making a halfpad into a correction pad

[enjoytheride]

I need a correction type halfpad but I don't want to fork over the money for the correction mattes, fleeceworks, or equine comfort (the cheapest). Can I take a regular halfpad and remove the stiching from the center, add velcro, and stick my own insert in between the cotton and the sheepskin?

[Couture TB]

My half pad that I paid a whopping $30 for actually has the velcro down the middle and both sides are seperate that you take out. That might be easier for you.

[enjoytheride]

Where did you get your halfpad and is it real or fake sheepskin? Have you washed it and did it hold up?

[Couture TB]

It's fake (which is why the price was that) and I have washed it a TON of times, have had it for 6yrs now and it is still going strong. I got it at a local tack shop. I can look when I go out to the stable to see what brand it is if you like.

[enjoytheride]

I think I am looking for a realsheepskin pad. Has anyone else thought of modifying their pad to make it a correction pad?

[kashmere]

The real cost of most correction pads comes from the fact that they are sheepskin. For example, the thinline saddle fitter pad is something like $170.00 for the pad and the shims, but the replacement shims are less than $50.00 if i remember correctly. To save on money, you're probably looking at synthetic/fleece materials.

[Equitate.]

Maybe try a lollipop pad with the fleece cover.
Or:
A pillow wrap/ no bow folded and placed below your saddle giving you the extra lift.
this would only work if you need the lift in back, of course.

GaellentQuest- $30?!! holy Cow!

[jn4jenny]

The real cost of most correction pads comes from the fact that they are sheepskin. For example, the thinline saddle fitter pad is something like $170.00 for the pad and the shims, but the replacement shims are less than $50.00 if i remember correctly. To save on money, you're probably looking at synthetic/fleece materials.

I don't think sheepskin is the price problem; brand markup is the problem. The Thinline Saddle Fitter pad is a contract product through Engels sheepskin pads. The regular non-shim Engels pad retails for $55, and it's only negligibly lower in quality than a Mattes pad (not surprising since they're both made of medical grade sheepskin with heavy quilting on top). The price of correction pads is mostly markup, or in the case of the Thinline Saddle Fitter pad, the cost of the shims (Thinline probably costs more to manufacture than Mattes' stiff felt).

To the OP: I've never ripped open a half pad to find out if your idea is possible. It would be an expensive experiment if it failed. If you want to go ghetto-tastic without ruining your half pad, just tape attach the shim to some other saddle pad (or even right to your saddle). Duct tape is your friend.

Or just bite the bullet and buy a Thinline Saddle Fitter. They're not THAT expensive. You can get them for around $140 if you really shop around.

[Pally]

What if, instead of removing seams (who knows what you might find in there), you tacked a pocket for the shims on top of the existing quilting? You would have to very careful not to leave any lumps or bumps in your stitching. Also, I wouldn't try to go makeshift on the shims themselves...you don't want to do anthing that will make more pressure points.

[Two Black Cats]

I was actually talking about this very thing with a saddle fitter last week. The shims that you insert into the slots on a Mattes correction pad to adjust the fit of a saddle are actually nothing more than thick felt. So, what I did was purchase some thick white felt from a fabric store, and sewed it into the inside of my existing Equifit T-foam pad and voila! I now have a correction pad that is not only customized to my horse but only cost me an additional $5. It helps that you can open the fleece over of the pad up via a velcro seam on the top -- no real "surgery" needed. I do know that Dover has some fairly inexpensive square fleece pads -- you might want to look into one of those as well and customize it.

Worked like a dream and my horse is very happy.

[JB]

You don't even really need pockets. A piece of felt or wool, depending on how thick you need it, should not slip, so you can place it between the pad and your saddle. That gives you the ability to totally tailor the placement of the shim to your needs, not just have to make do with where the pocket says you have to put the shim.

If you're really concerned about the shim slipping (and if it makes for a proper fit, it really should not, mine don't slip even when I use "slick" shims), then glue or sew velcro on the pad and the shims.

[roki143]

Just a note -- ALL of the ThinLine products are shimmable (other than those flat basic pads of course), thus making them all saddle-fitter pads!

[enjoytheride]

I was looking for something tidy for showing in which is why I wanted shims to be on the inside of a pad. Has anyone else modified a pad?

I've seen halfpads for $30 - $60 so that would be a good price to experiment and avoid spending $170 on a correction pad.

[Keep1Belle]

check out www.equinityperformance.com. The quad pocket pad, aka shimmed/saddle fitter pad is $135 real medical grade sheepskin with 2 sets of shims. also have a non-sheepskin quilted half pad with shims for much less.

[Two Black Cats]

I also discovered that this pad works nicely...and it's cheap! There is velcro already sewn into the top, so you can easily sew in some shims -- exactly where you need them. If it doesn't work out, well, at least you haven't committed a ton of cash:

http://www.doversaddlery.com/product.asp?pn=X1-19101&ids=141743605

An added bonus is that the T-foam inserts in my Equifit pad fit perfectly inside of it. So, if anyone out there has this the Quifit pad and doesn't want to spring $80 for an extra cover, this is so the way to go!