Does anyone like CWD anymore?

That’s not at all what I was thinking- I was picturing something like a horse who is short-coupled and a rider with quite a long leg who would need either a larger seat or a more forward flap than the horse’s body could accommodate. :slight_smile: That sort of conformational pairing can require some creative thinking to saddle!

As far as pelvic shape and tilt go, I have been interested to see new saddlers paying more attention to this because it certainly impacts the way that you can use your seat. However, the fact that there are only one or two saddle companies out there who are advertising that they’re paying attention to this suggests to me that what everyone else is doing- width of twist, width of seat, length of working center, placement of stirrup bars- is already addressing the matter. My own experience is that the fall of my leg against the horse, and my ability to use my hips and seat, were better improved by 6 months of yoga, hip mobility work, core muscle development, and rolling my tight left psoas on a tennis ball than they would have been by buying a saddle that adjusted my rotation for me. This is not to say that ErgoX2 is making a bad saddle or is marketing some nonsense, just that if you do have an issue with pelvic tilt that makes it challenging for you to use your seat effectively, a saddle that allows you to get into the correct position plus doing your musculoskeletal homework so that you can stay in that position will have good odds of solving your problem for you. Mileage is variable on that one. :slight_smile:

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Thank you very much for this!

You are right in that they might be correct in terms of their field but don’t necessarily know everything outside of that. Urgg! Just so frustrating and wish my horse could tell me what he thinks is best. :joy:

Thanks again!

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Many independent fitters aren’t truly independent. If you felt pressure to buy the Swedish “fix your build issue” I’d let it go and move on. I’d wager the outrageous cost of your new CWD that fitter had skin the game. You are a healthy weight and certainly not stressing a 16.2h Hanoverian. That’s just as ridiculous statement.
I am another CWD hater (bc I hate their '“custom” lies, ridiculous pressure sales AND after my joke of “fitting” the reps supervisor was an arrogant jerk who, no joke, LIT A CIGARETTE IN THE BARN). But, there are plenty of folks that love theirs. Fingers crossed you join that camp and despite being a hater if you liked your trainers you’ll be fine. Good luck!

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Take a deep breath. Saddle fit is super personal, for both horse and human.

I happen to have a CWD that both my horse and I LOVE. It keeps me secure over bigger fences and puts me easily in the correct position. And my finicky horse with a touch of kissing spine and tons of swing in his stride goes amazing in it. It is the only saddle in the barn that can be used on him.

That said, when it arrives don’t be surprised if you nearly have a heart attack. When I got mine and we put it on my horses’ back it looked nothing like the saddle (my trainers) that fit him and that this was supposed to match. We sent the rep pictures. She promised it needed to be broken in and the points would settle, and it would fit or she’d make it right, etc. We used it on every horse we could find in the barn to help break it in (I think it was 40 hours?) and sure enough when we put it back on him it fit like a glove.

That rep, and the current Virginia rep have been very easy and helpful to work with. So I think that having a good/great rep has a lot to do with your experience with CWD. But if you liked the saddle and so did your horse, I’d stop reading the internet and enjoy your saddle when it arrives.

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tl;dr: I’m in agreement with @staceymc

OP PMed me about my saddles, but I’ll post on here so if anyone else is looking at threads in the future, they can see it too :joy:

I have 2 CWD SE01s that I’ve had since … 2007 for one, and I think 2011 for the other? Maybe 2012 since that was the year I gave up my amateur status, so that would make the most sense (my mare had absolutely massive shoulders and needed some cutouts that my first saddle didn’t have, but because I was riding so many other horses, I kept the first too rather than trading it in).

(They didn’t cost as much back then)

Both saddles have held up really well and are more comfortable for me than any other saddle I’ve ridden in - and the horses & ponies I’ve used them on liked them too. Build-wise, I’m the size of your average 10-12 year old and I have legs that are a bit long proportionally, but a relatively normal ratio thigh/calf. I also have no butt to speak of; both my saddles are 16". I don’t know about pelvic angle or whatever, but for comparison, I abhor sitting in Devoucouxs and always feel like they put me in a chair seat - I think the saddle that fit me best and was most comfortable for me, over the years, was a Pessoa Pony saddle :joy: I’ve never sat in an Antares so can’t compare to that, I think I had a Delgrange for a while before I got my first CWD and that was ~okay~, but nothing has fit me as well as the 2 I have now.

Other than a minor stitching repair on the older one along the flap, I’ve never needed to do any repair/reflocking/etc. on them, and I’ve been super happy with them. I will say that the different models, in my experience, fit pretty differently. When we were working on the second one I have, we tried a different model (I want to say the SE03, if that was a thing? It was NOT the SE02) and I was so unhappy with how I felt in it that we sent it back and changed the order to the SE01; I had a super hard time staying in the tack with my mare’s jump in that other model, even though it looked and felt fine flatting around. The rep for my area at the time was phenomenal and made the situation right very quickly - I haven’t lived back there for a while and am not really riding at all at the moment (my mom is using one of the saddles every day, though, so they’re still getting a lot of use!), so I’m not sure if she’s still with the company or not.

I’ll echo everyone else that saddles are super personal and what works for one person may work terribly for another, like my experience with sitting in Devoucouxs, I’m just not built the right way for them.

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Well the good news is that there is one out there already that you and your horse like. As long as it’s not an older model (because they redesigned the panels a few years ago or so) you should be able to get something similar now. And so much depends on how good your rep is.

Personally, having owned a 2015 that popped a rivet almost immediately and also having to deal with some rep changes that were not good as my horse was growing, I still came out fine and still have the saddle. Just some customer service headaches. Like telling a new rep, no, horse had a huge growth spurt and the panels need to be changed. Talked down to me and was quite rude until I actually got him out to see the thing, and he was like, oh yeah that’s bad, we can fix it (still under fit warranty which I don’t think is so generous anymore). My horse at the time really liked that tree. But only one model fits me reasonably well. I also think the prices now are completely absurd and the quality of materials is not as good. I would not buy new unless absolutely necessary just because the price makes me want to puke. But I don’t hate them if you have a rep that is good to work with and has a clue.

Guessing the fitter was Erica? and shes friends with the ergo ppl. Which my friend ordered and came in terribly fitting. Saddle fitting sucks

Girl, thank you!

I know, I know… I am definitely having mild panic attacks throughout the day about this. :sweat_smile:

When yours didn’t fit what was it doing? Briding? Seeming too narrow or just sitting weirdly?

You’re right. And really there is nothing I can do until it arrives so worrying about it for the next 2-3 months isn’t going to do much but just send me into a sprial.

Thanks again! :slight_smile:

Saddles are such an individual thing. I hate when I hear people saying that xyz saddle fits every horse or every rider, that’s BS.
Between my mom and I we have three horses. We are very similar in build (height, weight and long femurs) so we can share saddles comfortably.
The horses on the other hand? They’re very different. There aren’t enough shims in the world for them to share saddles.
One goes in an older second hand childeric. One has a semi-custom Bruno Delgrange, this one was also fitted to me and I love it.
And the mare has a used CWD. It doesn’t fit me perfectly, but it fits her well. I’m sure there’s a CWD out there that would fit me better but I didn’t want to pay for semi-custom. I bought it used off Facebook, so haven’t dealt with one of their reps.

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Haha!! Thank you for doing this… can you tell I am worried? LOL!!

No comment on the CWD question but you’re 5’6” and 147 pounds? You’re FINE. That is normal and healthy. You may feel you need to strengthen or tone somewhere but you are not overweight.

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I HATE CWD!!

But I will clarify that sentiment to say that I have a CWD that I could not have loved more for 4 or 5 years. Fit all of my horses beautifully and fit me great too. Then one day it just started tipping. Rep swears it’s not the tree (I already had the tree replaced once). Then it started sliding back…like WAY back when I was jumping. Then started doing the same just hacking.

So why do I hate CWD? Not because of any of that (though I would have liked if it had held up longer….like all of my 20-30yo Counties). But because they’ve basically set up the company as a pyramid scheme. If you’re a trainer? Free/cheap saddles! If you’re an amateur? A huge FU. Pay us $9k for a saddle that may not last more than 5 years.

I would buy a newer version of mine in a heartbeat if it were in the “regular” saddle price range. Instead I am riding in Meyer saddles now.

So yes, I do hate CWD. But I do not think you will regret getting your saddle, so relax and enjoy the excitement of getting a made-for-you piece of tack!

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Thank you! :slight_smile: Yes, I definitely do feel I could stand to tone up. I am looking forward to winter being over here to I can start running again. I mean I could now but it is so hard to get motivated in the cold and snow!

I honestly can’t remember why it didn’t look like it would ever fit, it’s just been too long ago. I think it was just sort of wonky all over and since we’d ordered it to match the specs of my trainers saddle we were like WTF?!? But it did, in fact, settle and now you’ll pry it out of my cold dead hands. :slight_smile:

Your weight is fine and your saddle fitter seems more focused on selling her brand/stock than actually helping you. Whatever your pelvis configuration, barring a true physical disability, I promise you can find a saddle that fits you and your horse. Possibly with some shimming and adjustment… but I have never heard of such a pelvis horse mismatch that the horse had to go. That’s nuts?

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Thank you :slight_smile:

Yes, it was definitely not something I had heard before. She didn’t say to sell him but I was like if we’re so mismatched what am I meant to do? Just get rid of him? And there was no helpful solution after her statement to me. Weirdly, she had also said we were a great match the day of the fitting but then when we spoke on the phone a few days later to discuss her opinions, that’s when she bought up my build. It’s making me feel like I am the one who is nuts. :joy: Maybe I’m just not built like a rider I don’t know. But I don’t have pain and I am in a good training program with a reputable coach. I’ve been riding for most of my life and have never had someone point out my pelvis position or say my seat was off in any way. :woman_shrugging:

Her close friend was the rep for the special saddles. I mean I feel like she truly believes in them and the one I tried with her was ok but not something I was 100% sold on (it also didn’t fit my horse at all - so found it weird she would have even put it on him for me to try). Just has my head spinning, lol!

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You cannot let yourself be vulnerable to every self interested or purely ignorant or naive suggestion any horse pro or barn buddy or ammie makes or you will lose your mind.

The solution is twofold. Find some core service providers you trust, ideally your trainer vet and farrier. Second, self educate so that you have enough of a knowledge base that you can triage unwanted advice into (a) maybe should act on this but ask trainer first (b) sounds loopy but I will Google, and © I am going to keep smiling but I now know you are a full on idiot who I just totally lost respect for. Most suggestions are © honestly.

All the more shady service providers will play on your areas of ignorance and insecurity to sell you expensive things that you don’t need and that may be harmful to your horse.

Trust your trainer on your seat and don’t trust this fitter at all

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You definitely need a different fitter.

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Have had multiple CWDs over the years, and have been very happy with them.
Similar to @supershorty628 I am a fan of the SE01.
No saddle fits every horse 100% but my two current CWDs fit my two current horses (with different builds) quite well.
I have a hard time mentally with the “truly custom” approach because in my experience, horses are constantly changing shape slightly.

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They are my least favorite. We always have issues with them.