Has anyone replaced the CAIR panels on a Wintec with wool?

[HenryisBlaisin]

I know this has been discussed, but couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for in a search, so…

Has anyone done this with an older Wintec? What’s a ballpark price for having it done?

I have an older model Isabell (which are incredibly hard to find and crazy expensive if you do!) and it fits both my horse and me very well. I bought it used and while it’s not pristine, it’s passable for schooling and local stuff. I have yet to find another saddle that puts me in as good a position as this one, but am not in love with the CAIR…it seems almost too soft and while I don’t think it’s deflated, it seems as though wool would be more durable. My horse goes very well in it, but he also goes well in my flocked saddles. So…worth it?

[Draftmare]

May be cheaper to buy another used Wintec that is already flocked. I was going to get the Bates I had reflocked to wool, I was quoted $400 since the panels have to be pulled apart and re-stitched and that’s labor intensive.

[no.stirrups]

An older flocked Wintec will likely need to be reflocked, too, so wouldn’t necessarily save you anything. If you shop around you can get it done for $300. Bates are stitched but Wintecs are screws and velcro. The trees are not super durable though, so make sure whoever takes it apart does a thorough check to make sure it is sound before they do anything else.

[TC3200]

I don’t know how “old” your older saddle is, but after the 2010 or whatever revamp of their product line, the flocked saddles and the CAIR saddles are made exactly the same. The panel is the same on both: With a cavity that the filling goes into. There is a CAIR insert, and a flocked insert. All the saddler has to do is swap the insert. As you’d expect, this newer design means that the current flocked saddles are less adjustable than the older ones that had conventional flocked panels. I got this into from a British board called New Rider. There was Walsall saddler who took a flocked Wintec apart and discovered that the only difference was which “pod” got dropped into the panel. He posted photos. That was quite a few years ago, now. The old Ultimate Dressage board was still going strong at that time.

The other issue with Wintecs is the tree, as others noted. In the plastics industry, there’s an adage that good plastics have an average service life of about 10 years before embrittlement becomes a problem. Some Wintec trees have lasted 10 years, and some more, and some have had a real short life. I wouldn’t put any big money into a Wintec, or a Bates, or a Collegiate.

[sheltona01]

If it is really old, the back part of the panel is glued on and you can not dropped it to convert it. It still can be done, but it is more of a Frankenstein job and really not fun.

[Abbie.S]

I did it a few years back with a mid-2000’s Wintec Pro Dressage saddle. I hated the CAIR panels…all they are is air bladders and my saddle fitter’s experience was that they cause pressure points. I like the flexibility of a wool-flocked saddle. Cost me a about two hundred bucks.

If you like this saddle and it fits your horse I’d drop a couple hundred to have it wool-flocked over buying a brand new saddle.