Wintec 500 AP Saddles likes and dislikes?

HI, I have a 15hh Arab that iv'e had for a year now and i'm keeping him forever.

This is why I want a saddle just for me and him. On him I use a Hubertus allpurpose, if you don't no what they are they stopped making them 30yrs ago litteraly but its in good condition and I died it black. I use a Bates Capprillie Dressage on my Stockhorse but I don't have much money to spend.

Although they do have this deal were you can pay of a saddle like a Bates or Wintec over two years so what I wanted to ask is does anyone have one or have any views on the wintec 500 AP horse size not pony. Probably a 16.5 inch with Cair. It is $750 but the bates are in between $1500-$2500 and I don't mind paying them off but if thier of similar make I don't see the point.

So what are yours veiws likes dislikes and anything else of bates and wintecs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THankQ

I don't have any Bates saddles but I own 2 Wintec saddles a 500 with Cair and a 2000 with Cair as well. I like that you can customize the gullets and that there is very little maintenance. If I had a choice between the two I prefer the 2000 model as there is is the equisuede seat for grip and leather billets. I changed my 500 synthetic billets this year to leather by a saddle fitter. I prefer them to the synthetic as the have cracked twice and had them replaced now will have no problems with the leather ones. Otherwise the saddles have been used in all weather conditions: rain, snow, heat you name it for almost 5 years. Nothing needed replacing on the 2000 so far.

Thanks for the info :)))!!!

Thankyou so much for all the information I will look into a 2000!! :))

Hey Phoenix - I just wanted to chime in here and say that while I own and LOVE the Wintec Isabell dressage, I have ridden in the 500 all purpose and it is a very comfortable saddle. Please don't take this the wrong way - but you can find a 500 for MUCH cheaper than $750. Check out this page. The 2000 is a nice saddle too, but again - I am biased toward the Isabell if sticky seat is what you are after

I rode in a Wintec AP for about three years. I just recently upgraded to a real endurance saddle, but put about 500 competitive trail miles on that Wintec, plus hundreds of training miles. It still looks pretty good too. If you want something that'll hold up, those saddles certainly will. They're super easy -- no maintainace. I swam with mine, rode in the rain, got mud all over it. I washed it off with the hose. It was a perfect starter saddle.

However, there were some downsides. It never fit any horse I put it on well. It fit everything okay, but never fit any horse great. I had to do some creative/redneck padding and shimming because it didn't fit my mare. All the miles we did... I started to see the effects in her muscling and some soreness if I wasn't careful.

It never put me in a great position. It inclined me towards a god awful chair seat. Any other saddle I rode in I never had problems.

It was also a frickin ROCK. Dammit, that thing hurt my butt. And my knees! But I was riding 50 miles in it, so I suppose anything would hurt by then.

If you want to keep your this horse forever, I would recommend something a little nicer than a Wintec AP. Like I said, it's a good starter saddle and a good saddle for riding a bunch of different horses (I still use it to break colts and train horses), but you can do better if you're only going to be riding one horse with it. Whatever you get, makes sure it FITS.

I have a wintec jumping saddle. I've had it for a few years now, but I've forgotten the model. I'm pretty sure it's the same model still in stores.

Overall, I like it. I've ended up with a collection of saddles for my various horses, and it's usually the one that I grab to ride with, over two other expensive saddles. I find it comfortable, and the horses seem to like it well enough. One of my mares really seems to like it and moves beautifully in it. I think mine was a great value for what it is. I would highly recommend that particular saddle, but I know nothing about the other saddles wintec have.

There are many mixed opinions on these saddles, and many people do not like them at all. The first time I brought it to a riding lesson, my instructor gave me a weird look, but she grudgingly decided it did fit my mare very well.

I like mine, wouldn't be my first choice in a saddle if I weren't so strapped for cash, but it does a good job.. (I paid $300 for mine, slightly used.) I love the adjustable gullets and leg rolls

I've got the 2000 AP, I like it. It's not as nice as a nice leather saddle, but I got it for $200 and it's reasonably comfortable for horse and rider as well as nigh indestructible. I wouldn't pay the price for a new one, but I'm happy with mine.

I had two Wintec AP saddles. I have had ONE horse that they fit well, all the rest they just didn't fit at all. I found my 500APs comfortable, but yes, hard, and they didn't put me in the best position ever. I jumped up to about 3' in a Wintec 500 AP.

Now I have a Wintec 500CC, and two dressage saddles, one of which is basically a cheap copy of the Wintec Isabell. I love my CC, I HATE my synthetic dressage saddle, and I bought a beautiful leather dressage saddle for $500 which is just magic. Second hand of course but absolutely fantastic.

I believe that an AP saddle is only good for people who don't know what they want to do, or can't afford two saddles. They are not good for flatwork and they are not good for jumping. Jack of all trades, master of none. Since I specialized I have been able to get much better dressage work out of my horse, and my jumping work is much improved. I jump higher and with a lot more confidence, and my position is better. Not perfect... but better. My horse is an eventer, and my young horse is intended to be one, so I do need both a dressage and a jumping saddle.

I doubt a W500 AP will fit an Arab, by the way. They are more designed to fit Thoroughbreds. I have an Anglo and a TB, and the W500CC fits both, with a change of plate in between [the Anglo is a wide, the TB is medium to medium-narrow], but the W500AP doesn't fit either of them.

If you're keeping your horse forever, I would invest in a good quality leather saddle, and don't be turned off by leather that might be a little bit stiff. Slightly stiff leather will soften with use, and will last FOREVER. My leather saddle could be anywhere from 10 to 30 years old and looks like it's brand new. I need to darken it back up [it has faded some, black saddle which has gone a bit grey] but once that's done nobody would ever guess it was an older saddle.