Saddles discussed already---what about pads??

[bewitchedarabians]

We already covered what saddles folks ride in, how about saddle pad recommendations? I need to find a good pad to use for my western saddle. What have you all found to the best pads for the horse, for any/all 'style' saddles?

[bewitchedarabians]

We already covered what saddles folks ride in, how about saddle pad recommendations? I need to find a good pad to use for my western saddle. What have you all found to the best pads for the horse, for any/all 'style' saddles?

[Halcyon Days]

I have a Skito and Supracor, love them both! They both come english or western, supracor is more breathable, easier to clean (just hose off) the skito is great for shock absorbtion, and some horses do prefer the fleece bottom of the skito.

[EBO]

Skito--fixes lots of saddle sins.

[Trakehners2000]

Haven't used it in CT, though we love the Todd Slone pad. Will have to check out some of the ones you all mentioned as if anyone uses our mare for CT, they will have to use the western saddle.... good topic.

[A. P.]

My TWH gelding sweats like a pig. I use a Dixie Midnight pad under a regular pad, and highly recommend them. They are a plastic mesh, so the sweat runs out from uner them, keeping you regular pad dry. The DM pad can be simply hosed off, dries quickly.

[Phaxxton]

Nothing beats a thick wool felt pad - shock absorbtion, wicks away moisture, and draws heat away from the skin, keeping the area under the saddle cooler. Can't beat 'em!

[FifteenOne]

I'm seconding the recommendation for the Supracor pad.

I got one (used) about a year ago and both my horse & I love it. He seemed happier under saddle with it & I love the hose-it-and-it's-clean maintenance.

I was able to save some $$ by finding one for sale second-hand that was in great condition, but after using this one I wouldn't hesitate to pay full price for new if I need to replace it in the future.

[KarenC]

AP, I've been thinking about getting a Dixie Midnight pad. What pad do you use over it? I was thinking if I got a Dixie Midnight, I would save money in the long run because I could use inexpensive pads over the Dixie.

[onyxmoonshadow]

Equipad for me. I tried the 100% sheep skin pad but it create to much heat on LDs. The next best thing is the Supercor.

[prudence]

I use a Toklat pad that is mostly wool but seems to have one side of it that is a little different. I've used it for many miles and so far so good. It was suggested to me by a veteran of about a zillion miles. Very happy with it!

[runswithhorses]

I only use wool, such as the Woolback.

[bewitchedarabians]

I had been thinking to go with the wool fleece, found a Toklat english-cut wool (shorter pile wool) on closeout at sportack, so ordered one...it'll be here Monday...what is the difference between the english-cut (shorter pile) wool VS the western-cut (longer pile) wool---aside from the obvious, one being shorter pile, other longer, lol...which is actually better to use?? Pros & cons of each, how do they compare? Am I going to be happy with this English cut pile pad??

[prudence]

That type of pad (Toklat English Wool) is the kind I have used for two years now. I actually have two so one can dry out. I put them in the washer after a few rides as we get really sweaty. DONT put them in the dryer!

My daughter uses the western one with her Circle Y saddle and that works great for her. It does have longer pile but I think my English pad is certainly thick enough.

[runswithhorses]

I have only ever used the short pile. The only problem I can think of regarding the long pile is that I wonder if it clumps up more when it gets sweaty? Just a guess.

[onyxmoonshadow]

I think your right about the long pyle. My horse's back would be soaked and he was very hard to cool and the I could feel the heat coming from under the saddle and it would be buring my bum (really). So I got rid of any/all wool I had. The equipad has been a god send!

[Valdean]

Ditto on the pure woolskin fleece pads. We also combine a gel pad since we have "sensitive" tbs.

[katarine]

We use Dixie Midnights under wool navajos. really help wick that sweat off. Mr Kat's horse used to sweat up all over under saddle, since we added the DM's he doesn't get as hot- that pad is pulling so much sweat and heat away from him, he's staying cooler.

www.dixiemidnight.com (http://www.dixiemidnight.com)

[chicamuxen]

I also use a Dixie Midnight pad under Toklat Woolbacks and Skito pads. The DM seems like a lot of money but it is a really good buy because it means al your other pads last and last. You will seldom have to wash the top pads as they stay clean. Washing machines are really wearing on pads.

Plus, the DM keeps my horsees back significantly cooler and drier.

Bonnie S.

[Reginapony]

I have a Smith-Worthington Maxx trail saddle. I use a 3/8" thick Diamond Wool saddle pads with the cut out in the middle, or a thick wool navajo saddle blanket. I am a recreational trail rider, and my saddle is custom fitted to my mare, so I don't need a very thick pad. My mares back stays cool with the wool pads or blankets, because they are very absorbent.

[mustangrider]

I now use a SaddleRight pad and my horse loves it. Yes, it's expensive but if horse is happy, I'm happy. I've gone through so many pads I could start my own tack shop. The SaddleRight is guaranteed not to compress or harden with age; if it does, they will replace it for free.

[CanterQueen]

Skito. I don't leave the barn with it! http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[marta]

these prices make my head spin!
and then to add to my confusion, an endurance rider i recently spoke to told me that she uses regular cotton saddle pads!
so what do i do?
i don't have $ to burn but i don't want my mare to come back w/ welts. although, she's never had a back problem and we use regular cotton pads. somehow, i feel like it'll be 'different' at our first 25 and that i should use a 'better' pad.

[marta]

i know someone w/ sheep. how do i make my own pad?
so you use felted wool on your rides... so they breath well and let the sweat eveporate?

[marta]

i don't know if i can get carded wool. i'll look into it. thanks for the description of the process.

what about the woolback pads by toklat? anyone use them? impressions?

[Robyn]

I love my Toklat woolback pad. I use it all season and it seems to wick away the sweat in the summer and keep him warm in the winter. Love it! It cost me about $120 but is still like brand new. I also recommend a front load washer that doesn't agitate - it washes my pad like a dream.
Robin

<<Less is not more. More is more!>>

[bewitchedarabians]

cool! Thanks for the instructions gothedistance! Will have to give that a try...the sheep at work are "shedding" like crazy, clumps of wool everywhere! Had wondered if there was anything I could do with it, lol! Will also have to put in my request to save some for me when they shear the flock...

[gdolapp]

I use a reinsman contoured tacky too pad
works great even when horse is sweating
I have no problems with it I also use
a split showme pad and my horses like either
or.

[Shadowsrider]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by gdolapp:
I use a reinsman contoured tacky too pad
works great even when horse is sweating
I have no problems with it I also use
a split showme pad and my horses like either
or. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I agree. I use this too, must get the contoured ones, though, I wouldn't get any pad that wasn't contoured.

I also use the endurance contoured plain tacky pad, sometimes with a simple saddle blanket to spruce it up a bit. About the only place I've ever seen this one sold, though, is in the National Bridle Shop catalog.

Since I do most of my trail riding in the mountains, I wouldn't have a pad that didn't have the tacky bottom, at least.

[Eireamon]

gothedistance a question if I may? http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
When you say cleaned and carded wool do you mean it has to be scoured?
I have my own sheep and although I don't know how to card I have seen it done and am sure I could learn without too much difficulty.
The felting process is definately within my abilty I am sure!
So do you mean just cleaned as in bits taken out or cleaned as in scoured professionally.
I am looking forward to making my own pads.
Thanks so much for letting us know the 'recipe'

[Jingo-ace]

O.K.... my two cents worth...

Equipedic pads - worth their pricetag!!!
(I have one for each saddle type...
endurance/western/dressage.)

For the more cost-effective... a clean wool
navajo with a Toklat gel pad between the
layers.... gives cush to the horses back, plus
the navajo absorbs sweat & is easy to throw
in the wash.

IMHO,
http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif J

[Luther]

Dixie Midnight No Sweat vent pad!!!

There's nothing finer!!

We've used these for almost 10 years, and have yet to wear one out, riding 4-5 days a week on as many as 8 horses. We started out with one, 'cause we thought it MIGHT work, and it worked so well that we bought 4 more -- one for each trainer/rider. If anybody has a question about them, e-mail me.

here's their website: www.dixiemidnight.com (http://www.dixiemidnight.com)

I do not have any connection with that company that makes them.

[wendy]

does the Dixie Midnight pad do anything at all other than keep your real saddle pad cleaner?

has anyone directly compared the skito pads and the equipedic pads, and have a preference?

[Luther]

Oh, heavens, yes! Not only are all our saddle pads clean and dry, our horses' backs stay WAY cooler.

We can run 7-9 head through training on a slow day, which would mean loads of saddle pads to own, and then to wash each day.

With the No-Sweats, we have ONE saddle pad per horse, assigned to that horse, and it never gets sweaty or dirty. Some of them are 3 & 4 years old, but they look and work like brand-new.

The best thing is their working temperatures: our horses' backs don't get any hotter than the rest of their bodies now. Even with four or five hours work. The No-Sweat has the sweat which used to get stuck up in the saddle pads now running right down their sides. It takes the heat with it, and our backs are much cooler.
Even in the summers.

I like 'em. Over 100 horses have been thru here since we got them, and not one has had a problem with the No-Sweat.

[missyclare]

I'm in the process of trying to find a pad for a Synergist saddle. I too am choking on the prices.Since I'm in Canada, $218 gets to well over $300 by the time it gets to me. I've researched everywhere to try and find a pad that will fit this saddle and haven't had any luck, except at the Synergist site. I've been looking at the Supracor Endurance Cool Pad. I asked some questions, got a short answer, sent a couple of more questions and haven't heard anything back...getting nervous. I need customer care under these circumstances. For those of you who have Supracor, could you please tell me what kind of material is on the top and bottom of these pads? Also, being 3/4" thick, will that change the fit of the saddle? I also wondered if someone could point me to the Skito pad site and to where the No-Sweat Vent pads are sold. Thankyou!!!!

[Luther]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by missyclare:
I'm in the process of trying to find a pad for a Synergist saddle. I too am choking on the prices.Since I'm in Canada, $218 gets to well over $300 by the time it gets to me. I've researched everywhere to try and find a pad that will fit this saddle and haven't had any luck, except at the Synergist site. I've been looking at the Supracor Endurance Cool Pad. I asked some questions, got a short answer, sent a couple of more questions and haven't heard anything back...getting nervous. I need customer care under these circumstances. For those of you who have Supracor, could you please tell me what kind of material is on the top and bottom of these pads? Also, being 3/4" thick, will that change the fit of the saddle? I also wondered if someone could point me to the Skito pad site and to where the No-Sweat Vent pads are sold. Thankyou!!!! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I was at endurance.net and found this Canadian dealer for No-Sweat vent pads:

http://www.canadiantack.com

Canadian Trail House

[fawnmare]

Pads....used skito pads successfully for years, with 3/4" inserts....

Tried Dixie Midnight pad, loved the fact it kept skito clean, loved it for a month....then on a long hard ride it scalded all the hair off my mare's back at the loins...

Am trying supracor....love the idea and cleanability....doing okay on one mare, but looks like the same mare that had problem with
DM pad is getting a reaction to the supracor..

I may have to stick to just wook fleece with her...
Karen

[fawnmare]

Forgot to say....
tried the equipedic, greatly disliked it.

Made saddle slip for first time

wool felt on bottom attracts and holds on to hair.

INserts get soggy and stay that way...

you are supposed to remove inserts to maching wash-a pain. Pad good only for 100 washings, so how do you keep darn thing clean?

I tried pressure hosing both skito and equipedic pads same day (I always pressure horse my skito and sun dry).

Skito was dry next day, equipedic was soggy for three days....

I have yet to see claims it keeps horses back cooler proven by tests on HORSES.

[missyclare]

That's interesting about the Equipedic Pad. The name sounds so professional. I guess, in your book, it should be called Equipainic, Lol! I don't want to hear that the sweat is drawn up into and held by the pad. To me, that's the wrong direction....towards the saddle I want to protect. Sweat being released and sliding down the horse's sides sounds alot better. I'm coming up against so many new materials and differences in construction, that it boggles my mind! To me, this conversation is worth it's weight in gold. I'm leery of neoprene and if I see anything that is neoprene or plastic-like, I get very suspicious of it's ventilation qualities. I have a neoprene girth that is rotting in my trunk. I found it to drastically pull hair, promote sweat and cause instant itchiness and discomfort. Same with the sport boots and my knee pads. Seems like the instant I put them on, the horse is trying to bite them all.
I dragged the synergist to the tack shop this weekend and found a pad that fit. It's a large sized fleece barrel pad by Reinsman. I tried the fit of the "sticky" backed pad, but all of them come with that edging around the pad that was one inch smaller at the girth than the fleece one. It was that one inch that I needed that was lost with this pad. Also, I felt that that binding around the edge would dig in and cause discomfort under the girth, so, chose the fleece one. It was only $65, which will allow me to atleast get started with the saddle, but I'm still looking for a better one.
I was wondering if someone could tell me more about the Supracor Pad. What it's construction is like, what is on the underside and if Synergist is the only one that sells them? Thanx!

[fawnmare]

Regarding Supracor pads....

There are many sizes and shapes and many vendors that sell them.

The "cool grip" models have no cover....the actual pad is a ventillated honey-comb material that sort of squishes air in and out. the top and botton are some sort of synthetic, plastic type material. I have not had the pad slip on the horse, or the saddle slip on the pad. They are suppposed to be antibacterial and are very easy to use and keep clean. Like a lot of these products, they work for some horses and not for others.

I did find a very small patch of scabby skin on my mares back (one who had reaction to Dixie Midnight)...and I am wondering if this mare is sensitive to synthetic pads, as I had been switching between skito pad and supracor. After it is healed, I will only use the skito and see what happens.

The other two mares have no problem with the supracor....

My advice, look for one used first to try...or borrow one....I have seen quite a few on ebay recently

[fawnmare]

Forgot to say on the Supracor ones...you can buy them with covers that have wool against the horse

[wendy]

my problem with these pads is they are so expensive you just can't buy one of each type and try them to see what works best for your horse. Or at least I can't. I wish someone would do some solid research.

[fawnmare]

even if there was a to standardize testing in same horse, repetitive conditions (like temp. under pad)..unfortuntaely it still comes down somwwhat to personal preference, region and climate and each horse/rider combo is different.
It is looking like one mare I have just does not like anything synthetic like the DM pad or supracor...others are fine with it. IT's going to be somewhat trial and error with each horse

[rgeiger101]

Hello everyone, I am new to this site and have a question that maybe someone can help me with.

I recently got a new horse. He is high-withered and my saddle sits too low on his withers. I ride English and my saddle is a Steuben Siegfried. I cannot afford a new saddle right now, and thought someone would be able to suggest a pad that will help get the saddle to sit off his withers. I mostly trail ride these days, but am also back taking lessons in order to get more in-synch with my horse quicker.

Any help would be most appreciated.

Thank you,
Ruth

[ToolTime]

The SaddleRight pad works great for me on a sensitive TB with high withers. It's very high quality and absorbs shock.

[jiggywiggy]

I use the Equipedic pad. It's the best pad out there. I tried Supracor, it broke down after a while and didn't really conform to my horse's back. Also used the Skito but it slipped like crazy and the foam didn't really work al that well. The Equipedic doesn't slip from front to back or side to side. It is really easy to clean. I just brush the felt bottom before I ride with a rubber mitt just like I curry comb my horse before I put my pad and saddle on. My horse moves better with this pad.. significanlty. His back is drier than the rest of his body after a 20-30 mile ride. I know other riders who absolutely love this pad and they are all top endurance riders, Heathe & Jeremy Reynolds, Cia reis, Alex North, Melody Wong, Jonathan Bowman, etc. When I spoke to them they all said the same thing. The pad is great. It's the only pad they use. It does what it says and their horse's perform better with it. Also I didn't find that it held moisture more than the Skito pad. it always seems to dry out over night.

[jiggywiggy]

I stumbled across this forum. I have to agree with the others about the Equipedic pad. It's great. It works better than any othe pad I had including Supracor, ProChoice and Skito. Worth every penny!

[Bogie]

It sounds like your saddle may have the wrong size tree for your horse. In my experience, it's very difficult to adjust saddle fit appropriately if the tree is the wrong size. If the tree is too wide (which it sounds like), you can add a pad that will take up more of the "extra" space, but you may be creating other pressure points. It's better, however, than having a saddle that's too narrow, as there's no way to fix that.

Better solution than adding extra pads: get a saddle fitter to look at your saddle. If the tree is the right size, fit can be altered by adding/removing stuffing from the saddle. This will probably run you $75-$125, much less than buying a new saddle. The Stubben's are good quality saddles and are flocked with wool, so they are adjustable.

If a saddle fitter tells you that the tree is the wrong size and the saddle cannot be adjusted to fit your horse, you would be best off selling the saddle and finding one that works. Riding a horse in a saddle that doesn't fit will result in a horse with a sore back and may cause behavioral problems like bucking.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rgeiger101:
Hello everyone, I am new to this site and have a question that maybe someone can help me with.

I recently got a new horse. He is high-withered and my saddle sits too low on his withers. I ride English and my saddle is a Steuben Siegfried. I cannot afford a new saddle right now, and thought someone would be able to suggest a pad that will help get the saddle to sit off his withers. I mostly trail ride these days, but am also back taking lessons in order to get more in-synch with my horse quicker.

Any help would be most appreciated.

Thank you,
Ruth </div></BLOCKQUOTE>