What's your favorite western saddle pad and why?

[meaty ogre]

Do you use a different one for summer vs. winter? I'm on a tack binge right now. I went to the tack shop to look for slobber straps and got sidetracked into the saddle pad department and was overwhelmed by all the options.

I have been riding in a "new breed" open weave neoprene grippy saddle pad. I like the level of cushioning without being too thick, and the fact that it doesn't slide at all. I do wonder if it's too heavy or if one that absorbed sweat would be better. But, I'm not unhappy with it and it was cheap, and super easy to clean (hose off, air dries in minutes) so I'll probably stick with it. I am curious as to what everyone else uses though.

[saddleup]

I like the Professional's Choice SMx Air Ride pads. I had a horse who was very thin-skinned, and got saddle pad sores from every pad I tried except this type. Now I use them on all my horses. I go on trail rides that are usually from 3-6 hours, and have never had any sores or slipping or sore backs, either. The last one I bought this spring was $150, but I think it was worth it.

[gabz]

contour shaped (raised up to follow the withers) felt pads. Or loose weave wool pads.

My favorite is the Wyatt Ranch pad... My version was only $160... It is 2 pieces, the bottom is felt, shaped, and has a line of velcro down the center. The upper pad is wool felt, with lots of leather and decorations, and is contoured too. It has the opposing velcro down the center. This lets me take the bottom section off to wash it, without ruining the upper pad.

[GallopingGrape]

Ditto on the SMX Air Rides - my horses back stays nice and cool. A nice felt pad is great too, nice wicking abilities. Careful with the "tacky tack" pads on long rides... would you want to run around in tacky tack underpants? Uuugh.....

[meaty ogre]

Careful with the "tacky tack" pads on long rides... would you want to run around in tacky tack underpants? Uuugh.....

Haha. Nope, sure wouldn't, but I can't say I would want to run around in flet or wool undies either!

I don't like slippage because friction creates heat. I think that excess movement, whether it is the saddle, the rider, or both, are the culprits of most discomfort.

It seems like most of the western pads are sooo thick. I'm thinking of trying a non-slip liner with a light wool blanket.

I did check out an air-ride pad at the tack shop and it does seem nice but $109 is steep and they don't look easy to clean. How do you wash those things?

[carp]

It's kind of funny at my barn right now. As summer progresses everyone is gradually switching from heavy felt or foam western pads to lightweight woven saddle blankets. Most of us ride wide little quarter horse types. As the horses get more fit, one rider after another starts bitching that her saddle is rolling sideways off the horse. We all laugh, tell her to get a thinner saddle pad, and problem is cured.

[Bank of Dad]

I have been using a Tacky Too, neoprene waffle weave in cool weather. I just switched to a combo of a Dixie Midnight knockoff with a 5 Star wool pad. The DM so far hasn't irritated his back, it lets sweat drip off. That wool pad would weigh 20 lbs more if it were fill with wet sweat.

[Mersy]

Although I am a fan of wool fleece, I recently picked up a Suparcor endurance pad and am impressed. It is not very thick, aprox 1/2"-3/4" thick, it stays cool and offers great protection. It does not get heavier when wet and is easy to clean, just hose or wipe off.

[katarine]

Prof Choice Air Ride pads w/ or w/o Dixie Midnight under it. The Prof Choice won't hold sweat, it seems to wick very well. easy to rinse off and be done.

I love my 'old school' good navajo wool blankets, folded double but these new-school, shaped pads are the bomb. Easy to fit over their toplines and be kind to their withers/offer relief.

Any of the "Won Pads" are great too: 1" thick wool. really a good pad.

[Kota]

Because of the shape of my horses back, I have to use a contour pad. But I oh so wish that they made mayatex blankets with a contour top. It doesnt matter how much I pull the blanket up into the gullet, it always manages to slide down and get tight across her withers :(

This is what i'm using: http://www.horsesaddleshop.com/tucker-saddle-pad.html

But i'm 95% sure that i'll be buying a Pro Choice pad this weekend.

[Tee]

Another for the Pro Choice pads. I needed a thinner pad for my saddle (horse just kept growing and tried to outgrow his saddle!) and have found this pad to be great. I have two of them now. :-)

[2Horse]

I use a Reinsman tacky pad that has cloth on top. It is contured.
I have also used just the plain tacky pad, but didn't like how the bottom of my saddle got wet and dirty. So I used a thin blanket on top.
My other favorite pad has a blanket top, neoprene middle and felt bottom.

[JenLS]

Reinsman Tacky Too

[birdsong]

The absolute best saddle pad hands down is a plain felt wool pad. Mine is the 1" thick one. I have used nothing else for over 10 years now. I have many others , some given to me including the tacky pads but for wicking away sweat, and protection for the horses back there is nothing else!! Sure, there will always be something else new and neat, but don't fall victim to the latest fads.

[Perfect Pony]

My saddle came (used) with a Ricotti wool felt pad, LOVE it!

http://www.ricottisaddle.com/saddle_pad.htm

[jeano]

I have a country supply/horse.com double synthetic fleece blanket (the gazelle or whichever one has no foam in it, just double fleece) that I use layered over a tacky liner. Also the same effect from a tackylined cheap fleece pad from Chick's. These work real well on my mare under her Abetta, and under the gelding's synthetic Paragon/endurance knockoff. When I use the wide gullet Abetta on the narrow gelding I use a one inch thick felt pad to take up some room, again with the thin tacky liner under the pad. These horses are ridden by heavyweight riders for hours and hours at a time thru the hot Georgia summers and so far this year, no problems. Last summer we had saddle issues with both nags and they both got white hairs behind the withers. With their new saddles and the above pads so far no problems at all. I used to swear by thick wool and nothing but wool. I did use a tacky type thick ventilated pad on the gelding under his saddle but it didnt work as well as the fleece layered arrangement for some reason.

Country supply claims the synthetic fleece allows moisture to dissipate and maybe it does--dunno. I do know that it has to be a pretty long hot ride here for them to come home excessively hot under the saddle--case in point, 5 hour midday (10-3PM) cross country ride the other day-- temps in the 90's, humidity fairly high, neither horse was steamy when untacked.

ETA--whenever either horse is ridden with my buddy's Ortho Flex, that horse has a nice long dry spot down their spine, and demonstrably the cooler back. Those booties and panels really are great--wish you could have that system under any saddle for a similar effect.

[Auventera Two]

Toklat Woolback endurance pad with Ultracell inserts, and felt inserts. I can't imagine a sheep running around its whole life wearing neoprene, rubber or a tacky tack suit. They seem pretty comfortable in their wool. It wicks, it breathes, ir moves. I've given up on synthetic pads. I am a die-hard wool convert. It does not slip or shift, even on a horse with bad back conformation. It always leaves a perfect sweat pattern on every horse I use it on.

I have one of those SMX Air Ride pads, and while it looks really nice, and it's okay for short rides, I would not trust my horse's back to that pad for long rides. It feels like a cheap chunk of cardboard with some bubble wrap over it. I use it as a backup or when my dad rides the QH on short rides - he goes about 5-8 miles. I do love the way those pads look and fit their back though.

There was a story on Ridecamp about an endurance horse who lost a lot of skin on his back due to heat blistering from a Supracor pad. And another story by a poster here about a piece of that "dryback" material (like Dixie Midnight) that tore loose and rubbed a nasty sore on a horse.

I guess I just feel safest with good ole, thick, clean wool. I don't like the navajo blankets just because they're so thin with no cushion. I like the 1" thick felted wool pads also.

[katarine]

Prof Choice Air Ride pads: I guess all those reiners, can chasers, cutters, working cow horses putting 8 million miles a year on those pads doesn't cut it for some folks :lol:. I've seen what's inside the new Air Ride pads: it's this cool almost styrofoam-looking material that won't hold water- it runs right through it, and does an amazing job reducing concussion or the feel of any tight spots- you can try to dig your knuckle into your opposite hand's palm through it, and just about not feel it. I use a newer one with the kidney shaped inserts in it under my QH's custom Rocking R and he's happy as a clam in it. We've logged a zillion miles in it, and the other one that I've got is at least 6-7 years old. His back has improved under that custom saddle, and the Charmayne James version is a lower profile than my older one, hence the new pad. But the old one is good as new, just dirtier, lol.

as for Navajos, the GOOD ones, the real ones, are 3/4" thick once they are doubled, and do a great job. Pure wool. Not cheap, but a great pad if you like that traditional look. I have one I've used pretty hard since high school and that was a lonnng time ago.

[GallopingGrape]

Dittos Katarine... SMX pads are awesome... Auventera Two, I'm not sure which SMX pad you were using, there are a few.. but none of the ones I have sound anything like your description.....

[DairyQueen2049]

5 star WOOL pads are the best pads I've ever seen or used.
http://www.5starequineproducts.com/

[Bank of Dad]

I have the thick wool 5 Star pad that I use with the Dixie Midnight. If I use it without, won't the wool pad just soak up all that summer sweat and weigh like 20 lbs more?

[gabz]

I have the thick wool 5 Star pad that I use with the Dixie Midnight. If I use it without, won't the wool pad just soak up all that summer sweat and weigh like 20 lbs more?

Okay here's a tip for everyone who questions wool.

Buy a pair of wool socks. They come in thin, medium and tough guy. Wear them. If your feet sweat, all the better (mine don't), your feet won't feel wet and your sock won't get heavy. Now, try a cotton sock. Then try some polyester sock. They will get wet and soggy.

When you take wool and fluff it and stretch it and compact it, you create wool FELT. Light, breathable absorbable. There is a reason that the army issues wool blankets and wool socks. Even when wet, they continue to work. Woven wool works in a similar fashion. The weave allows air through it.
This is also why wool fleece on a western saddle is better than the polyester fluff...

so far as the SMX pads... I guess they keep changing them? One that I had, had bubble wrap inside it, essentially. It crackled.

Cotton sucks the heat out - but it absorbs all the water and becomes water-logged. Wool doesn't do that.

P.S. I am sure that the Military now has some tekno fiber that works even better than wool - especially in the middle-east.

[meaty ogre]

I went back and thought about getting an air ride pad, but they're just too thick. To me, if the saddle fits, you can't stick a 1" thick pad under there. I wouldn't dream of doing that in my english saddle.

I have a real wool woven blanket and a thin tacky liner. I'm going to try that because I think even the new breed is too thick, though it is only 2 ply.

If I could find a 1/2" or 1/4" wool felt pad, I'd do it. I may order a felt liner pad and just use it as my only pad.

Thanks for all the advice and tips. The air rides must be great to get so many thumbs-ups, but I'm still not quite sold.

[Auventera Two]

so far as the SMX pads... I guess they keep changing them? One that I had, had bubble wrap inside it, essentially. It crackled. .

Yup. I have that Charmayne James one. It crackles and pops when you move it. It sounds just like plastic, cardboard and bubble wrap. I do like the way they look and fit but I'm sorry I just wouldn't trust the pad for the long haul, but that's just me.

[gabz]

I went back and thought about getting an air ride pad, but they're just too thick. To me, if the saddle fits, you can't stick a 1" thick pad under there. I wouldn't dream of doing that in my english saddle.

I have a real wool woven blanket and a thin tacky liner. I'm going to try that because I think even the new breed is too thick, though it is only 2 ply.

If I could find a 1/2" or 1/4" wool felt pad, I'd do it. I may order a felt liner pad and just use it as my only pad.

Thanks for all the advice and tips. The air rides must be great to get so many thumbs-ups, but I'm still not quite sold.

country supply (I know, coal to some, a gem to others) has a great, thin, contour pad. Cheap enough to buy 2 and swap them throughout the week.
http://www.horse.com/Western-Tack/Saddle-Pads/Wool-Pad-with-Adjustable-Wither-Strap-WIA15.html

[meaty ogre]

Gabz, I actually looked at that pad but they call it "thick" and it says it's 3/4" so I passed. Is it thinner than that?

I'm thinking about getting some of these:
http://www.horse.com/Horse.com-Exclusives/Exclusives-Western/Pro-Craft-Dry-Ice-Felt-Saddle-Pad-1-4-WIP04.html

At $9.99, what do I have to lose? Says it's only 1/4" which sounds reasonable to me.

[gabz]

Gabz, I actually looked at that pad but they call it "thick" and it says it's 3/4" so I passed. Is it thinner than that?

I'm thinking about getting some of these:
http://www.horse.com/Horse.com-Exclusives/Exclusives-Western/Pro-Craft-Dry-Ice-Felt-Saddle-Pad-1-4-WIP04.html

At $9.99, what do I have to lose? Says it's only 1/4" which sounds reasonable to me.

It's not as thick as 3/4" ... more like 1/2" unless they've changed it.

I have used the felt pads like those without anything else. I prefer the ones that are thicker than 1/4" though. That's VERY meager. 1/2" would be better. That's what I call "hospital felt"... you can use the black shedding blocks to clean these of hair too. : ) and switch them front to back and over and under. LOL...

The other one, with the wither strap, is contoured - it will be a MUCH better fit than the purely squared ones. I did cut a slit in one of the white felt ones, so that it would not tighten on the withers, but that only made it bunch up .. :no:

[matryoshka]

I bought a waffle-weave pad from Tractor Supply. I bought it for several reasons: it has space in the gullet for horses with prominent backbones, it has wither relief, and it allows air to flow through it so that it does not get heavy with sweat. Last year I used an average pad for a CTR, and the thing must have gained 20 or more pounds in weight from absorbing my horse's sweat. I should've brought another pad so I could switch part way through the ride. Now I don't have to worry about it.

Oh, it has pockets so I can change the foam pads inside if I want. How cool is that? It was $70. The only drawback is that it is for a square-skirted saddle, and I ride in a round-skirted saddle. That might not be a bad thing, since it extends far enough back to pad my horse from the saddle bags we'll be carrying if we manage to get to a CTR this fall.

[Argyle]

I have several western pads...but the Skito pads by the Carousel Tight people are my favorite. And they will make them custom for your saddle/horses fit.

A lot of endurance folks use these pads.

[CatOnLap]

I love my loose weave real wool pads. They go in the washing machine and dryer just fine ( low temp) and they seem very easy on the horse's back, no dry spots, and no slickery wet spots as wool soaks it up without feeling wet. For my western saddle, I use one wool pad on the back, a thin felt pad in between and a "pretty" wool blanket on top. For schooling english, I use a single wool blanket under the saddle. My dressage horse loves his wool blanket much more than the fancy cotton dressage saddle pads I've been collecting for years, and we are looking for a plain white one to use at shows...

[birdsong]

5 star WOOL pads are the best pads I've ever seen or used.
http://www.5starequineproducts.com/

The site said they have pads of different sizes. I think 1/2" was one of them. And they have all styles. Nothing beats wool.

[Fancy That]

I love the 5 Star Pads - from what I've researched. And I'm glad they come in the 1/2" or 3/4"

I'm an English rider (eventing) and cannot understand why some western pads are SO thick??!!! If you have a well-fitting english saddle, you can ride with a baby pad underneath it! Something so thin, that when compressed, it's probably 1/8" inch?

I'm also a stickler with breathability - so 100% wool (or at a minimum, natural fabric) is a must.

We just got a Belgian gelding for my S.O., and since he rides Western (but a major re-rider), we found an amazing saddle that truly fits his broad "table-top" back.

Now my problem is finding a pad long enough, that is also contoured, and breathable and THIN! The thicker the pad, the more it can make the saddle shift and roll - especially because he is so flat/round/no withered etc. I want the saddle to do it's job and stay in place by fitting correctly, not the pad to be built up to make the saddle more comfortable.

Do Western Riders use real sheepskin pads? Like we have in the English world? I find those amazing, but don't see them being used much in the Western realm...

this is a very useful thread :)

[Overo Kid]

I love the 5 Star Pads - from what I've researched. And I'm glad they come in the 1/2" or 3/4"

I'm an English rider (eventing) and cannot understand why some western pads are SO thick??!!! If you have a well-fitting english saddle, you can ride with a baby pad underneath it! Something so thin, that when compressed, it's probably 1/8" inch?'t see them being used much in the Western realm...



Western bars are a different shape than English bars, and there's not nearly as much padding--the bottom of an English saddle has all that flocking, a western saddle doesn't. Think of the western pad like the flocking of your English saddle. A well fitted English saddle needs no pad--originally pads were just used to keep the saddles clean. That's not the case with western saddles.

[Chief2]

Just passing by here, but I thought I would chime in. I like the CushionAir pads under my western saddle. Helps to keep the pressure off of the spine, so the horse moves out very nicely under you. I place a this saddle blanket on top, and am set for the ride. Some folks don't like using it solo because it feels slippery on top (under the saddle).

Wool felt pads and liners: used them for years, and they are great, but didn't perform as well as the above pad did for my horse.

[Guilherme]

I bought a reproduction 1860 wool cavalry blanket from The Blockade Runner in Wartrace, TN and folded it "cavalry style." Gives a six layer wool laminate that will wick moisture, provide adequate shock absorption, and the "laminate" feature allows excellent accomodation of the saddle to the back.

I use it not only with my seldome used Western saddle but also my English general purpose saddle. :)

For a grand total of under $60 you can't go wrong. :cool:

G.

[gabz]

OH WOW... I came across White Eagle saddle pad listing on Smith Brothers, when I was trying to find the draft horse size... so I checked at HorseTack Review
http://www.horsetackreview.com/results-reader-reviews/Western%20Saddle%20Fittings/Pads

Check out (way at the bottom) the reviews the White Eagle saddle pad got.

Here's a link to the actual pad. THere are 3 versions: http://www.e-tackroom.com/catalog/?c=38

http://www.smithbrothers.com/product.asp?pn=X3-19026&c2p=ppv