Personally, I hate the Wintecs. To me they are hard and uncomfortable and on a long ride, you do get a bit sore. I have had many people with this problem with the Wintecs.
I have no idea what a Thorowood saddle is sorry lol.

I have a synthetic Kincade all purpose and I LOVE it! It hasn't the CAIR panels unfortunately but it is still good. It came mounted with girth, knife edge stirrups and an anti-chaffe girth and I havent had a problem with it.

 

I don't like Wintecs personally, but some people love them. I like Thorowood saddle more quality-wise, but I'd say go with what saddle fitter is suggesting.

 

I'm buying my daughter a Thorowgood from dutchessbridlesaddle.com. They are going to adjust the flocking for me when it gets to their shop, before sending it to me. I took a lot of tracing and photos for the "virtural saddle fitting." We don't have any good saddle fitters in Arkansas. Ducthess' prices are also better than Dover's, which was nice ;-). I ordered the Cob/Broadback AP in Brown, which had to be special ordered from the UK.

I would much prefer a Thorowgood over a Wintec, but the new style Wintecs seem to be better in construction that the older models. One of my students just bought a 500 AP Pony and it's much nicer that the other Wintecs I have seen/used.

 

Ducthess' prices are also better than Dover's, which was nice ;-).

Unless you get one on clearance. :wink: They had several Thorowoods there half-price last year I went to Dover. I did NOT get one as they don't fit my butt frankly, but the price was absolutely awesome.

 

I have a wintec saddle and i think it's very comfortable and not to pricey. The only thing I don't like is the billet straps, because they arent leather they feel like plastic and the girth doesnt go up as easy as it would if they were leather..

 

It's personal preference, nothing more.

You couldn't give me a Kincade (although I like their bridles) but I love my Wintec, and so does my trainer.

They're all decent enough saddles, so it's just what you'll feel most comfortable sitting in that will be the deciding factor.

 

It's personal preference, nothing more.

I agree. Your personal preference and your horse's personal preference.

If it fits right and your horse's back likes it and you are comfortable riding in it, then go for it.

 

She also thinks a Thorowgood could fit him well,
Please leave me your opinion if you have ridden in a synthetic english saddle. I am debating which brand, and also which style/model to purchase.

I have two thorowgoods - a dresage and a multipurpose. I love both.

However, I only ride english for cross training and for fun. If I were to compete, I would step up to a good brand leather.

 

I have always really liked wintecs, you can get the older models for a song on ebay, and they seem to last a long time and hold their value. I have no experience with Thorowgood, but I have heard its pretty good too, I am just not a fan of the clothy look they have. I would stay away from the other synthetics out there, most of them look like junk IMO.

 

The issue with air saddles is long winded to explain, but basically how the pressure is distributed by the panels restricts the muscles (and some people also speculate blood flow) and causes a severe malformation of back muscles. This distribution of pressure coupled with the fact that air saddles are usually very bouncy for the rider (meaning the rider cranks up the girth VERY tight) makes for back issues. Recently I was helping a friend with an air flocked saddle tack up her horse and was absolutely SHOCKED at the dystrophy in the horse's back. Like I actually recoiled at the sight of this back.

Anyways, that's the surface layer of my issue with air saddles.

Now onto synthetic saddles. They are great for beginners or people who just want to ride around. The truth is they aren't really built to support a good position from the rider and often times are cheap (and therefore cheaply constructed) and can cause issues in the horse's back. Usually they are also flocked with synthetic material which again doesn't really make for a healthy back - and it's not like it's that new space foam that some saddle makers are experimenting with, it's cheap stuff because the saddles are cheap.
On some horses these saddles work great, which is awesome. But just because some of them tout a gullet change system does not make the saddles one fits all. Just like any saddle purchase, make sure the saddle fits both you and your horse. Many times people are far better off buying a good quality, used leather saddle than trying to make a cheap new synthetic saddle work.

Good luck!

 

CAIR panels are NOT AIR panels. They do NOT cause "a severe malformation of back muscles", nor are they all that bouncy.

They are not real thick, have open cell foam inside with the air, and lots of horses have been ridden lots of miles without being harmed.

 

I have the wintec pro dressage and i LOVE it, i think it's so comfortable and the seat gives me great grip, i couldn't imagine riding in anything else

 

Does anyone have a next generation Wintec saddle? I am specifically looking at a Pro or a 2000. Both are all purpose; the Pro is not quite as deep seated and is my preference. Both are offered with CAIR.
I do think the new ones are much different from the old Wintec's.

 

This is the one i have HERE I only got it back in october

 

Additionally, I should say that a reason I have been having a difficult time fitting my horse is the narrowing of the gullet through the center of the saddle. The Wintec's have a uniform width through the gullet and this was the feature that made the fit so good. I understand the adjustable gullets don't make a saddle fit but it does offer some adjustment to my young horse who is still filling out along his topline. Am I being clear?

 

The CAIR panels they use in wintecs are air filled heres a link

CAIR Panel System

And Just because you pay big money for a saddle doesn't make it better. I had a stubben and yes I liked it and it looked nice but my wintec is more comfortable.. and fits great too..

 

I bought a wintec cc last month and so far I love it, and my horse loves it. My friend also rode in it, and her horse loves it as well. I didn't like the old black wintec, but I like my saddle's brown color.

My saddle in no way looks cheap. Unless you look closely at it and see the WINTEC logo, you probably wouldn't even think it's a synthetic. I rode it in without thinking about my position, and when I looked at pictures later, my leg stayed in a good position. I have only done flatwork, so I can't really determine how good it is over fences, but my friend did jump in it, and now she wants to purchase one.

I did a lot of research when I was looking at saddles, and while some people do claim to have bad experiences with it, the CAIR panels looked so interesting I wanted to try it. If you read the FAQ's on the link that Buckcherry posted, there's a few things that are different from normal saddles. The two that really stuck out to me:

9. Can Gel Pads be used under saddles with the CAIR Panel System?

It is not recommended for gel pads to be used under this panel system, as we believe that CAIR provides superior shock absorbency. A thin saddle blanket is all that is needed. When using a gel pad with a saddle with CAIR, you are increasing the bulk between the saddle and the horse affecting communication. If a horse has severe atrophy it is preferable to fit the saddle slightly wider, rather than narrower. If you fit the saddle to the horse’s atrophied condition the saddle will continue to restrict blood flow and prevent the muscles from redeveloping. In this instance only, is it recommended to fit the saddle slightly wider and use riser pads to fill the craters between the horse’s wasted muscle and the saddle.

10. What type of saddlecloth is recommended for use with a saddle featuring the CAIR Panel System?

Once you have achieved an optimal fit with your saddle featuring CAIR the saddlecloth should only serve one purpose — to keep the saddle clean. Thick saddlecloths should not be used for padding, as they will compromise the performance of the CAIR Panels in providing the ultimate comfort, constantly adapting with the horse’s working muscles.

Anebel's post made me think of it - was your friend using a bunch of pads, which makes the effect of the CAIR panels useless? Or maybe she didn't have the recommended fit for a horse with muscle dystrophy?

When my friend used my saddle, I had to stop her from putting on the baby pad and the half pad that is the fashion. It's hard to determine without polling every person in the world who used it, but I feel like a lot of the people who used the CAIR system may have had the instinct to put many different pads under the saddle in an honest attempt to comfort the horse more, as my friend did. Then when they have a bad experience, they immediately say it was the saddle, not the pads.

If the saddle fitter recommended the CAIR panels, it's worth sitting in a few saddles and seeing what you think. I wish I had sat in the Wintec jump pro before I had purchased mine, but I was working with a budget, and the jump pro is $200 more I think. I would have spent it if I'd sat in it though. It's soooo comfortable.

Go to the tack store and do a lot of comparing. Sit/examine leather and synthetic and see which one you like more. Some tack stores will do trials so you can test it on your horse. Good luck!

 

WINTEC WINTEC WINTEC!!!!!! I absolutly loooovvveeeeee mine. I have to sell it though. I'm going back to western for a while and I can't affored another saddle untill I sell my old one. I've been riding in mine for 3 years and it still looks new and still feels great!