Light weight, easy care, comfortable seat, easy change gullets, looks good
Disadvantages:
A bit slippy on my low - withered pony, hard to fit to her shape
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Wintec saddles are made by Bates Australia, founded in 1934. They originally produced synthetic saddles for racing, but over the years this has evolved into a wide range of saddles for all sorts of disciplines.
The saddle I bought was a Wintec 2000 All Purpose back when I was breaking in my new forest pony. It is made with 'Equisuede', a convincing synthetic suede material that does not get slippery when wet and helps to keep the rider in position with its grippy capabilities. Equisuede is a quick drying material and is not damaged by wet weather.
The Wintec 2000 also has adjustable knee blocks to help provide more support, real leather girth straps, two brass dee rings for attaching saddle bags etc, and the 'Easy Change Gullet System', so you can change the width of your saddle if your horse changes shape. The manufacturers say it is 'great for riders who enjoy participating in many disciplines including jumping, hunting, pleasure riding, some dressage and flatwork'.
In use I found the saddle to be very comfortable for me, the rider. It is also extremely easy to care for - no saddle soap required, just some water and a stiff brush and it comes up like new. If you really wanted to, you could hose it down without damaging it. It is light weight, making it easy to handle, and it does a really good job of imitating leather, so it looks great too. All the stitching is high quality as are the materials. I found it did pick up hairs easily, but they were simple to get rid of with a soft brush. The Easy Change Gullet System was easy to use, as all gullets come with clear instructions. The saddle is supplied with a medium gullet, but they are available in a range of colour coded sizes from narrow to extra wide at £9.95 each.
I have only one problem with this saddle - it just doesn't stay in place on my pony. She has a flattish back and low withers, but the panels on my wintec are quite curved, and despite proper fitting I find it slips sideways and forwards on our more adventurous hacks. It is worth bearing in mind the shape of your horse before buying one of these.
It is a shame really, because other than this I really love my Wintec. If only my pony was a more conventional shape! I would recommend this saddle due to its quality, durability and ease of care, but I would also recommend asking the saddle fitter if you can ride up and down a few hills to check for slippage before parting with any cash.
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