From: Tanya
Hi,
I'm in the market for a new saddlepad. When I started looking, I was under the (false) impression that this would be a fairly straight forward process. Boy, was I wrong! There seems to be a million different pads out there, all claiming to utilize some revolutionary new technology (open cell foam, closed cell foam, gel filled, etc). Can you shed some light on the different types and their uses? IS one type better than all the others, or am I a victim of slick advertising?
ALSO: I ride a wonderful (but fairly high withered) TB gelding. My saddle is a Crosby Hunterdon close contact. My trainer says the saddle fit is good, but it sure does seems to slip back a lot during a ride. Can a good fitting saddle still slip back? I'm confused!
Maybe a wedge or riser of some sort will help keep my saddle from slipping back, or perhaps a breastplate? Can you educate me on what type of wedge/ risers I should try? (I think I read somewhere that lollipop foam pads create pressure points at the edges, and that's bad, right?)
Thanks for whatever light you can shed on these confusing issues for me!
Tanya Bowland
If you show in hunter classes, you'll want a fleecy pad that outlines your saddle. If you ride Western, the Navajo rug is always in style. If your preference is for dressage or eventing, the currently fashionable items are larger, square pads. For eventing, these pads are often trimmed or piped with "your" colors -- which coordinate with your horse's boots, your shirt and body protector, and your helmet cover. You'll need to distinguish between fashion and utility -- one is fun, the other can affect your horse's comfort and your own. Your horse will appreciate it if you purchase a shaped pad that follows the contours of his back, especially if he has high withers. A pad cut from a square of material will be less expensive, but will be likely to work down and rub his withers.
There are two key points to know about saddle pads:
1) If your saddle fits, you should use the minimum amount of padding that will keep your saddle clean. A saddle that fits well is like a shoe that fits well -- if your shoes are comfortable, you can quickly make them UNCOMFORTABLE by wearing them with too-thick socks, or with several pairs of socks. A stack of pads -- and you see this quite often: a square pad, a fleece pad, a gel or foam pad, and then the saddle! -- can make a comfortable saddle VERY uncomfortable for the horse.
2) If your saddle does NOT fit, you can SOMETIMES make temporary adjustments by using pads, but it's not a long-term solution. If the saddle is too wide for the horse, you can sometimes improve the saddle fit by adding a thick pad. But if the saddle is too narrow, or if it rubs the horse's withers, the answer is a different saddle.
If you show a lot, you'll need to have whatever the demands of the show ring dictate. For at-home work, a simple pad (fleece or cotton) will usually suffice. The important thing is to have enough pads that you always have a clean one to use!
Foam pads, gel pads, and variously-shaped contour pads have become very popular in the last few years, but at my clinics I find that many horses are LESS comfortable than they were when they only wore simple flat saddle pads. Riders are often very surprised when I take away three out of four pads, or two out of three, and the horse's attitude and way of going improve immediately.
This doesn't mean that you should never use such pads -- but be sure that your horse actually needs one before you invest! For the price of a gel pad, you can have your saddle restuffed, which is a much more sensible investment.
Saddle slippage:
A saddle that fits properly can still slip back if the horse's conformation lends itself to slippage. A deep-bodied horse with a clear "girth groove" behind the elbow is less likely to have a sliding saddle; a horse with a greyhound-like profile, where the deepest part of the underline is just behind the elbow, and climbs from there, is likely to require a breast collar to keep the saddle from slipping, especially on hills.
Is your saddle slipping too far back, or is it simply sliding back to where it should be? Many people put their saddles too far forward, and as the horse's shoulders work, the saddle begins to shift back until it settles into its proper position. Then, when it's where it should be, the girth is loose and needs to be tightened or the saddle will slip even farther back.
It sounds as though your saddle may be positioned too far forward. Test it: put it on the horse, just behind the withers, then slide it back. There's a dip just behind the withers, and that's where the saddle should sit. Fasten the girth loosely, then pull each of the horse's front legs forward in turn. This should put the saddle into proper position, and when you tighten the girth, you'll find that it is about a hand's width behind the horse's elbow. That's where the girth belongs -- not up against the elbow.
If it still slides, check the saddle fit again. A too-narrow tree will cause a saddle to slide backward. Horses don't always keep the same shape -- perhaps this saddle fit this horse before he developed some muscle, and doesn't fit him now. Never assume that your saddle fits a particular horse just because it fit the horse six months ago. As horses grow and work (or don't), their shapes change. You have to keep track of saddl fit with young, growing horses, horses coming up from pasture and being put into work, horses that have been training hard for a few months, horses that have had time off for any reason.
Bump pads, riser pads:
If the back of your saddle is too low, and you find yourself sitting on the cantle, you won't be able to ride correctly -- you will always be behind your leg. Also, your horse will be very uncomfortable, since this position puts all of your weight onto a small area at the back of the saddle. There are some things you can do about this problem:
1) Check the saddle position! When the saddle is in the correct position, the lowest part should be in the middle of the saddle, not the back. But if your saddle is too far forward, it will tilt backward and the cantle will be the lowest part. Moving the saddle back to where it ought to sit is a simple change -- and it's free! Check your saddle from the side before you mount.
2) If the saddle is a new one, the pommel will be a little high at first, until the saddle is broken in and the panels settle and conform to the horse. When it's broken in, the pommel will be about an inch lower than the cantle. But if the pommel is higher than the cantle, or level with the cantle, and the saddle is NOT new, then it doesn't fit or isn't adjusted correctly (see above).
3) Bump pads and riser pads, any sort of pad designed to lift the cantle, do NOT solve any problems, and they can cause serious problems of their own. If you lift the rear of a saddle, the front of the saddle comes down, and can put pressure on the horse's withers and possibly even his spine (if the channel is a little, or a lot, too wide for the horse).
Many, many saddle pads are a triumph of marketing over common sense! If you want a velvet pad with your monogram on it, you can get it. If you want colorful schooling pads or eventing pads, you can get them. If you want a gel pad, or a sheepskin pad, or seven pads with the days of the week embroidered on them, you can get them. As long as the pad you buy keeps your saddle clean and doesn't make your horse uncomfortable, you should be able to get whatever strikes your fancy. Buy what you please, spend what you can afford, but always bear in mind that the saddle is designed to fit the horse without a lot of wobbling padding in between, and that saddle-fit problems must be solved by changing saddles or restuffing the one you have, not by "padding up."
When you DO shop for pads, in addition to colour and style, look for protection, absorbency, ventilation, quality of construction, durability -- and how easy they are to clean!
- Jessica
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