Can’t find the ad with the truck driving over it, but this is the one I had and loved: 
I think yours might be a few years after this one as the earliest ones were kind of a knitted fabric, and then they morphed into more of a canvas fabric.
You still see quite a few of them advertised for sale here in Australia - still going strong.
Wow, thank you for that review and the information about fitting it. If it is that old and still in great shape except for the flaps, maybe I could have it reupholstered or however you call it. Worth looking into and I’m really looking forward to using it.
Oh!!! It was blue! I love it.
I have a synthetic dressage saddle i’ve used for trail riding for almost 20 years. Retailed for 275 new, fits a ton of drafty types, hoses off in a jiffy, and is super comfy for me too. It’s called a Syntack and it was the best small investment ever.
All my saddles are light weight. Bought a new Wintec Pro Endurance last year. It came with a red (med wide) tree which fit my horse well. I like it ok and typically use it for longer (3hr+) or multi-day trail rides. Honestly I prefer my Custom Saddlery dressage saddle for the arena and my so-comfy Blackforest treeless saddle for the trail. They both sit deeper and allow me to feel what’s going on with my horse, and the Blackforest has a small horn which I find useful. The Wintec is decent and can be adjusted to fit my other horses.
Thank you. The Black Forest saddles look lovely. I had a Freeform and loved it but never could get it to stop rolling and tried everything cause I loved it so much. The velcro seat came off in my hand once as I flew through the air and I sold it and have never looked back until now, LOL. Do you have an opinion on how the Wintec Endurance feels for your horse vs the Black Forest?
I have a Wintec Pro Stock which I bought after a big spooky warmblood dropped me in the trail out of my Albion dressage saddle over a hissing Canada goose. The ass did the ole slam on the brakes, drop the shoulder and spin away maneuver leaving me in the dirt. So I wanted something with a bit more grip for riding young horses in and also trail riding. I’ve had it a while now and absolutely love it. It’s light at I think 17lbs without fittings. I’ve swapped out the gullet quite a few times and have ridden in it on everything from narrow TB’s to Arabian crosses and now my big draft crosses. I wanted something easier to manage than a western saddle with all the rigging. It also has CAIR and I haven’t had a bit of trouble with it. I ordered one of the Toklat Woolback sheepskin pads to go underneath it. Very easy to maintain, just brush it off or even rinse it off/wipe it down and it looks great. The seat is foam and very comfortable. And yes, the equisuede is very grippy too. No worries about riding in the rain.
I had a Pro Dressage as well and liked it a lot too. They’re a good value for the money. Comfortable and versatile. I had a Pro Endurance a while back as well and should have hung onto it, but didn’t, but the Pro Stock with the thigh polies does hold you in the saddle better during a big spook.
I was recently browsing McCall Wade Saddles which are very well made and pricey, but even their lighter saddles weigh a good 30lbs.
Thank you. Very good info. I’ve looked at the Stock saddles too. Haven’t really ruled any of them out but my own absolute requisite is light enough to be able to lift it without pain. Just diagnosed with Osteoarthritis yesterday so my shoulder won’t be getting any better.
Freeform rolling -LOL. My experience with treeless is that the saddle pad needs to be chosen carefully and sometimes customized. I ride a wide body PRE and a slab-shouldered QH with good sized withers in all 3 of my saddles, adding shims or half pads as needed. The Wintec sits higher. It’s comfortable for them but I don’t feel their backs like I do in my other saddles. Ergo, my next saddle (for Cowboy dressage) will be treeless.
I have a black forest saddle I’m selling. Didn’t work for me.
I’ve tried several synthetic saddles. The wintec western is great. I’m selling one of those as my mom has retired from riding. Those are nearly indestructible, but they only fit a certain type of horse.
English wintec saddles don’t fit my horses. A friend used them for her percheron cross and welsh pony so they fit her cobby types. I honestly don’t care for them.
Thorowgoods are much more comfortable than wintecs. The seat has so much more cushion. I didn’t care for the stirrup location on mine, but it was way too big for me. So maybe if i found one that actually fit, i would be pleased. But it does have a wide twist which I didn’t like.
Tekna saddles are the newer synthetic saddles on the market. The material is much better than either wintec or thorowgood. I cannot tell you how much i love the material. It is like a synthetic rubber- not really sure how to describe it. It grips you in without rubbing in any way. If you ride in the rain it maintains it’s grip no matter how wet you get. Pouring rain and your saddle is not slick at all. I love it!
It doesn’t have the padding that thorowgood does. Now if they added some different size trees for different horses, and padded the seat, they would be in higher demand.
But it does have a super narrow twist and a small seat. Ordering a bigger seat size will not help you there either. Bigger riders will not be comfortable because it will be tight in front of you. Trying to find a polite way of saying that. The other problem is that you are limited on what horses it fits- they don’t have the fit options that thorowgood has. It does have a changeable gullet.
I have only tried the dressage seat, not the close contact. Can’t comment on the close contact.
Tekna came out with a new western/Aussie hybrid saddle with an exchangeable gullet. It’s only available in Australia but the price is affordable. I’m debating on buying one. Like I said, i absolutely love the material. The idea of a western one is very appealing. But I’m afraid I will order it and find out it doesn’t fit. If it works, it would be the first western type saddle with an exchangeable gullet on the market. I wish I could get one on trial.
I tried everything I knew to try including corresponding with Paulita. The equipedic pad fit best. I also used a supracor. I tried the panels too. When the seat came off in my hand the day my horse spooked while mounting, I gave up on it. He was a flat backed, mutton-withered foundation type QH with a short back. The freeform was perfect in every other way but it was like mounting a barrel and there was no way to keep it from rolling. Maybe with a calmer horse, I would have kept it and not known the danger potential to me. As it turned out the saddle left and a short while later, after a year of training, the 7th time he spooked and went into spin cycle, leaving me flat on a gravel road we had ridden dozens of times, beside my trainer, her young son and friend all mounted on horses who were looking at us like WTH was that about??? he also left.
I know treeless works for many riders and horses, I hope yours is everything you want it to be.
We bought a used Wintec Pro Endurance about 20 years ago and it’s my go-to trail riding saddle today. This one has a fairly wide tree and has been a good fit for a couple of Arab and Arab-QH cross horses with decent withers but wide backs. We’ve put quite a few miles on it over the years and it has held up really well.
As someone mentioned above, the sueded finish is great for sticking spooks and bolts but not a good match with full-seat breeches.
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