WOW saddles??

[lilyymor]

I’m considering investing in a wow saddle for my compact 142cm pony. I’d be looking for a flat or xc seat and a jumping fixed block flap or some form of knee+thigh block combination flap.
Awkward thing is, pony can only take a 16” due to being so compact and short backed - I need a 17” to be comfortable and also effective when riding around big tracks!!

I’m probably going to be buying second hand, what do I need to look for. Would it be easier to buy a complete saddle and buy a few parts if I needed to change the seat size, panel size etc. Or.. would I be better off buying all of the parts separately - but then again, I wouldn’t have a clue where to start!!

 

[terrierliz]

Have you ridden in one, I find they are marmite saddles, I have never felt more detached from a horse but a friend loves them

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I find people rant and rave about them when they first get them then a little way down the line they ate not so keen.

 

[vmac66]

I rode in one on a lesson. Hated it. Felt so far away from the horse.

 

[Red-1]

I paid approx. £70 on 3 occasions to have one properly fitted. The horse never seemed quite comfortable (2 horses). Can't say I liked them either.

That is over £200 just in fittings, for the horse to say no.

One of the fittings was well over 4 hours.

It was two different horses.

It was 2 different, recommended, fitters.

One of them reared for the one and only time in their life.

 

[jumbyjack]

I had one of the first ones on the market and in spite of a brilliant fitter it was never quite right and horse constantly had back problems. Have to admit I loved it but it had to go.

 

[milliepops]

I love them ?
I find that for hacking and jumping they put me in a balance I don't feel in anything else. The adjustability is brilliant and for you OP it will allow shorter panels and a longer seat.

I restarted my ex racer in the one I originally bought for a cob x. I've just spent the last few months collecting parts for my 4yo.

Start with a good fitter. Ideally one that is happy to help you assemble a second hand saddle then keep your eye on FB and ebay.you might find what you need as a complete set up but more likely to need to look for the 16" panels separately as they are a bit less common.

 

[ycbm]

I've been using nothing but for 15 years, it think, and fitting them myself for most of those. I've never had a horse go badly in one or seen one in person. I've personally known probably 25 horses ridden in them. One of the key reasons I used them is how freely horses move in them, because of the movement in the front arch.

But I have bought a lot of second hand ones pumped up far too high, I find the recommended fitting of the gullet plate at least one size too small for most horses comfort, I don't like (or understand the reason for) panels without tabs on them to clear the side of the wither, and I always pad with a sheepskin to prevent the horse from feeling the airbag overlap which disturbs some horses and can even raise a lump on the sensitive ones.

If you do decide to go for it you need a size 0 panel with a size 1 seat. That's a normal thing to do with WOWs. The flaps fit any seat.
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[ycbm]

You will need someone who understands WOW saddles to see the horse before you will know what panel and curvature of seat you need, and a fitter to fit it for you.
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[ThreeWBs]

I had a dressage Wow for my Belgian WB. I loved it, as did he. When he retired, I had it fitted to my young WB, and whilst it wasn't bad, we both didn't find it right and ended up selling it on.

Very much a love/hate kind of saddle and I would definitely recommend trying before you buy!

 

[Ratface]

I bought one for my short-coupled 14.2hh Arabian horse. I loved it, and he went very well in it. It also kept me in the plate during his more "exuberant" moves. When he had to be pts at 24, I gave it to a friend who still uses it. I think using a WoW fitter is essential. I was never confident enough to do it myself.

 

[HelenBack]

I've got one for my compact Connie who also needs a shorter saddle than I do and I love it. I went through lots of standard saddles before we finished up with this one and have been using this for about five years ow without any issues. Physio agrees that my horse's back is the best it has been of all the saddles we've used.

I agree with everybody saying you need a good fitter and to try some different options before you go out and buy anything as you will find different seat and flap options might suit you better and the fitter will be able to advice on the best panels for your horse. Also some people and horses do hate them. If you have a good fitter they'll be able to help you track down second hand parts and then come and fit them to you and your horse. If you share your area someone on here might be able to recommend somebody to you.

 

[Wizpop]

I’ve used WOW saddles for a few horses and all went well in them. But, what I would say is that you need a good WOW fitter as in my experience, they aren’t always as good as they should be ( as is the case with other saddle fitters) so worth asking around. Your fitter would come out and advise you what you need parts wise and size wise and mine has always been happy to come and fit second hand parts so worth asking about that.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I had one and sensitive horse loved it (although he did have quite the reaction to it first time) and it also mostly kept me seated during some impressive 5yo spins. Mine was a GP and hacked a lot and schooled in it. Never have sat in a saddle I liked more tbh. Stunningly heavy -mine was an old resin seat.

 

[HashRouge]

I trialled one for my Arab years ago and I absolutely loved it. It was the only saddle I'd ridden in that seemed to sit me in a very stable position on her (she has a forward girth groove and we had a lot of trouble with saddles moving forwards). She went beautifully in it when I used it in a lesson and it was amazing for me to feel like I was sitting "still" and not fighting a saddle that was moving forwards and pulling me out of position. I then ordered one, but it wasn't quite the same and we could never seem to get it quite right on her. It was utterly bizarre, as I was using the same fitter who had set up the trial saddle for me. I ended up selling it in the end, which was really frustrating. I'd like to try on again in the future, as I feel like when the set-up is right they are fabulous saddles.

 

[SEL]

I liked mine but as others have said you need a good fitter. I was a bit concerned that mine had my tank of a mare in a 3 U headplate because she's very wide - so I got hold of one of their fit kit things and she's actually a 6U.

 

[HelenBack]

I trialled one for my Arab years ago and I absolutely loved it. It was the only saddle I'd ridden in that seemed to sit me in a very stable position on her (she has a forward girth groove and we had a lot of trouble with saddles moving forwards). She went beautifully in it when I used it in a lesson and it was amazing for me to feel like I was sitting "still" and not fighting a saddle that was moving forwards and pulling me out of position. I then ordered one, but it wasn't quite the same and we could never seem to get it quite right on her. It was utterly bizarre, as I was using the same fitter who had set up the trial saddle for me. I ended up selling it in the end, which was really frustrating. I'd like to try on again in the future, as I feel like when the set-up is right they are fabulous saddles.

Actually that is a good point as I trialled several different options before I bought mine and noticed that there could be subtle differences between panels that were all meant to be the same. In the end I got mine as an ex-demo as me and the horse were happy in it so keeping all of those parts meant we didn't have the risk of ordering the same only for it to be slightly different.

 

[lilyymor]

Big thank you to everyone that has replied, i’m going to have a fitter out and trial a saddle to get a feel for it/see how my pony reacts to it.

If anyone has tried both the flat seat and xc seat - how big was the difference between the two? I’ve seen the xc seat on their website and it looks incredibly flat, so i’m not sure how well it would be for the showjumping and day-to-day hacking, fitness work etc - any advice on which seat would be better and overall more supportive is much appreciated. Keep in mind I will be stepping said pony upto novice this season so I could do with all the support I need when she decides to take a stride (or two?‍) out!

 

[ycbm]

The flat seat is not flat. The xc seat is flat. I think you would want the flat seat if you need a GP/jumping type rather than pure jumping. I hack in a flat seat, I will only use my xc seat for jumping, and even then it's more extreme than most people would want.
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[ycbm]

Be very careful if you decide to go for a shallow seat instead. For some reason, every shallow seat I have ever tried has been filled too deep at the twist and I find them really, really uncomfortable.
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[milliepops]

I found a flat seat to be great for all jumping and hacking. plus not impossible to school in.

 

[twobearsarthur]

Definitely try one out. I had one. Couldn’t get along with it. Like others have said felt too detached from the horse. Sold it to a friend and she lasted 4 weeks before she sold it on.

 

[HelenBack]

Be very careful if you decide to go for a shallow seat instead. For some reason, every shallow seat I have ever tried has been filled too deep at the twist and I find them really, really uncomfortable.
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Whereas I've got a shallow seat and really like it! I have ridden in a flat seat and liked that too but found the XC seat to have scarily little behind my bum so don't think I'd like to do too much in one of those!

 

[sbloom]

But I have bought a lot of second hand ones pumped up far too high, I find the recommended fitting of the gullet plate at least one size too small for most horses comfort, I don't like (or understand the reason for) panels without tabs on them to clear the side of the wither, and I always pad with a sheepskin to prevent the horse from feeling the airbag overlap which disturbs some horses and can even raise a lump on the sensitive ones.

For a less stable rider that MAY be a recipe for instability (I don't fit them, just my instinct), however one of the very high tech impact protection pads would be a possibility. I love sheepskin under regular English saddles.

I liked mine but as others have said you need a good fitter. I was a bit concerned that mine had my tank of a mare in a 3 U headplate because she's very wide - so I got hold of one of their fit kit things and she's actually a 6U.

From my experience of the gauges from other brands, and how I fit compared to the template I take (always AFTER the fitting), any simple template focused approach to fitting can be very inaccurate.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I ride a horse a bit for
Someone else, she had an old Bates (I think)which was ok but not great, then they produced her proper saddle and it was a wow. I tried it and she went beautifully and I loved it. So they had a fitter out to adjust it, the owner rode for the fitting and now the mare dislikes it and I can’t for the life of me ride in it. It’s awful.

 

[irishdraft]

I have got a dmk wow it's a jumping saddle . My horse suffered from low grade lumbar pain as did I but since changing to this saddle the back pain has gone for both of us . He is a tricky fit but this saddle seems to be working . I managed to pick it up secondhand with the help of my fitter for a reasonable price. There's a second hand group on Facebook so once you know what's required you can hopefully buy the various bits .