WOW Saddles

[lillie07]

I have gone through the website and have to say I am seriously tempted. Can anybody tell me how much I would be looking to spend initially on a dressage saddle and possibly on jumping flaps too?! Is the call out/ fitting expensive? I am about to search through old posts for peoples opinions/ experiences and would love to hear if anybody has one what you think of it. Thanks

 

[MillionDollar]

WOW saddles are fantastic, my friend has just bought one, i was very tempted, but i think im going for a Heather Moffett Fheonix saddle now.

Anyway my friend paid around £1,500, for dressage saddle, saddlecloth and girth plus she chose to have grey piping (think this is free though) on saddle and girth. Think the flaps are an extra £150?! She didn't get any extra though coz she said it would take AGES to change them and she has a Bates GP anyway to use for jumping.
The call out fee is FREE if you buy a saddle, if not i think its £50.

 

[air78]

I got one just befroe xmas, and I love it!
You want to allow about £1500 for a dressage saddle, and another £400 or so for extra flaps, so Reckon on about £2000 all in.You might also need a new (short) girth, and possibly new numnahs which attach to the D's.
Fitting is free if you order a saddle, other wise around £30, but it takes about 4-5 hours!I hope you get one, keep us informed.

 

[lillie07]

Thats really really helpful, thank you! Now I just have to keep my fingers tightly crossed that my saddle sells on Ebay!!

 

[air78]

Just to add to the above post; It takes me less than 10mins to change the flaps over, and you can have as many colours as you like included in the price.

 

[hollyzippo]

I cant recommend them enough! Consequently there are now over 10 on our yard!! Horses love them as they can move the scapula, and carbon fibre tree allows lateral flexion more freely.

(Look on the web site as my ramblings wont do justice!!)

I've had mine 3 years so think they are more expensive now, about 1600 I think? Not sure tho. That is for seat, flaps and head plate of your choice/ fitters recommendations. There is a list of approved fitters if you phone them they are pretty helpful.

What discipline do you do? I have moveable block dressage and jumping flaps, but I only put dressage ones on for a test and school etc in jumping ones. Plenty on our yard just use jumping and change their stirrup positions.

Mine was also good as I got a new neddy last year and just had it refitted! no new saddle- such a relief!

P.M. if you have any more questions and will try and help. There are always some on e bay as they are pretty cheap second hand as everyone wants new. My friend had a fitter recommend the seat type (and she tried mine), panels etc for the horse then she found a new one on ebay for 1200! only had to buy a different head plate!

 

[hollyzippo]

Ditto that for flap changes. I do it in about 8 mins at an ODE!

 

[lillie07]

Thanks for your help. Its good to hear peoples opinions on them. Can I ask where you are and which saddle fitter you used?

My local supplier/ saddler is Louise Howson, has anybody used her? Or would you recommend somebody else? I am prepared to travel as I would like to get it right if I do it.

 

[MillionDollar]

[ QUOTE ]
Ditto that for flap changes. I do it in about 8 mins at an ODE!


[/ QUOTE ]

ummm, interesting, it must be because my friend is so feeble, lol.

BTW the lady my friend had out was so lovely, very very helpful, let her ride in the saddle for ages, and she even told me she had some ex display ones i could have cheaply. I'm very tempted now, lol.

 

[lillie07]

Thanks thats really helpful! I do a bit of everything mainly low level showjumping/ dressage and will do some Intro/ PN this year as well. I will be selling my drssage/ jump saddles to fund a WOW so will probably get dressage saddle and jump flaps. That answers my next question about resale, but it doesn't sound too bad if they are still over the £1000 mark. Thanks for your help, its much appriciated!

 

[PaddyMonty]

Bought mine for eventing. I only have one set of flaps (standard) but have th ehigher back seat. I find all I need to do when changing from dressage to jumping is move the knee blocks.
Horse has never gone so well as he does in the WoW. Love it.

 

[hollyzippo]

Cool, def get both if you can fund it! But if necessary, in the mean time you can manage fine with just jumping. I have done an intro in just jump flaps before as feeling lazy and he was 4th

So didnt make any ods to our dressage mark!

A lady up here is good, my friend used her. Probably the same one Claire said about! We used our YO who is a dealer but wouldnt recommend as fitting a bit dubious. Speak to wow as they will recommend who is best/closest to you

 

[ann-jen]

I've had mine for about 4 years now - there weren't as many options then as there are now but I only have 1 set of flaps which I can adjust from a forward to a dressage position so can use one set for both disciplines. I don't know if they still do this though.
The WOW has made a massive difference to my horse. I had to replace the panel about 1 year ago because she built up so much topline she needed a wider gullet putting in to accomodate her! She has also gone up several width fittings which would have meant changing the saddle several times if i had a conventional saddle. She has changed from a tense anxious horse to a lovely relaxed ride since getting the WOW and is now a nice happy horse.

 

[flyingfeet]

Wow saddles are definitely a good purchase if you are wanting to do something serious with your horse.

My boy went from striking off on the wrong leg, hollowing and erratic jumping to being much mroe balanced and being able to bascule properly.

I'm not interested in dressage, so only have jumping flaps.

The extras vary depending on the saddle fitter, but basic price is £1495 and expected to increase in 2007

 

[I_A_P]

i have bought one in the last few months, i have giant dressage and jumping bloocks.
they are fantastic so far, iv only changed the flaps 3 times and iv got down to doing it in 10 minutes already

mine came to about 1900 with the saddle and extra set of flaps et ctec but well worth it i think

 

[evsj]

If you contact First Thought equine they will give you the info you need about local fitters. They also have ex-demo saddles for sale from time to time and second-hand but you have to ask them for a list.

I had my horse's albion converted to flair just before Christmas at First Thought Equines' premises. They were really halpful, let me watch the whole process and showed me all the different types of WOW saddles - I fell in love! I don't know how but I am making a WOW my next saddle purchase as the idea of saddle for life and for different horses really appeals. Just having my saddle converted to Flair has changed my horses way of going for the better - the results were almost immediate.

 

[dozzie]

Louise Howson is <u>excellent</u> . Youre lucky she is your local agent. I use her despite the fact shes not my most local fitter. She is really thorough and keeps up to date with the product. She will find the best combination for you as there are so many options.

Dont buy off internet auction sites as you dont know what combination of panel, flap and seat you need yet.

Im a bit biassed because the wow has changed my horse completely!!!!
(Dont leave it too long as word has it the price might be going up soon!!)

 

[Tierra]

They're really, really fabulous saddles and most people who use them swear they wont return to a more conventional saddle.

I think most people have answered your questions.. but you would be looking at just short of £2k for a dressage saddle and spare jumping flaps.

I have the standard dressage flaps with a deep seat... its black and has the white stitching round the flaps (looks swish on a grey horse). They have an amazing number of colour combinations and there is no extra charge for that.

I had Maggie and David, the owners of first thought, fit mine since it was a slightly more complex fitting. They were amazing at the time and took a great deal of interest in my horse and have kept in touch ever since. I cant recommend or rate them highly enough.

Any questions, feel free to PM me