Re: Wintec vs. custom

[Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>]

>I have looked into custom saddles by Anne George and Desoto saddles, so any 
>comparisons to those two saddles vs. the Wintecs would be helpful.  Thank
you.
>
I teach riding so I have quite a few saddles (#16 (I think) currently on
order) which have gotten various amounts of use (mostly *a lot* <g>) over
the years so I've had a chance to "test drive" a good variety.  I own 6
Wintec Saddles (1 Pro, 2 2000, 1 Aussie, 1 AP, 1 Sport...none in the
endurance style but have ridden in them.)  These saddles are of various
widths and seat sizes since they're used by various sized people on
different horses.  I also have another very high quality Aussie saddle
(Towoomba Campdraft Special -- for sale, btw, since it doesn't fit my
current selection of widebodies <g>), a couple of western saddles, a nice
leather dressage saddle (also for sale since it's never used), 3 Big Horns
(just sold one so down to 2), and 1 leather AP saddle (and 1 old broken
down jumping saddle that I can't throw away for sentimental reasons. <g>)  

When I started getting involved in endurance training, I needed decent tack
for entry level horses and riders...and, for various reasons, the current
inventory wasn't going to work.  I bought the Big Horns at that time --
they were pretty decent for the price, sat you in a fairly well balanced
seat, were comfortable, and were a good enough fit for the current horses
doing LD and training rides.  As the horses got into better condition, it
became more evident that the Big Horns were not fitting all of the changing
shapes.  Blaze lost a lot of fat off of his back and, subsequently, decent
withers appeared as well as a "dippy" back and big shoulders.  Nothing fit
him!  I had only used the Wintec dressage saddles a couple of times on the
trails but didn't like them since I couldn't attach much with so few D
rings (and they didn't fit Blaze anymore either.)  I rode with shims in the
Big Horn until I could research the saddles available (since it was
apparent that he would need a custom fit.)  I settled on the DeSoto after
trying out David LeBlanc's saddle and finding it comfortable, nicely made,
very good quality, and a reasonable price.  Blaze now has a happy back that
doesn't get sore and his gaits are much freer.

The next one on the docket for this saddle was supposed to be Darby, my
tanky Arab/Welsh mare (her picture is in August of the Endurance Riders
Journal <g>) -- but, since she's not being ridden as much as a couple of
the others right now, she got put third, behind Cabby.  Blaze is currently
being ridden by a couple of students who will probably compete on him next
year.  Darby has a couple of students that will be riding her out in the
hills in the *spring*, but she's mostly in the arena right now.  I'm riding
Cabby now (and just adore him <g>) and getting him ready for 50s this next
season.  While the Big Horn fits him better than Blaze, it's still not
great...and, since I'm the one with the aching, aging body <g> and paying
the tab, I voted Cabby next! ;-)  (Which reminds me...I need to get my
templates in.)  Darby will be third -- and then I'll want one for
Billy...and who knows about Blue since she'll be doing some LDs this next
year, so I guess we'll see with her as she gets in better shape.  

I really like the comfort and the security of these saddles.  They sit you
in a nicely balanced position and have lots of D rings and ties for
attaching stuff.  Since we ride in the mountain foothills and the rain a
lot, we tend to carry a fair amount of stuff with us.  I couldn't do this
with the dressage saddles without adding more D rings.  They would probably
work fine if they fit the horse well, the rider was a lighter weight, and
they didn't need to haul much along with them.  I prefer more substance, a
bit more security (deeper seat...altho I don't use a deep seat for arena
work), lots of place to hang stuff <g>, and a bigger surface area on the
horse's back to distribute the weight they carry.  (I scanned the picture
out of Marilyn's catalog if anyone is interested and hasn't seen what the
saddle looks like.)  If the Wintec saddles (and their various
interchangeable widths) fit the horse and the rider (don't forget to check
for overall back fit and not just the pommel area) and the panels are
appropriately sized for the weight of the rider, they would probably do
fine.  The endurance model has more Ds and looks like it has bigger panels
that the Pro or 2000 so it could be a reasonably priced, decent choice --
at least for lower distances.  I haven't heard any reports on users who are
doing 75s or 100s.

Sue