I'm thinking about buying a Wintec Western Saddle for my daughter.  She'll needs a 14" now but will probably outgrow it in about 2 years.  I just bought her a show saddle and not having a lot of luck finding a decent quality used non-show saddle.  I've heard the Wintec's are a nice alternative for kids, as they're lightweight, easy to handle and pretty low-maintenance.

Any experience with these?

Ive heard unhappy things about the wintec western saddles- the english models are loved by many. I personally dont like fabric saddles with plastic trees, but they are light weight and cheap.

Ive known several people who really liked their "bighorn" combo leather/fabic saddles. the trees in the bighorn saddles are known to be a good tree. and the bighorns seem to keep their value compared to the wintec western-well at least around here-I guess it all depends on what your local tack store sells the most!Gee, at least you are getting her a saddle- I had to ride bareback for 10 years.

I have a Fabtron saddle which I absolutely love. It is also a synthetic saddle. The seat, cantle, pommel are leather but the stirrups, fenders and skirt are nylon/cordura.

I love them for being lightweight and easy to clean plus super comfy.

Do you need to use nylon cinch straps on the Wintec's.  It seem that I read when the English models first came out that if you use leather accessories it would cause some sort of "breakdown" of the synthetic materials.  I'm not a big fan of nylon cinch straps - sent a horse to a trainer once who used them, and they wore sores on the horse.

Thanks for the feedback!!

I have always used nylon cinches and have never had a horse burned by one.  Just make sure that you don't overtighten it.  Its very easy to do because the nylon "slides" much easier than leather. 

I have an Abetta saddle that I use for my 9 year old and it works great.  She has no problem handeling it because it is so light.  And my horse knows the difference, when I put my saddle on she turns her head and gives me a funny look.

I purchased a Wintec Western Saddle when they first came out and I still own and use it at times. This saddle is NOT a cordura saddle, but it is similar to the "beta" form of biothane, and has leather only for a horn wrap and stirrup "footbeds". I would think that leather latigos would be okay, but I have kept the origianal equipment with the addition of a neoprene cinch.

The good news is that it weighs 17 pounds and comes fully (double) rigged with front and back dees. I think it would make an excellent saddle for a child or small woman who rode short duration or arena workouts. Hey it even fits my mules!

The only bad news I have found is that it doesn't appear to wear well and gets a  little ugly after getting scratched or heavy wear. I did some find that shoe polish could touch up some of the worst scratches fairly well.