WOW Saddles - Peoples Expieriances?

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sp33dy

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Hello
I have just got a backed 4 yr old without a saddle, I am quite tempted to make the huge investment of a WoW saddle - I want to do riding club and some intro eventing.

What are people experiences of them?

Thanks
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Well I've got 2 and they are driving me nuts at the moment

£1,500 and you get saddles that squeak - badly!

They are difficult to fit properly and you are left at the mercy of your saddle fitter, and often once they have your money they are not terribly interested!

I still get dry patches on my horses back, which wow are saying are just where 'it fits so well'!

Sorry I'm peed off with them right now!
 
Fantastic results for my mare who has back probs. They are not as comfy as some saddles and take a bit of getting used to. Also they are very complex in that there are so many options so you need to have a good WOW fitter out.

They now make a lighter version as the old ones are heavy.

The only negative is the cost. It is expensive to buy new and the interchangeable flaps are expensive.

Ask to try for a week before ordering as they take a bit of getting used to. Also my horse needed the Zig Zag girth as a normal girth cut into her with the wow. Never had that problem with other saddles. By trying the saddle I found this out and ordered the girth at the same time as the saddle.

I dont think I would have bought the wow if my horse hadnt had problems but Im glad I did and would recommend them.

But I still think they look strange
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Love them. Not had one myself yet, but hope to in the next few months. But I've known people who have them and the difference in their horses is amazing! Theres also a lot of people on here who love them too. If you go to Stable Yard and do a search on WOW saddles you'll come up with a lot of posts
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Love them
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And neither of mine have ever squeaked!
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Had a fabulous service from First Thought. My newest one is on my very difficult to fit warmblood and it had the added advantage of solving my back problems
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My horses paces were encouraged rather hidered due to the lateral tree movement and because of their adjustability, i can tweak the saddle as much as i deem necessary.

Fabulous saddles imo
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I have had friends who have have had wow saddles and some loved them and some didnt so much. i have heard they do take alot of getting used to and can be quite strange to ride in. They also look a bit unusual! lol
 
We had the WOW saddler out, and I tried several for a client on her horse..........I was really excited as I love the concept. I'd sat on one at a WOW trade stand, and loved it.
Unfortunately I was bitterly disappointed, in all the dressage seats I was miles from the horse, it was like riding on a spacehopper. The XC seat was much closer, and I could have probably got used to that one, but it's not designed for dressage, so of no use for what we wanted.
A real shame.
 
I don't look like the look of them TBH and wouldn't buy one as they are very expensive and could get a much nicer saddler for less. I have never ridden in one but to me you look like you sit on top of the horse, not become part of the horse

The creator of WOW saddles is looking into changing the girth system on some peoples saddles as the girth straps are moving, he is looking into the military girth system for some horses.
 
i love mine, i have 2 sets of flaps, and use them for both jimping andd ressage.
i was totally fed up with never being able to find a saddle to fit properly, and then when i decided i wanted two saddles for different discipalines the thought of never endingly changing them was too much!!

the do fit nicely, and my mare has muscled up around her shoulder and wither where previously they were so restructive.

i too didnt like the look of them, but in fact the jumping or the dressage are lovely, im just ot keen on the gp ones tbh.
there is so much versatility, from seats, to panels, flaps, girthing systems, and the air as well.
i have so far had no problems with mine, the only one tiny thing is when i ride in my dressage flaps they sometimes sqeak a little!!
but that may be because they are used less, so havent worn as much!
the leather is of gorgeous quality as well, and comes in all sorts of finsihes and colours.
me, my friend and my instrcuor all bought ours at the same time, all in all 4 saddles, and we are pleased with them:)
 
Also it does depend on your fitter, try to go by recommendation, the lady i have has so far been very good:)
 
Well I've just bought one for my 5 year old (not arrived yet though). I mainly bought one because of good reviews on here, the fact that she's 5 and going to change shape a lot and that when a different saddler came out twice he couldn't find anything to fit her. I can't say I noticed the squeak when trying the different saddles/flaps and we did try quite a lot (from 5pm til 8:40).
 
My dressage saddle is a Wow Club (i.e. does not have interchangeable flaps and seat, and has conventional flocking) and it feels and looks like a conventional saddle. My horse is an awkward shape and the alternative was a made-to-measure saddle, so this was a cheaper option and gives me more flexibility should he change shape in the future. My saddler chose the flaps, knee rolls and seat to suit my style of riding, and they could be changed, but would require stitching rather than an Allen key.

My saddler is very experienced (he trains and examines other saddlers), but this was only the 2nd Wow that he had fitted. He was so pleased with how well it fit and the quality of manufacture (some of the early Wows were poor £1200 for a £300-quality saddle), that he ordered 5 more for stock from Wow.

I know of 2 people who have not been able to get on with the fully adjustable Wow (1's horse hated it, the other hated how the seat felt), but they have had no problem with the more conventional Wow Club.
 
I've had mind just over a week and I love it. It is taking a bit of getting used too. No squeaks at all though. Georgie is notorisly <sp> lazy but in the wow he is much more forward going than he was and I can start to feel him rounding now.
 
I've had mine a couple of years (maybe 3?) & I love it. I find it easy to ride in, I get more "feel" through it & I've got used to the slightly odd look of it. Jim loves it & several back people & vets have commented on how well musclled he is over his back & withers. Mine has never squeaked! I do agree that you need a good fitter, but that's the same for any saddle.

My only complaint is that I'm backing LU soon & haven't yet managed to convince my long-suffering OH that I need another one!!
 
I find it amazing that you have such an opinion on some thing you actually know little , other than the look, about.
Anyway, i have 3 for all different types of horses and they are fantastic. Granted you must have a WOW fitter and this is vital as they have a number of important features which can determine the fit , like the gusseting and the size of panel.
I have been really impressed when my new horse came to me it really had 'issues' with the saddle and kept shunting the conventional saddle back; he has an enormous shoulder, with the WOW it stays in place and the saddle does not move backwards but does give the shoulder total freedom.
They are something you have to try and i really think with a young horse it really would be a good way to go as they will allow development and you will be able to change and make adjustments with that development without having to buy a new saddle, so therefore economically good news in the long run.
I have always had exellent service and tey have always been happy to help.
Pm me if you need the number of an exellent fitter, she rides herself and has a lot of clients she is also a qualified 'back person' and has exellent feel for the needs of the horse and the rider.
 
Like Partoow I can thoroughly recommend the fitter for the s/eastern region. She is also a human physio and can asymmetrically flair the saddle to counterach a habit of the rider eg collapsed hip etc.
 
I think the fitter you use is critical. Everybody I know who has actually been to the place in Bridge near Canterbury is very happy with their saddles. But I have heard some bad feedback about saddles fitted by certain fitters. So try to get some personal recommendation if you go ahead. And, if you are in doubt about anything, don't be afraid to say so.
But I think they are lovely, and I have seen several horses and rider who have really benefitted from them.
I start my youngsters treeless, because of how much they will change shape, and because I am poor. But my next plan is to take my main horse down to Bridge for our first WOW purchase.
 
Well I still love mine, and no squeaking - I also do not get why people say they look odd - this is mine with the jumping flaps on - looks conventional to me!!!

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Only thing I would say is that I do have issues with how well it fits, and am considering getting someone else to look at it for me - just a little niggly feeling I have - my mare has gotten a little arsey when I tack up and I do not like that, but it could be me as I am stiff ATM and poss I am giving her a bad ride.
 
I've had a bit of a rollercoaster ride with mine. When I got mine they were relatively new on the market and certainly not as many options as you get with them now. I would still say it was the best decision I could ever of made for my horse - its made a massive difference to her way of going - from tense anxious horse to relaxed and happy one. She used to buck and nap when jumping and her dresage was appalling. She now is consistantly placed in novice dressage and is jumping like a dream - no rushing and double clears again and I think we will be affiliating BSJA again next year which I would never of thought achievable. A lot of this is down to hard work and schooling but a large amount of it is due to the saddle too. She's changed shape dramatically and her topline increased massively - She went from being a narrow fitting to an extra wide in the first 9 mths I had the saddle and eventually needed a new panel to accommodate her increased physique! If I'd had a conventional saddle I would of had to of replaced it at least 3 times to account for her change in shape.
But I've had lots of niggly problems with it - I had a headplate snap in 2 being the most dramatic and a screw breaking in the pommel too. The headplate was obviously replaced and the design has been modified to stop it from happening any more but it was a bit of a shock! I have to say - when the screw broke, the saddle was shipped down to the manufacturers, mended and shipped back to me in the space of 3 days so it was handled professionally and with minimum hassle for me.
The main thing I found with mine - as a lot of people have said is finding a good fitter. I had mine fiddled with quite a bit and although it was a good fit there was something just not right with it. I spoke to Dave at FTE and he knew what the problem was immediately and after following his advice to adjust one of the girth attachments, my saddle has fitted like a glove and never needed any adjustment for nearly a year other than a change of headplate - previous to this it was needing fiddling with every few months. I think because these saddles are still a relatively new product and there are so many options on them that there can be some inexperiance even among their qualified fitters. My fitter has always been excellent and given a good service but with that one little niggle I had to speak to the manufacturers to sort that out and since then I've had no problems at all.
Oh and mine doesn't squeak either.
 
Weezys post made me think of another downside or upside!! The wow saddles can encourage horses shapes to change rapidly!!!

I had my headplate changed 3 times in the first year!
(Due to my horses probs I get the fitter out every 3 or 4 months now- you probably wont need to do this but the first year you will almost certainly need regular checks which gets expensive!).

But on the other hand they can encourage the horse to muscle up well so in a sense the downside is still positive
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I had one, rode in it about 10 time before selling it for half the price.

I could get my leg on, I felt perched, and my horse found it difficult to listen to my seat aids.

I got the saddler out (not from wow) who said he thought the saddles were horrible, and to get rid of it. Which I did.
 
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My traditional saddler who does my other saddles hates them,

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Why?

Lots of traditionalists dont like lots of things!!!

I dont like synthetic saddles. Stupid as they are much easier to clean but just cant go there!

I didnt like the wow at all to look at. Im used to it now. And I bought an ultima over the wow first time round! Much more comfortable for me but horse hated it. Fortunately she told me within 3 days so I got a full refund! Ive never regretted buying the wow. I have had a problem with mine which has been addressed twice but still not right. It doesnt actually affect my horse. The wow fitter has never seen this problem before. I dont think mine squeaks but will listen today!!!
 
I tried a dressage saddle and hated it, I got off after 10 minutes. I didnt feel as though I was sitting on the horse, I was too far up and the seat was so uncomfy. My instructor doesnt like them either but a friend loved it whn she tried it.
 
That is probably because the saddles are individually fitted to the horse and rider. So it might not feel right to you.
 
I love mine! It's done my boy the world of good, and I find it comfy to ride in..... much more so than my old Passier, Ideal, or jeffries.
The point as far as I'm concerned, is it fits my horse! It doesn't budge, and all this new muscle is the the proof of the pudding. I may prefer the look/ image of a Devacoux or Butet etc, but flair suits my boy, and with a 'normal' saddle I'd have had to keep changing it repeatedly.
I used to think they looked a bit odd, but now don't- I think I'd only ever seen them with flat seats (I have a deep seat).
<Mine squeaked a bit when I first got it, but doesn't now BTW my passier squeaked too.
 
Really horrible IMO, heavy to lift and the seat not deep enough so feel perched, squeaking all the time, not my cup of tea at all so changed over to a Passier.
 
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