What can you tell me about these saddles? I tried a different European Kieffer similar to the Lusitano, which I liked but it sold before I could get it.
I had the Wien before I went to an N2. I liked it and didn’t want to switch…until I tried my new saddle. I grew up riding dressage saddles in the pre-thigh block era and this was wonderful. However, I feel more secure (not locked in) in my new saddle.
Is there a specific input you want to know?
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I have a very old Wien. It is the most comfortable saddle I have ever owned, so I have kept it even though it has been a long time since I have a horse that it fit!
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I"m actually not a fan of overly blocked saddles, so it may be a good fit for me.
I have an older Wein as well. Originally it was purchased for my late TB that had a very non-TB back: flat and short, broad and round barrel, with wide shoulders. It was his “miracle” saddle. We tried so many on him and this was his glass slipper.
For that reason I’ve kept it even though he has been dead for six years. Like another poster mentioned it is one of the most comfortable saddles I have ever ridden in. I used to do long hacks with my TB - 1-3 hour hacks - and it was very stable and secure with minimal padding and I felt very close-contact to his barrel.
It also fit another one of my late geldings, who was more of a sausagey-WB type TB.
It is a great versatile saddle but does not fit my current guy, who is nearly 2 hands taller and probably has 500lb on my old boy. He also has very long withers and shoulders and I don’t think the Wein gives him the shoulder clearance he needs.
My experience with Wein saddles is that they are quite stable, not intrusive, and horses that have flatter & shorter back conformation tend to do really well in them. So far I have not been able to get the Wein to be amenable to horses that have long & shark-finned withers but that might just be my personal experience. I am disappointed it does not fit my big guy because it is my preferred saddle for any sort of distance riding and also is great for ring work and dressage.
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I have a Lech DL for a long-backed downhill Tb with very long (but not terribly tall) withers. I love the way it fits him, but it’s too big for me, sadly.
The Lech DL has gusseted panels, the Wien upswept. The Wien one of the boarders at my bar had seemed to have a lower pommel and narrower gullet channel (not the tree width, but from the withers to the cantle) than the Lech. She had it for a Wb. It did not fit my horse due to the channel width.
I think the Lech has somehow harder and more slippery leather than the Wien? Her Wien seemed really soft and tacky to the touch.
I’ve owned two Kieffer Wiens – they both were a great fit for my Quarter horse mare as well as my 14.1 sport pony mare (both with moderate withers and rather wide in the barrel.) Being only 5’2" myself and short in the leg, I always felt so secure in my Weins – and in close contact with both mares. And yes, so comfortable on trail riding over varied terrain. When I retired from riding, they became a special gift to a very talented and deserving student. No other saddle came close, although I did try a County Competitor monoflap years ago and it was astonishing. I felt absolutely glued to the horse.
