Your opinions on synthetic dressage saddles

[HiHopes]

I’m shortly in the market for a new dressage saddle and I would like your opinions :).
Dressage is my second discipline as I mainly do jumpers and the odd 3 day I dont need a mega flash saddle. I probably use my dressage saddle once maybe twice a week at most and I compete training and first level at schooling shows and low rated shows as well as part of the eventing obviously.
I am therefore thinking of buying either a second hand older dressage saddle Passiers suit my TB or a new synthetic. There are pros and cons for both. A leather saddle will be higher quality but as my budget is only around $700 it will probably be older, it will involve some risk and guess work on my part to get something thats in good shape and fits but worst comes to the worst if I buy at the right price I could sell it on.
The synthetic I could buy new. They are light, modern and have the changeable gullets and would most likely be more comfortable for my horse. The cons well they are synthetic! I’ll also loose money if I need to sell it on.
The synthetics I am considering are Thorowgood, Wintec pro or Tekna.

Thoughts on these brands and options? What would you do

Thanks

[quietann]

As with all saddles, the fit is important. The shape of the tree and panels is at least as important as the changeable gullet. Thorowgood is good in that way because several tree shapes are offered.

However, if your horse is shaped well for a Passier why not go with that? All saddles lose value over time, and a new saddle is sort of like a new car; you “drive it off the lot” and it immediately loses a good percentage of its value.

Oh yeah, the saddle also has to fit you!

[vandenbrink]

I have one of the older Wintec Pro Dressage saddles (without Cair). You can pick them up for about 400 used. They have the Equisuede finish which rides really nice for dressage, much better than the fake leather. The balance is really good, it has an interchangeable gullet, and it seems to fit a variety of horses quite well. Comfortable for horse and rider, and I like that I can hose it off. No, it’s not as pretty as a GOOD leather saddle, but it’s far better than a poor quality leather saddle.

[Manahmanah]

I love my wintec isabell. You can pick up a used one for about $500. There’s no need to get it used. I did upgrade to a verago but i wont ever sell my wintec… it’s great.

[SillyHorse]

If a saddle fits your horse and fits you, it’s a good saddle. What it’s made of is irrelevant. You will probably lose money selling on a leather saddle, too.

[phoenixrises]

[QUOTE=Manahmanah;7990027]
I love my wintec isabell. You can pick up a used one for about $500. There’s no need to get it used. I did upgrade to a verago but i wont ever sell my wintec… it’s great.[/QUOTE]

Mine fits my mare and me so well! I am trying out a Black County next weekend but it’ll have to be stupendous to get me to change.

[HiHopes]

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately we don’t have any decent general saddle fitters here so I’m stuck with me. Luckily I have become adept at knowing what sort of things fit and don’t fit my horse. We have an old Passier at my barn which is too wide but the panels and shape of the tree fit nicely as does a new stubben which sadly I can’t afford. The thing is I’m going to have to ne careful with flocking as unless I send the saddle off there’s no one to maintain it.Thats another plus for cair panels. I know they aren’t great but better than lumpy flocking.
I have ridden in the Isabelle and loved it, I shall keep my eyes out for one of those.
Pheonixrises the black country vinici is AMAZING. I was lucky enough to try one once. Wow I didn’t want to get off :).

[DJohn]

I love my Thorowgood!

I chose is specifically because it has a wide panel design, rather than the narrower style of the Wintec. I have the T8 dressage. It is very comfortable and I never have to clean it! They have MANY gullet choices with 2 different “styles” the R bar and the S bar. Their saddles are also gusseted which makes them that much better.

My only advice, don’t get synthetic stirrup leathers, they’re so stiff when it’s cold! :lol:

[netg]

[QUOTE=SillyHorse;7990033]
If a saddle fits your horse and fits you, it’s a good saddle. What it’s made of is irrelevant. You will probably lose money selling on a leather saddle, too.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. I have seen them fit well and fit horribly. If they fit both of you well, great saddles at bargain prices.

It’s REALLY hard without a saddle fitter. Before finding my fitter I was trying everyone’s saddles as they got new ones from specific brands I disliked, and buying used ones which worked. Hopefully your horse is as easy a fit as mine is - my problem was finding saddles which fit me!

[HiHopes]

Yes you are right, it really doesn’t matter what the saddle is made of. I know that the synthetic companies have spent a lot on research and development and I like my horse benefitting from the wide gullets and panels. Better than some ancient heavy thing with a narrow gullet.

[HiHopes]

My horse has high withers and a flat back. He’s better with a saddle that has a flatter tree I think and panels with a slight upward curve to them. Flat panels and a curved tree are the worst for him. I am small but with a long thigh bone! Tbh I’ll muddle through not like I’m aiming for GP, it’s him I’m more concerned about…

[Gloria]

Only one word: I hate synthetic saddles. I’d much rather get a nice, well broken in Passier, than a new synthetic saddles of anything.

[Draftmare]

I love my Wintec Isabell Pro, it has the countour blocks which have been a life saver more than once on my jumpy mare. It has the CAIR panels, which I wasn’t so keen on, but the saddle was a good price, so I tried them. I don’t honestly feel the extra bounce that a lot of people complain about, but I also use a Thinline half pad under it. I also have the Wintec 500 AP, which served as my jumping and dressage saddle before I got the Isabell. Since getting the Isabell the 500 AP has been collecting dust in my mud room. :winkgrin:

My biggest complaint about the Isabell is the wear patches on the bottom of the flap do wear from the leathers and any unsteady leg movement and unlike leather, you can’t condition the worst of it away.

[Halt_Near_X]

You really ought to be able to find an older used Passier for $700, so if you like that saddle, go with it.

Don’t assume you’ll have good resale on it, however. I just sold one, after six months of trying, for what I turned around and paid to get a used Wintec.

And although I like Wintecs, I would never buy one without trying it on the horse for several rides. Some horses really do not like the Cair panels, and their backs will get tense and sore from that.

[Pembroke]

I’d look for a used leather saddle, rather than a synthetic one. Look into Kieffers, Prestiges and such, also.

[cheerio280]

I had a Wintec Isabell for a while. I liked how light it was, and I liked the concept of the adjustable gullet (but in reality found it hard to change and felt unstable at times- although this was a much older model). I hated the CAIR panels. The equi-suede was fine to ride in, as it still has some grip to it, but I would absolutely not want to ride in any of the slick faux-leather synthetic materials. I ended up getting a St. Lourdes for $700 used and I am MUCH happier with that. (I also picked up an older Kieffer for like $200 on eBay… didn’t fit my horse, but if it did I think I still would have preferred that to the Wintec).

[ThreeFigs]

I’m another one who’d prefer a nice old Passier to any synthetic.

[Dramapony_misty]

I have a Tekna dressage saddled that doesn’t really look synthetic from farther back than a few feet. I’ve ridden in a bunch of different leather saddles and this one surprisingly fit both my horse and I the best. Would a leather saddle be better? Maybe, but I had a VERY limited budget and while I was willing to save up for the right saddle, this one seemed to fit the bill ! It is NOT slippery at all which surprised me and I do like that it it starts to rain while I"m riding, I don’t need to worry about my saddle. Just towel dry off if you want to and away you go.

(see it in my profile pic…though it is a bit dark)

[arabiansrock]

I currently have a Thorowgood T4 hi wither dressage (its my spare saddle) and have previously had a wintec pro (pre 2009 model). I MUCH prefer the Thorowgood. They are actually really nice saddles, I am just a leather snob, so managed to upgrade to a leather one that fit my boy who unfortunately passed in Sep. My new horse is currently being ridden in the T4 and he really seems to like it. I will never get rid of it as it is an extremely versatile back up saddle.

[J-Lu]

I rode up the levels in the old-style synthetic Wintec Isabel (old tree, no cair panels) and I loved that saddle. I felt so close to the horse’s back, minimal knee roll, etc. I had several GP-level clinicians ride my horse in it and none disliked it. I paid an Albion and a County saddle fitter to assess the fit and they said “huh, it’s actually not bad at all for your horse”. I have an old wintec jump saddle that I still have and it fits about every horse. Wintec did a large re-design and I don’t like their saddle much now. But the redesign might work well for you. Thorowgood has several good designs these days. The adjustable plates are fantastic. I work with a popular local saddle fitter here in NC and she really likes the Thorowgood line for lower level saddles. She says they hold up well, they fit alot of horses, and the company really stands by their product.

If you buy a used Wintec, be SURE that the tree points are intact. They have a habit of breaking - both of mine did. But that was back in the day (apparently), when Wintec fixed them no charge (they stapled them back on). I bought that saddle off of ebay and they just fixed it for me. Now, they seem to want proof of purchase from a licensed seller before they fix them. BTW, I sold that saddle on ebay a good 8-10 years later and lost about $400 on it - that’s a great investment. Resale is difficult for any used saddle - the older it is, the more you’re depending on someone who is like you…or who knows the exact model they’re looking for…to buy. Which isn’t bad, but it may mean you’ll need to wait for the right buyer if/when you decide to sell it.

You can find some good deals in your price range for used saddles. But you’ll have to search. Some of the old passiers have a pretty hard seat (they bruise my seatbones!) so just be sure that the saddle fits you AND your horse!