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  Discussion on Wintec endurance saddle
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Member:
vickiann

Posted on Monday, Jan 21, 2013 - 4:57 pm:

Dr. O, (And others with experience with this saddle) --

I read a discussion from several years ago about your preference for the Wintec endurance saddle.

My Arabian horse who I love to ride is approaching 22, and although he is still tough enough to stand up to mountain rides his top line has fallen (sway-backed) and he has also hallowed somewhat behind his withers and in front of his hips.

It seems like whatever saddle configuration I come up with, it only lasts on him for a year or two and then it is time to find something else. You would not believe all of the different saddles and pads that I have used over the years!

Last fall I had to give him several weeks off because he developed a lump on his spine and was sore in the nerves in his hind that go down to his back legs after I did a lot of camping and riding with him, often with gaited horses. I had been using an Abetta endurance saddle with a CorrecTOR pad. That saddle had not fit him years earlier but it worked out okay with the CorrecTOR. The saddle was horribly uncomfortable for me although my horse did okay in it for nearly 2 years before he finally got very sore.

He apparently can be quite stoic about his back but if something pinches his withers, as finally happened with my big horn, full quarter horse bars saddle that I had used for years, he will buck like crazy at a canter. For a time I used various pads for swaybacked horses but those quit working for me too.

Most recently I have been riding him with a CorrecTOR pad and an American Saddlery Arabian saddle that I had used on my other Arab, which I think would be too narrow on this horse's back except that the CorrecTOR pad seems to allow it to work.

Although he is going okay in this saddle, it is killing me. I am really having problems with my tailbone having a lot of pain after a couple of hours of riding. A normal 3 - 4 hour ride is becoming increasingly difficult to manage.

For a couple of rides I have used a friend's Wintec Isabell dressage saddle with a simple English saddle pad. When on a 3 - 4 hour ride I still had tailbone pain and hip pain as well. I felt that the saddle was constricting me somehow. It helped some to remove the blocks in the front of the flaps.

I am looking at the photos of the endurance style Wintec saddle and am thinking that might work out better for me, although no one seems to have any demonstration saddles in this model. I have read that many find it much less constricting.

Do you have any thoughts about it working for my horse or for me?

A friend helped me put the Wintec measure on my boy's back and it appeared that the extra-wide white gullet was the correct one and that is what I have ridden with so far in the dressage saddle, but we have not been on any hills yet so I am not sure how that will go. His weight right now (over 1000 pounds) is probably higher than he will maintain when we get back up into the mountains and do a lot of riding there again, so the idea of being able to change the gullets is appealing.

Are you still happy with the Wintecs and how about the CAIR system? I don't think that new Wintec endurance saddles are available without the CAIR.

I've also been reading that some who have these saddles suggest placing the various gullets directly on the back where they would sit under the saddle to get the best reading about which gullet fits the best. Do you change the gullets in your saddle and find this whole system works?
Member:
mrose

Posted on Monday, Jan 21, 2013 - 5:23 pm:

Hey Vickie, I thought I would just pipe up here; I have an older Wintec all purpose that I love. I have ridden endurance in it, and have gone on many, many long rides in it. It is extra wide gullet and has been very comfortable for both me and my horses. I am 5'3" and a lot of saddles have too wide a twist for me. I have never gotten sore in this saddle. I haven't ridden in the newer ones, but if the endurance model is as good as the older all purpose one, you'll like it.
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Monday, Jan 21, 2013 - 6:52 pm:

Thanks so much, Sara.

Surely hoping to find something that works for long hours and consecutive days for both me and my horse.

Right now I can barely manage a once weekly ride.
Member:
mrose

Posted on Monday, Jan 21, 2013 - 7:40 pm:

I have having a lot of pain in my back; pelvic area right up the spine through shoulders and neck. I've never thought about it, but I wonder if it's related to the saddle I'm using? I bought last year an old western saddle for Mikey that looks great on him and fits him really well. The trainer loves it and he and his assistant tell me how comfortable it is for them. Due to my accident, then traveling, I haven't ridden in it much until just recently. This past week I rode and had lessons for four days in a row - a lot of finesse stuff; using core muscles. The second day I was almost in tears and very stiff feeling. Is this what you are feeling? This old saddle has a bigger swale in the front than I'm used to. Where and what pain/discomfort do you get? I have never been sore from riding before in my entire life and it's really bothering me mentally.
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 22, 2013 - 12:39 pm:

While trying so many different things over the years to find what works on my horse I have discovered that even a small fraction of an inch in the way something is shimmed can make a huge difference with regard to rider comfort.

The Arabian saddle was shimmed differently for a ride in North Carolina the first time that I used it on Lance, and for the entire ride my back was killing me with pain that radiated upward. He was also rubbed by it on the loins over only a two hour period of time.

The next time I rode in the saddle I shimmed it differently, as instructed by Len Brown who invented and sells the CorrecTOR pad, and the change resulted in me having no back pain.

I did, however, suffer from the tailbone pain and I am beginning to think that I will never really be able to fully solve this problem, but I am hoping to minimize it.

I certainly think that a saddle issue can contribute to pain that radiates various places.

A big issue for me is the position that a saddle puts my legs into. Sometimes they pull my legs back too far and then I am generally miserable all over.

I hope that you can find a way to avoid the discomfort that you have recently been suffering.

Riding should not be painful like what you described and what I have been enduring recently.
Member:
mrose

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 22, 2013 - 1:03 pm:

It is amazing; and if such little things make a big difference with us the rider, imagine how much difference little things can make in comfort to the horse!

I will suffer through this show this weekend, then experiement with another saddle. Before my accident, when I was riding in one of Lou's saddles, I had no pain - although I felt the saddle was too big for me. I'll try the same saddle again. If pain continues, then I'll assume it is residue from the accident and work on it. I am using one of those Back on Track back wraps and feel it really helps. I slept on the Back on Track small blanket last night and woke up feeling better than normal. Corinne put me onto those btw.

The thought of the pain coming from the saddle just never occured to me. I'm glad I read your post! But...none of this is helping you with your problem!

btw, I have broken my "tail bone" two different times. It is very tender if pushed on. I have learned to ride up on my seat bones, which really helps; but of course, that makes another problem - I have to be careful not to lean too far forward! LOL
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 22, 2013 - 4:43 pm:

Good idea to try that other saddle, even if it is too big for you.

You would not believe the trial and error process I went through about 3 years ago working with the shims.

I was so uncomfortable all over for two entire rides that I could barely stand to stay in the saddle. It was horrid. I was doing all sorts of contortions trying to get some relief, and did in fact get off for a while, but I was miles from the trailhead.

But then when I got the shims just right everything was comfortable and suddenly a saddle that I thought that I did NOT fit into correctly fit just fine. Unfortunately it was rather long on Lance's back and when he DrOpped some weight and we got up into the mountains there was no way that I could keep it from riding back onto his hip.

Now that his weight is up, maybe I need to try that one again, but I know that it would not work in the mountains. It is a Bob Marshall deluxe endurance saddle that was modified by Len Brown to contain more stuffing and kind of an English tree.

While I am tempted to try that saddle on my ride tomorrow I guess that I will stick with the Wintec just to make sure that it works for Lance as I consider whether I ought to order one of the endurance Wintecs.

Hope you have a more comfortable ride on your nest outing.

I find that sitting on long car rides can set me up for discomfort and I haven't quite recovered yet from Christmas travel.

Sitting can be a really painful experience!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 23, 2013 - 7:33 am:

Hello Vicki,
I still ride my same Wintec Endurance but have no experience with the newer CAIR system. As to how well the saddle may work for you I am uncertain but find this saddle amazingly adaptable as I ride both a 16 hand 1300 lb TWH or a 15 hand 1000 lb Paso Fino with this same saddle.
DrO
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Thursday, Jan 24, 2013 - 3:37 pm:

Thanks very much, Dr. O.

If I find that Lance tolerates The CAIR of this dressage saddle perhaps I will order one of the Wintec endurance saddles.

I've gone on a couple of trail rides in the dressage Wintec and while it is not ideal for me I did much better on my second outing. I think that the endurance model would probably eliminate the rider issues that I have had.

It helped me greatly on my trail ride yesterday to take a 15 minute break halfway through about a 3-hour ride. I also focused on sitting in a better position.

Sara, I discussed your question about whether it is possible to be uncomfortable and painful all over due to a saddle issue with a friend of mine who rides a lot, and she was telling me about riding in her very comfortable cavalry saddle on her elder mare who has become very sway backed.

All of her Arabs have substantially the same body type so that she has mostly been able to use the same saddles on them.

But even for a shorter ride, her Cavalry saddle became extraordinarily uncomfortable on the sway backed mare to the point that she hurt absolutely everywhere.

So I guess even in the same usually comfortable saddle a person can be uncomfortable due to how the saddle sits on a horse.
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Thursday, Jan 24, 2013 - 3:39 pm:

By the way, Dr. O, I should have added that I reviewed your information about saddle fitting and found that to be very helpful and informative.
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