Five years ago when I was looking at CWD they would make wool. However the warranty on wool was different than on foam. As in they guarantee the fit on foam (with a 25% restocking fee if they can’t get it to work) and there is no guarantee on fit at all with wool.
Patrick Saddlery was mentioned before but since they are a lesser known brand I will mention them again. I LOVE mine.
Albion
I really liked the Adam Ellis I was riding in for a while.
Ideal, Ryder, Amerigo and some Kentaur are other options too. Black Country have definitely been my favorite to ride in.
Frank baines, Hastilow
I currently have a portos elite (stübben) and I wouldn’t do it again. It’s just not held up to daily riding of one horse. The stitching has gone in places, their is a strange defect that can’t be fixed and nobody has seen before. I’m replacing it with a Butet and will probably get nothing or next to nothing for my current saddle.
I have a 2 yr old Equiline that is flocked. True they sell a foam panel model also but mine is the flocked model.
Em
I have Passier and Kentaur close contact saddles, both wool flocked. Love both saddles!
Yes, as of 2-3 years ago they would make one in wool if you really wanted that (and had someone local to service).
Forgot Adam Ellis! Nice choice.
Albion hands down. My horses go so well in them, I won’t ride in anything else.
Maybe it depends on your rep then… When I was looking to get a new saddle in late 2015, had CWD out and rep stated flat out it would not be done. Talked with my trainer who confirmed she had recently had the same experience (and she rode exclusively in CWD and was sponsored by them), so she went with Stubben and put me in touch with the rep she had used. So I had Stubben out and never looked back.
That said, I have owned CWDs in the past and they are lovely gorgeous saddles. If they work for your horse they are great. I needed wool flocking, so here we are.
Spoke to a Stubben rep who said the panels are made with 100% recycled type wool, which includes thin layer of foam rubber and then wool felt. An independent saddle fitter told me those are very difficult to adjust over time. Has this been your experience?
I haven’t needed to adjust mine, so I don’t know. Thanks for the info.
I’ve only needed to have mine adjusted once so far, about 6 months after i got it and the flocking “settled”. It was causing two perfectly even rubs on my horse’s back underneath the panels where the cantle rests. My rep came back out, watched me ride in the saddle and knew immediately what the issue was. He documented it, sent my saddle out to be fixed, left me a demo, and my saddle was shipped back to me exactly 2 weeks later in perfect condition. Rep came back and picked up the demo later, and I paid $0 for the whole experience. Haven’t needed to have it adjusted since.
Curious (truly!)- everyone who says they NEED wool, why? I genuinely want to know what makes one say they need it over foam.
And for those that had to have wool- how many times have you had it adjusted? If you say never, then why did you NEED wool?
I really am curious as to why people seem to have such strong opinions on wool vs foam, yet don’t ever actually have them restuffed. Is it a just in case kind of thing? An assurance policy?
I have never had a strong opinion either way, so I guess I wonder where people’s strong convictions come from. Would appreciate anyone who can shed some light on this for me :yes:.
I thought a bit more about small makers: In addition to Adam Ellis (Chloe and Jupia are the appropriate H/J models I’m aware of but he also makes things completely bespoke) other options include Heritage Saddlery (British, they make one called the Monet), and Patrick saddlery as well. There’s also Stackhouse (pricey, but beautiful!). Then of course there’s all of the bigger makers above: Stubben/Hastilow/Equiline/Albion/Passier/etc/etc. Also note that most CC saddles can be converted by a competent saddler (although Devoucouxs have such thin panels that they are nearly impossible to convert correctly, that’s the exception to the rule).
The Saddle Geek also has a list of all the saddle brands around that you might find really helpful.
I’m not associated with any of these brands/people, btw - I just have been in your shoes (like French saddles for me, horsies with special backs that need wool flocking).
I have my saddles checked 2x/year and often they are tweaked for fit. Would much rather have my horse be completely comfortable and having the saddle restuffed/adjusted is a lot less expensive than having the vet out for a sore back. Yes, those changes make a difference that I can feel in how my horses move.
Could foam accommodate those changes? Maybe. It depends on the horse and where they are in their fitness/maturity. Some changes are small, some are changes are more substantial. A lot depends on how old your horse is and whether the saddle was bought when the horse was already in a program, mature and muscled appropriately for his job. However, I had a lovely Stackhouse saddle that was foam and my TB changed just enough so that it didn’t fit him, in fact it made him sore. He was pretty much in his prime a that point and I was surprised that the saddle stopped fitting him.
I have also had my wool flocked saddles re-flocked when I’ve bought a new horse. Sure, reflocking can’t make every saddle fit every horse, but it sure gives you a lot more latitude and it’s much less expensive than having new panels made.
So, count me as one who likes their wool flocked saddle! FWIW, I ride in a Jeffries JMX monoflap, one for each of my horses, or a Kieffer Norbert Koof FL.
As for why so many people don’t have their saddles adjusted? Some saddles may fit fine. Some people may not realize that their saddles don’t fit fine. Some horses are more sensitive to fit than others. FWIW, when i go to hunt meets I see LOTS of saddles that clearly don’t fit well. Noticeable from a distance. These are not inexpensive saddles, either. Same deal when I boarded at big barns. Until I started having my saddles fit regularly, there was a lot I didn’t realize about fit and I’ve made a silent apology to all the horses I rode in saddles that probably were less than ideal.
I bought a semi custom Stubben Edelweiss a few years back that is wool flocked. I have never needed to get it reflocked for the horse it was made for. I would like to have the fit checked on my new horse and am waiting for the Stubben rep to pay a visit to check it. I love my saddle. This was after a Antares saddle. I don’t care about resale because I don’t plan on selling it.
I am pretty die hard wool for my horses. In particular for my Arab cross. He is probably one of the few horses that really need a true fully custom saddle. Stubben returned my deposit since once the master saddler saw his wither tracings and pictures they felt that they could not make him a saddle that would work. Patrick made some very unique shaped panels for this horse and selected a tree that has a lot of curve to match his back shape.
I get my saddle for Finnegan checked about every 8-9 months. My saddle fitter normally makes minor changes to the flocking based on his current muscling and fitness.
I have never had to have a saddle totally reflocked. However the first one for Finnegan I replaced after 3 years. (The only reason I replaced it was I lost 100+ pounds so it was too big for me). The new one is 2 years old. Since it is custom and the wool is so new there should be no reason to reflock for many many years. The saddle fitter may make minor flocking adjustments but a full reflocking should not be necessary.
The one I bought for Carson is less than 1 year old. I had Carson’s checked at about the 6 month mark since he went through a huge growth spurt. He grew 2+ inches in that time as a 5 year old and really filled out. We made some changes at that point.
A wool flocked saddle will settle to more closely fit the shape of my horse. Understand I have 2 horses and each has their own saddle. My saddles are not used on multiple horses. I don’t have any issue with trainers that ride multiple horses using a saddle with foam panels as long as they pad/shim each horse appropriately. Foam for a professional probably makes more sense since you want the paneling to rebound after each ride and not settle to the shape of one particular horse.
My concern with many of the foam saddles goes beyond the foam. The focus of many foam saddles is about the comfort of the rider and less so on the comfort of the horse. The panels on a foam saddle tend to be thinner for that nice close contact feel. Some of them have recessed stirrup bars so the rider is less likely to feel a bump under their leg. I feel that some of the foam flocked due to thinner panels and the recessed saddle bars are more likely to cause sore backs.
At least one manufacturer of the French foam flocking has essentially 1 tree. The panels are changed to fit the horse at that moment. I think this limits the number of horses that can be truly fit well. Some horses are A framed, some need a hoop, some need straight front to back and some need a banana shaped tree. Couple that with many of the foam brands everyone in the barn rides in the same brand since that is what the trainer likes. You can’t tell me in a big barn that the same brand with only 1 tree fits all those riders and horses. Therefore due to the general construction of the saddle and the target market I think the popular foam saddles are more likely to cause sore backs. This is a big generalization.
Most people I know do not know anything about fitting a saddle to a horse. This includes most trainers. Therefore as long as the shape if vaguely correct and not sitting on the withers they go with what is comfortable for the rider and call it a day.
I think foam has its place. I occasionally borrow my trainer’s Voltaire dressage saddle for my OTTB. I love riding in that saddle and it currently fits my horse well. I am not sure if I would buy one for him when I get to the point of purchasing my own dressage saddle or go wool flocked.
Thank you both for your detailed and informative response, I appreciate you taking the time to explain so thoroughly. I can clearly see the value in wool for some horses/situations after reading your posts!
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