[kellyb]

Tell your husband to "DROP IT" and when he does, say, "LEAVE IT".

[Romany]

I second the Griffin Nuu-Meds, as no dead sheep were involved in their manufacture (they're made from wool woven on to a backing).

Wash and wear really sweetly, and correctly cut for the shape of a horse's back, and not so bulky as to make a saddle pinch (the Fleeceworks ones look and feel divine, but are too thick imho).

[Beverley]

Gee, I never bought them real sheepskin, only the fake, or a cotton shaped pad, or no pad at all. Never any back issues, even hunting hard 6 or 8 hours. If the saddle fits, what's under it (if anything) seems of minor to no importance. If the saddle doesn't fundamentally fit, no amount or type of padding can prevent a sore back. I 'do' have a Saddle Right pad at present, which gets used when the big guy's saddle needs reflocking and the saddle guy can't get there for a few weeks.

I do have a real sheepskin pad, given to me a couple of years ago, but the dang thing is awfully slippery.

[Snow Princess]

I ride a variety of horses and use the saddlerite pad more as preventitive medicine so to speak.. obviously my 2 saddles can't fit every horse perfectly.

[Lori]

I have had Equine Comfort pads for years. I use them daily, brush off with a stiff brush when dirt gets on there (my pads have their own beastie brush now). I think Legacy Tack has them for 99.95.
I wash in a front load with a little bit of Rambo wash and air dry. I have not had a problem with them falling apart in any way (knock on wood!).

[Ponyclubrocks]

I washed my first Fleeceworks pad in the washing machine. It fell apart after 2 washes. I took the fragments back to the tack store, and they sold me a new one for half price, along with a bottle of some special soap and recommendations to hand wash it. After 2 hand-washings with the special soap, it's starting to fall apart.

But while I do wash mine frequently, it is always in a front load machine, never one with an agitator.

[PlainBay]

I purchased mine from VTO Saddlery for 99.95 it i sthe Equice Comfort Brand. I love it.

[SimpsoMatt]

But while I do wash mine frequently, it is always in a front load machine, never one with an agitator.

I think the agitator definitely was a major part of the problem with my first pad. I don't have a front-load machine. So I hand-washed my second pad, and it's holding up a little better, but the sheepskin is already starting to pull apart in a couple of places. I held off washing it as long as I could, but eventually it gets pretty gross even though I brush as much of the dirt out as I can after each ride.

[JSwan]

Matt - if you feel like taking a chance on another pad - the Equine Comfort Pad seems to hold up a lot better.

I've had mine for several years and it looks brand new.

[rebeginner]

I never saw the answer to that question. I have loved the effect of real sheepskin under my old dressage saddle and would like to have the same for hunting under my jumping saddle. However, I don't want to spend the $$ on a non-traditional color. Presumably, "white" would end up looking not quite pure as the driven snow after a couple of hunts, but should I start out with the more creamy colored "natural" sheepskin?

[JSwan]

My white pad has stayed white. Which is surprising because until this drought hit - all the fixtures were clay mudpits. We'd often come home filthy.