature (ie the air) a bad fitting wow is less likely to cause damage than many other bad fitting saddles!

That said- speak to wow- they are really helpful. We have about 13 on my old yard- very highly recommended! Any minor probs/ stirrups breaking etc have been sorted and replaced v. quickly by David at Wow.

Have a try and make up tour own mind but in my opinion you cant get better for your horse!

 

[ann-jen]

Have to say that sounds more of a bad saddle fitter than a bad saddle.
I've had mine for nearly 4 years now and had no problems - in fact the opposite of your situation. My mare had a very expensive branded saddle fitted when I bought her which was fitted by a qualified fitter - but didn't fit at all and it caused her a lot of pain, bad behaviour and muscle wastage. I was recommended to get a WOW after discovering what a bad fit the other saddle was and my mare has never looked back since. She has fully regained her topline and has gone up 3 width fittings. She did have scooped out withers and now they are thick and muscular the way they are meant to be. If i didn't get the WOW each time she increased her topline I'd of had to of got a new saddle so it has been worth the money that way.
I think the most important thing is trusting your saddle fitter and knowing they are experienced in fitting difficult horses and for remedial fittings.
I've had good and bad experience of saddle fitters - including WOW fitters but have generally found First Thought to be helpful - but sometimes you need to chase them a bit to speak to someone to advise you.
To the OP - my horse is short coupled and has very wide spinous processes (wider than a stallions I'm told) and originally she needed a narrow fit - so she wasn't the easiest horse to fit but because all the individual parts can be put on to suit each horse I had as close to a custom built saddle as I could and when she did start putting topline back on it was easy enough to put a wider headplate in to accommodate that and eventually due to a huge increase we also changed the panel to allow for an even wider gullet to encompass her.
Its the adjustability and ease to accommodate different builds of horse that makes them unique.
I took some piccies of Jen wearing hers at the weekend if you wanted to see them. I wish I had before and after shots of her too.

 

[OliveOyl]

[ QUOTE ]
. . .I haven't found a saddler yet that *someone* doesn't hate...



[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with that. Doesn't matter which saddler / vet / farrier / equine dentist etc etc you use there's always someone who can tell you why they wouldn't touch them with a barge pole

ETS I've got a WOW XC saddle. Had it over 6 months and so far me and my boy are very pleased with it.
He's muscled up nicely through his back and has moved through 2 headplate sizes since he first had the saddle.

the fitter I used allowed me to try the saddle for a week and also let me keep the trial one for the whole time I was waiting for mine to arrive, about 6 weeks, but I think that was mainly due to me not wanting a partic popular combination of saddle and flaps - she left me with adjustable jump'able flaps and a flat seat, then I ordered a XC saddle which comes with the flat seat.

 

[Gingernags]

Who fitted yours can I ask?

I'm getting really fed up with saddles and trying to get one to fit. Thought I was doing really well with my saddle company one and now its starting to move and rub and I could just throw myself on the floor and cry and have a real tantrum!

I'm not that far from you, so would be interested in who you used if they cover a bit further south than you... ie just down from Middlesbrough...

Ta.

 

[JACQSZOO]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
. . .I haven't found a saddler yet that *someone* doesn't hate...



[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with that. Doesn't matter which saddler / vet / farrier / equine dentist etc etc you use there's always someone who can tell you why they wouldn't touch them with a barge pole

ETS I've got a WOW XC saddle. Had it over 6 months and so far me and my boy are very pleased with it.
He's muscled up nicely through his back and has moved through 2 headplate sizes since he first had the saddle.

the fitter I used allowed me to try the saddle for a week and also let me keep the trial one for the whole time I was waiting for mine to arrive, about 6 weeks, but I think that was mainly due to me not wanting a partic popular combination of saddle and flaps - she left me with adjustable jump'able flaps and a flat seat, then I ordered a XC saddle which comes with the flat seat.

[/ QUOTE ]

That would be an ideal situation for me. I really dont think I can make a decision to spend that much money by riding in a saddle for 1/2 an hour.

 

[ann-jen]

Have PM'd you

 

[dressagecrazy]

I have owned my new WOW for over a month now. Its a 17" extra deep seat with conventional dressage flaps. I was surprized with how much room i have in the seat i normally ride in an 18". Im so pleased with it i really wished i had bought it ages ago. My horse who has suffered back problems in the past is so much more happier & moves freely.

Laura Dempsey fitted mine & i was really impressed by her & the way she fitted the saddle. Nothing was to much trouble, she even sat for over an Hour watching me ride after spending loads of time fitting it & then left the saddle with me for 2 weeks trial.

I rung a couple of WOW fitters but she was the only one who impressed me enough as i have had terrible trouble in the past.
Getting a good WOW fitter is important.

 

[mrussell]

I bought mine a year ago and also wish Id not wasted time on so many treeless saddles! I totally love mine and so does my horse... he had started napping and bucking which has totally stopped since we have had the WOW. Hubby also now has one and its resolved some bucking issues he had with his ex-racer.

My fella is traffic cone shaped with a very wide fit but my WOW fitter (Fiona Reddick) fitted him (and me!) brilliantly. She has been amazing and I couldnt recommend her enough. She really knows her stuff and fits top event riders too so her reputation goes before her.

Amazing saddles ! You are so right to be excited !

 

[LEC]

I am surprised about that as they are a major sponsor of hers and I see her name everywhere with them.

 

[Eceni]

[ QUOTE ]
I am surprised about that as they are a major sponsor of hers and I see her name everywhere with them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Who is a major sponsor of who's and why is that surprising?

E (who called Laura Dempsey and she was going to have to charge a fortune to come this far - but may do it anyway...)

 

[flyingfeet]

[ QUOTE ]
I am surprised about that as they are a major sponsor of hers and I see her name everywhere with them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto that - she always competes XC with one - so if they were that bad surely she wouldn't use them??

 

[Tierra]

Can only give you my experiences with the wow but here goes...

Im on my second. My first was for a mare that I have since retired (nothing saddle related might i add!). My second is on my current dressage horse.

When we acquired this horse it became quite clear that a) he was going to be a saddling nightmare and b) other people had the same issues because he was very sore through his back and had severe muscle wastage from an incorrect fitting saddle (not through lack of work might I add).

He has very high withers... he actually measures in at 16.1hh on his withers but if you take a stick to his back, he's a little over 15.3hh. He had absolutly no muscle behind the wither. He's very short coupled (to the extent that David at first thought commented on this) but he's also incredibly broad over the width of the spine.

I initially contacted Lorna Hamilton who is very close to us and she came out with a dressage saddle for me to try. It was immediatly obvious that the saddle was a decent fit for him but I wasn't 100% happy with some of the things she was saying so I contacted First Thought directly to discuss things with them. After a few conversations regarding my horse, David at First Thought decided to fit the saddle himself and I got the pleasure of going to Richard Davisons to meet the WOW team and get the fitting 100%.

I was there easily over 3 hours having the saddle sorted due to a number of abnormalities in regards to the fitting

They took an enormous amount of care over it and so many considerations were made which never crossed my mind at all.

Since then they've always stayed in touch with me regarding the saddle and have always been happy to help with any queries Ive had over it.

So... from your post....

Your horse is too short coupled to match you so to speak. Thats no issue. They can put a larger seat on a shorter panel. Its so often overlooked how much damage a saddle thats too long can cause to a horses' back. David spotted how short my horse was immediatly (something that had previously been missed and i never mentioned precisely because I wanted to make sure they did pick up on this).

Also remember that the flaps on the wow have two different fittings. They can either be rotated forwards or backwards. Backwards can be used for a more correct leg position on a dressage flap for instance but twisting the same flap forwards will add a good inch of room to accomodate a rider's longer leg which is perfect for a slightly taller rider.

Lack of muscle... yea mine had this too, he was in an awful state and not through lack of work but through a poorly fitting saddle. The flair has helped him 100%. The wow has a number of different panel shapes that can be used to support the saddle in the cases of extreme muscle wastage. Flair is very good at allowing muscles to develop. My horse was very narrow in the headplate size he needed initially but he's gone up several widths since then.

The headplates are very easy to change once you get the hang of it and i think are around £20 for a new one direct from the company. They have a much greater range of sizes in this department than nearly all saddles on the market which allows a much better fitting.

In regards to the shoulder... yes again, mine has a large shoulder and a very flashy movement. This was being stifled by his other saddles. One of the technical points of the wow is that it has a tree which allows for lateral movement. That is to say, as the horse takes a stride, the tree will move from side to side to accomodate the shoulder movement, as opposed to placing a solid, static tree onto a moving animal. This made an instant and incredible difference to my horse who had become quite stuffy in his movement infront. His extensions improved and his length of stride through his normal gaits was much better.

In terms of where to buy... I'd go with First Thoughts recommended fitters every time:-

http://www.flair.uk.com/wow/retaileruklist.htm

I dont know of anyone who would leave you a saddle on trial to be honest.... although Lorna did allow me to try the dressage saddle for over an hour and was happy to have brought it back again for my trainer to see. However I wasnt 100% happy with the fitting she did which is why I contacted First Thought directly. That being said, Ive heard plenty of others who have had perfectly good fittings with her but I do consider mine to have been a very difficult fitting (and indeed, David said it was one of the most difficult he'd ever done).

Ive had mine a year now on this horse and I'm still 100% happy with it. We've had a change of head plate but thats it. The chiropractor who originally condemed my horses' back to all hell still sees him every 8 weeks and has never found any problems since and my trainer who was very sceptical of the wow saddles (utter Albion fan) is converted. Im wanting to tweak the flair in it a touch soon but other than that, its needed no alterations from the original fitting that was done.

Theyre no different to any other saddle in that the fitting needs to be good. Some people seem to be under the illusion that the "fit all" slogan means they can just be dumped onto anything which isnt correct but the wow approved fitters should all be more than capable of providing a good fitting.

In regards to the poster who had a poor after service from First Thought in reference to a poor fitting. Thats awful but the complete opposite of what I experienced. I contacted them precisely because I wasnt happy with the fitting one of their saddlers did and they were so apologetic (when they really didnt need to be... i was just asking for advice on another saddler) and went to enormous lengths to put it right (which in the end culimated in them doing the fitting theirselves). I still get regular emails from them asking for updates on how we're doing

I'd certainly give it a go... No, youre right in saying that its a lot of money to pay out but equally, at least in my area, I dont know of any saddlers that would leave most saddles on a week trial purely (i assume) in case they're damaged and devalued. With my first wow, I put a deposit on the saddle then when it arrived I was given two weeks in which to pay the full amount outstanding to ensure I was 100% happy with the saddle (and if not, I was told I could send it back with no problems). However that was through a fitter called Alison Wooley who I believe stopped working due to ill health. I dont know if that was unique to her or something done at First Thought's end so its possibly worth contacting them to be sure on that point.

I'll never switch saddle again

Hopefully we'll be looking for a youngster for me towards the end of the year and I have no doubt as to where I'll go for a saddle.

I'd get a fitter out to at least try one and see what you think. You dont have a lot to loose from at least sitting in one.

 

[Weezy]

[ QUOTE ]
Be very careful about buying a WOW saddle. My ID has been off work for nearly a year because of being fitted with a WOW saddle which had the wrong head plate in it (it was far too narrow) and it has damaged her withers and we don't know if she will ever be right again, she is only 7. The guy who fitted this saddle purported to be a WOW trained fitter and I had long conversations with WOW about him as apparently he had damaged many other horses. They did not want to know and as far as I know he is still fitting them in the New Forest, Dorset area. He was not interested in helping my horse and in fact owed me some money for other goods ordered. I have heard a lot of bad reports about WOW saddles doing damage over a period of time to horses backs.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not being funny, but how could you not realise the headplate was too narrow for your horse when you saddled it

 

[PaddyMonty]

had my wow for almost a year now. Love it and wouldn't consider any other saddle.
My lad has high wither and severe muscle wastage when I got him. Since using the wow his muscle has developed fantasticly.
The thing with the wow is that it does encourage muscle development and therefore MUST be check for fit on a very regular basis until the horse fully develops.
Mine is currently checked every 6 weeks but I'm lucky as fitter is also pupil of mine.

 

[JACQSZOO]

Thanks everyone for that. WOW is all I can say (yea I know - go ahead and ground). I'm going to go for it. I won't have this sort of money to spend on a saddle again. I shall keep you all updated.