Why do you hate Wintec?

Joyscarer

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Dec 30, 2006
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Taken from another thread was a comment that 'I wouldn't put a Wintec on a rocking horse!'

Apart from the obvious issue of fit, which is equally as important no matter what the make of saddle, what is so awful about Wintecs? :confused:
 
the yard im at has a jumping one, i think there rubbish, not particularycomfy and slip around rather a lot
 
My old share pony was in a wintec, it fitted fine and he was 100% happy in it.

Thats not much help, but not all people have negative views :eek:


hot.to.trot- so you have only experienced one wintec, which wasn't comfy and slipped? Why generalise? Or have you had the same experiences with more than one?
 
I've had two - one on Salsa and one on Jacob. Aside from the fact that neither fitted (Salsa went through hell with his until I insisted to my fourth saddle fitter that the damn thing did not fit, refused to pad it out any longer and insisted that I wanted to try a different saddle), I've never found Wintecs particularly comfortable for the rider. Jacob's in particular used to tip me forward, and the stirrup leathers on both seemed to be too far forwards. They're also a pain in the backside to clean :mad: The synthetic leathery bit is not too bad, as you just spray and wipe, but the equi-suede and the bits where the detachable kneerolls stick required a regular scrub with a nail brush to get the dirt and hair off it.

Give me a nice well-fitting leather saddle any day! :p
 
I've not had a bad experience with one due to fit or otherwise so I have only positive views of them..

I bought my first Wintec about 12 years ago - I had 3 leather saddles generally, eventually ending up with a Pessoa Amo II, a Falcon Event and a Ideal Jessica - I couldn't be arsed with the cleaning so I bought a GP Wintec as a mucking about/general riding saddle. It fitted the horse (another TB) and me and could be cleaned after hunting/hacking easily.

Of the 3 leather saddles I only have one left now - the Pessoa which is still in a pillow case in an attic (didn't fit TheG and now doesn't sodding fit Stan but I am determined that I WILL have a horse it fits again one day!) .. I have got however, a Wintec CC and a modified Wintec Dressage.. Love them both :)

Never had a banana shaped one, a bouncy one :confused: or one that caused a sore back ?


I wouldn't have Cair again though.. I am having the Cair panels replaced in my CC with flock (although they have been in there 4/5 years)
 
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I'm interested in the replies to this thread.

I have my girl back in a leather saddle now, but when I was having problems finding a saddle to fit I had a wintec wide on loan. My (section D) girl went fantastic in it.
 
I have a Wintec 2000 GP Pro Series - I've had it for over 4 yrs and it has been used on my last 2 youngsters - I love it!

It's had about 3 different gullets in it and it has been flocked 3 times (various shape changes), it's comfy and still looks like new.
 
Tess came with a 2000 which she seemed happy in and I find very comfortable. I did replace it but have kept it and am now using it again with a slightly wide gullet plate and the suber pad underneath. Fine for both of us, I usually need a seatsaver on treed saddles, but not this one, and I can keep a reasonable schooling position in it too :)
 
I'm just not a fan of synthetic saddles. I rode in an abetta endurance saddle for about a year - it warped (even though I nearly always used a mounting block), put me in a chair seat, and made my left foot go numb after an hour or so in the saddle. Only good thing I can say about it is I learned to ride without stirrups really well - but in self-defense!
 
I have a wintec GP and a wintec dressage for Oliver and they both fit him lovely. I find it really comfy and dont have any negative thoughts about wintecs.
 
Most wintecs put me in a chair position, and I get muscle ache frmo trying to sit in the correct position.

However, my Isabell is wonderful and fits both myself and Lucy just perfect :).
 
I think a lot of it comes down to jumping on the band wagon of the "i hate wintecs" club. Yes, unfortunately there are real horror stories out there of misguided fitters (and owners) who think a changeable gullet means the saddle will fit anything. It doesn't. It only changes the front width and does nothing further back. There are plenty of other makes out there, such as albion, jaguar and even WOW that have been reported to be funny fits and do damage to backs after being incorrectly fitted. ANY saddle will damage a back if not fitted right. Seems to be coz wintecs are relatively cheap, more people take a chance on them and then it all goes t*ts up. I loved the wintec my mare had, they really are very well made and my mum found it incredibly comfortable to ride in it. Mare went the best i've ever seen her go in it. Sadly wintecs don't fit my current boys, i have a couple of thorowgoods and a jeffries.

edited to add, if a saddle moves IT DOESN'T FIT! that's not the brand's fault, take issue with the fitter.
 
I don't hate Wintecs, I just think there are better made and better value saddle out there. I have ridden in a range of wintecs (due to them being cheap so the yard I worked at had them on the school horses) including stock and western versions.

The equisuede very quickly fads to a grey, the other material is a nightmare to clean and I really don't get on with the girth straps. That said, I have ridden in an isabell werth wintec and loved it but IMO it is very expensive for a synthetic (they hold their value 2nd hand as well) and are hard to get hold of flocked with the majority being cair filled. The quality is debatable sometimes as well, but I know they are developing the equi-leather so is easier to clean and they have taken alot of the innovation from Bates to put into the wintec saddle with several versions of close-contact dressage and jump saddles coming onto the market.

But, their kids saddles were very good on the small fat ponies we used for lead-rein and walk about sessions :)
 
I *think* what happens a lot,on here in particular,is that quite often one 'so called' or 'actual' knowledgable person say's something negative about something,and suddenly people are popping up all over the place agreeing,like the sheep mentality.I have even been guilty of this myself in the past,so not a dig BTW,not aimed at anyone in particular either,just an observation I have made over the years.
In the case of the poor old wintecs,it has happened a few times with various people slating them,and then everyone hates them!!

I have a wintec wide,and I love it,pony seems to go well in it also.
I thought long and hard about what to go for with my no wither,short and flat backed,roly poly lad,and the wintec wide ticked all the boxes.I was not disappointed when I finally managed to get hold of one either.It is the cair version as well,which so far I haven't had any problems with,touch wood.
I find it very comfy to ride in as well.

I think a lot of the fitting problems people have could be resolved by getting the type to suit the horses as well.The well known banana tree thing only applies to the 500 I believe,so obviously putting a 500 on something like a flat backed cob won't work,but the wide model would probably be fine as has a different shaped tree.My lad could probably depending on season,take a x-wide gullet but not on the 500 model as the shape everywhere else is wrong,but an x-wide in the wide model would be fine.Hope that makes some kind of sense,sounds a bit complicated I know,but what I'm trying to get at is that not ALL wintecs are the same,and yes some don't suit certain types due to their shape,but there are other models available that could offer a solution to some of the most common problems people seem to have.
 
I have had both my Wintec saddles for over eight years - I have the 500 GP and the dressage - and I love them both.

They fit my boy really well, they are comfortable, reasonably lighweight and extremely easy to look after -- just need a quick wipe over with a damp cloth to clean.

I use Heather Moffat seatbone savers with both my saddles, as I find them much comfier, but I would definitely buy another Wintec without a moments hesitation.
 
I didn't like the Wintec 2000 GP because it was too banana shaped, and very badly designed for the rider over fences. I didn't realise it at the time because I had nothing to compare it too, but it was doing me no favours for jumping.

I do, however like the old wintec monoflap dressage saddle I have at the moment. It is much flatter backed and puts me in a good position on the flat.
 
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