Hello! I was wondering if anyone here has had any experience with either CWD or Devoucoux’s saddle rental program. Just wondering what your overall experience was, what the upfront costs were, and how much the monthly payment changed with different options.
Also: I am not looking for anyone’s personal opinion on either brand/reps/etc. or experiences with custom saddles from them. Just the rental program, thanks!
I don’t know. I’m fascinated that you can rent, though. Going to research what other companies offer this… 
I didn’t even know a rental program existed, would be curious to know more about the pricing. It would certainly be nice if you could swap out a rental for another rental any time the horse changed shape and required something different, or even in the case of getting a new horse.
That’s exactly why I’m looking into it. I have two green baby horses that seem like they need a new saddle every other month. I’m equally difficult to fit.
The CWD rep that I spoke to quoted me $180/mo and about $1200 upfront for a full buffalo 2gs. Which, sounds like a good deal to me.
Seems to make sense in your situation, its an interesting concept and has the potential to be very successful I am thinking.
Do you get the seed money back if none of their rentals work for you? Given their track record, I’d be concerned that could happen. You pay $1200 and never get a rental that works and end up losing $1200 after a lot of frustration. Why is there an up front fee for a rental? Aren’t they just letting you rent from existing inventory? That seems weird to me…
I’d maybe do it if I had to fit a kid that was gonna grow. The CWD rising star seems like a good idea. For the amateur rider like myself, I’d rather buy a 2-3 year old one for $3000, then throw away the money.
I was assuming, perhaps wrongly, that the OP would first find a correctly fitting rental and then pay the up front fee.
Then why not just buy used? And what is the fee for if the saddle already exists?
And what happens if your horse changes and you go to trade it in and they can’t get one to fit?
I feel like there are a lot of unanswered questions here…
Also note that if you do this for about two years you’ll have paid as much as just buying a brand new CWD and have nothing to show for it. And after 6 months you’ll have spent what a used CWD goes for and again have nothing to show for it. Much like leasing a car this might not really make the most sense.
Its for a brand new, fully custom. It comes with readjustments and even trade in for another if you need to. There’s a buy out option as well. I would consider it more like long term financing, rather than leasing like they call it. I’d recommend checking out the page on the websire for a full explanation!
I’d rather do this than buy used. I’ve had a lot problems fitting my mare and have bought 3 different used saddles in the last year trying to find the right fit.
Their track record with getting saddle to fit makes me extremely leery of this program. They can’t get it right when they have $6000 bucks in their hand. What makes you think they’ll get it right for a lot less?
Did you see that there’s a 36 month minimum on all the plans? That guarantees you will pay MORE than retail cost over time for a saddle you don’t own.
This gets the PT Barnum award.
I don’t see the actual contract in the website. I’d be real curious to see that.
Yes, that’s how financing works. Its got interest, and you’ll pay more overtime. I’ve looked into the program and personally think its right for me.
I’ve also had good experiences with saddle fit with my rep (I know thats not the same for everyone)
I did make this post looking for reviews or experiences from people who used the program.
FWIW, the people that I knew that did it were juniors and they did it because they were riding several horses, growing from tweens to teens and needed to swap out sizes as they grew, and cared more about their fit and less about custom fit for whatever horse they were riding since they were riding multiples and not always ones that belonged to them.
There are scant details on the CWD website and they use the term “rent” and “lease” not “finance.” So I’m taking them at their word that this is a rental program.
Financing means you own the item in the end. Here you’re just renting it, you never own it. Big difference. This isn’t a mortgage on a house, it’s paying rent.
Paying $6000+ in rent to walk away with nothing to show for it in 3 years. Meanwhile the same item used can be found easily for $2000ish. With a resale value 3 years from now of about $2000ish.
If you want to do it go ahead, but it’s a pretty shitty deal for the consumer. And the fact that they have you thinking it’s “financing” shows you don’t really understand how this works. Have you even seen the contract? What does it say? Bet it’s no more consumer friendly than their sales contract which he they repeatedly use to screw over consumers on sales.
If you want a brand new CWD you’d be better off getting an actual loan from a bank and buying one. At least you’d have something to show for having spent the money.
I discussed w the Devocoux rep near me. I hoped it’d mean I could upgrade or swap out as my horse grew but he said not quite - that’s only available at the $167/mo level (their highest) which is $6,012 total, plus a deposit.
https://north-america.devoucoux.com/en/content/96-devoucoux-by-you?switch_id_country=21
A brand new Devocoux is $6-8k so at the end of your lease you’ve got nothing to show for paying full price.
But then again these calf wrapped saddles often look pretty bad after a few years, so would you really want to own one as a long term investment in your riding? I recently saw a used 2016 CWD with three one inch diameter holes worn in the flaps from use, and a missing plastic stirrup leather holder. That doesn’t inspire any confidence - I would call this style of saddle “fast fashion”
(Just bought a used Voltaire due to lack of other options to fit me, so the chagrin is real…)
I read the DVX link that Xanthoria provided. Is my understanding correct here based on your contact with the rep?
Costs:
Up-front deposit
$167/mo for a 3-year period, total of $6012
If horse changes shape and new panels are needed, this is included at no additional fee (?) but I assume you need to ship it back to Wellington to have the new panels put on as opposed to someone coming to redo your panels in the tack room while you wait.*
What happens if the horse changes tree widths?
Saddle returned to DVX at end of period
Is there a discounted purchase option at the end of the period?
*DVX did this for me with my first saddle from them when it arrived not quite right. Not sure this is still a service offered. If it is, this is an advantage of the rental program.
All in: $6012 + deposit
Compare to purchasing new:
$5580 + tax for new grain Biarritz S, call it about $6200 up front
Horse changes panels, approx. $550 per adjustment + shipping
Horse changes tree, needs new saddle at new cost, sell existing saddle to fund + wait for new saddle or trade in against cost of new saddle
At end of 3 years, saddle probably depreciates to approx. $2800 resale value depending on wear, less if the panels or flaps are particular
At end of 3 years, you still have a saddle to sell
So, the break even here, where with either option you would have paid about the same, is 5 panel changes in 3 years on the bought-new Socoa (approx. $2800 resale value / $550 per panel adjustment.) And I grant you that that takes your saddle out of service for almost 1/3 of the ownership period, if you figure a 2-month wait period to have them adjusted (which was the time period last time I asked.) But in option 2 after 3 years you still own that saddle.
Am I working the math out on this right?
First of all, CWD is not doing this out of the goodness of their heart, they want to make money! So yes, it will cost more over the long run. But who wants to own a saddle that they have to keep selling and buying a new one such as in the OP’s situation? I am not saying it makes sense for everyone, but for people with young horses who are changing frequently it may well be a very practical solution. Its a PITA to have to keep selling one saddle and replace it with another. I would rather swap it out for another rental. Of course, the success of the program will depend to a great extent on it having a large inventory of saddles for rent too. Customers need to be able to find a suitable replacement.
I think you are, but IIRC the rep said there was a limit to the number of changes allowed and that, and the time to ship back and forth to FL made it ridiculous for me.
He said he would come out and shim it anytime, but as we all know these reps usually work midweek only so that’s a cost to my PTO balance for a questionable fit vs a real solution.
Long/short he steered me towards a brand new Chiberta Lab at about $8200… and it made my back hurt on the 5 min trial…
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