Saddle fitters or any other knowledgeable people…what type of breed/horse conformation do the Wintec Isabell saddles tend to fit the best?
I owned one of the original Isabel saddles and loved loved loved it. It had a narrow twist and seat and excellent balance. It fit flatter backed horses better than curvier backed horses, but multiple saddle fitters thought it was OK on my curvier-backed horse.
I hear that Wintec changed the Isabel saddle more recently, to have a wider and flatter seat. I sat in one and I didn’t like it so much. I liked the feeling of sitting “around” my horse in the old Isabel rather than “on top” of my horse in the new one. So, I suggest you sit in one before you buy. My saddle fitter says that the newer ones are harder to fit to horses than the older ones.
Typically, they fit flatter-backed horses better than curvier-backed horses. But that said, I had a County, and Albion and a Schleese rep evaluate my ancient Isabel for my curvier-backed horse and each said that they would not say I had to run out and get a new saddle - the fit was decent. If I could find an ancient Isabel in good condition I’d buy it in a hearbeat.
wide range of conformation
Not the most experienced but I will share what I know. I bought an arabian to be used in dressage for my wife. She has a Berney Bros dressage saddle but it did not fit the arabian at all, although Berney stated their saddles fit most horses. We bought the Isabelle which is designed for the female anatomy. She really enjoys the narrower twist and the way she is balanced in the saddle. It was easy to adjust the knee rolls and the stirrup bars. She said that she feels really close to the horse and more balanced.
Fitting the horse went much better than I anticipated. The arabian took a medium-wide gullet plate. To adjust the pad and level out the saddle, all I needed was a CAIR 14 mm front panel on both sides. That fits nicely for now, however I monitor often as I expect the horse`s condition to change as she progresses. I have a warmblood with the typical deep chest, heavier bone and typical withers. About 16.1 hands. I bought a pro-dressage standard width saddle for this horse. The warmblood took a wide gullet plate and I have one size wider that I can use for this standard width saddle. I should think it would take a rather large warmblood before a wide saddle is needed. Hope this helps…
In my experiance they fit very low withered and very flat backed horses best. Even on my extremely flat backed horse, the Isabell I tried bridged as she has a slight dip behind her withers. Other than that, I really liked that saddle. The buffalo leather ones are so grippy, and sat me really well.
My experience was with the older Izzy too - and I’'d 2nd the comment on flat backs - the panels are straight and fairly long and gusseted, so I’d add flat longer backs. Those gussets are going to dig into the loin of a short backed horse. The newer saddles seem to be a bit shorter in the panels.
I agree with those stating they fit flat backed horses best.
