Bates Saddles
Bates Saddles is a well-known brand of English horse saddles. The company was founded in Australia in 1934 and has since expanded its operations to other countries, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Bates saddles are known for their innovative design and use of modern materials, such as synthetic leather and Cair Cushion System, which provide comfort and durability for both the horse and rider. The brand offers a wide range of saddles for various riding disciplines, including dressage, jumping, and eventing.
One of the unique features of Bates saddles is the adjustable gullet system, which allows riders to change the width of the saddle to fit different horses. This makes the saddle more versatile and cost-effective for riders who may own multiple horses with different body types.
Overall, Bates saddles are popular among riders for their quality, performance, and customization options. The ability to alter the fit of the Bates Saddles to each individual horse is what makes this brand of saddles so popular and so easy to fit and use.
Bates Changeable Gullets is a feature of Bates saddles that allows riders to adjust the width of the saddle’s gullet to fit different horses. The gullet is the space between the panels of the saddle that sits over the horse’s spine.
Bates Changeable Gullets come with a range of interchangeable gullet plates that can be easily swapped out to adjust the width of the gullet. This allows riders to customize the fit of the saddle to different horses, without having to buy a new saddle for each horse.
To change the gullet plate, the rider simply needs to loosen the screws that hold the plate in place, remove the old plate, and replace it with a new one of a different size. Bates saddles typically come with a tool that makes it easy to remove and replace the gullet plates.
It’s important to note that changing the gullet plate alone may not be enough to ensure a proper fit for a particular horse. Other factors, such as the shape of the horse’s back and the angle of the tree points, also affect the fit of the saddle. It’s always best to work with a qualified saddle fitter to ensure that the saddle fits both the rider and the horse properly.
The Bates Cair Cushion is in most of the Bates saddles. It is a type of internal saddle cushion that is designed to provide extra comfort and shock absorption for horses during riding. The cushion uses a unique air system, with pockets of air located throughout the pad, which allows the cushion to conform to the horse’s back and distribute pressure evenly across the surface. The Bates Cair Cushion is designed to work together with the other Bates fitting options for optimal comfort and performance for both the horse and rider. The Bates Cair Cushion helps to fit different types of horses and alleviate sore backs whilst creating a super comfortable saddle for both horse and rider. It also prevents the old-fashioned need of reflocking a wool or synthetic stuffed saddle. It prevents lumping created by the older style flocked saddles and also prevents pressure points on the horses backs made by an uneven saddle. Cair cushioning system is now included in a marketing system known as HART . HART is the acronym for the saddle fitting systems included in the Bates made saddles. Bates, Wintec and Arena Saddles are all made and designed by BATES and these brands all use this HART marketing and branding to make it known to the customers around the world that the saddle has various saddle fitting strategies in place. Making these saddles a popular choice among equestrians who are looking for a high-quality, easy to fit ,comfortable, and durable saddles.
The technology that makes up HART in Bates, Wintec and Arena saddles
- CAIR Cushion System: Internal saddle Protective cushioning for the horse
- EASY-CHANGE gullet fitting system for Precision custom fit
- Elastiflex Tree allowing Ergonomic flex to prevent rigid tree pressing on muscles
- Performance panel technology allowing Free movement of the horse
- Comfort seat technology providing Superior rider performance:
If a saddle has all these features, is it worthy of the HART badge. Saddles that may contain this system are Wintec, Arena and Bates brands. HART technology has been proven to be transformative for both horse and rider:. HART is Designed and made by Bates