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Question about saddle pad liners...

2K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  wdblevin 
#1 ·
I found a pretty nice shock pad for my barrel saddle. It's nice and thick, contoured and fits well, but it slips pretty bad when he starts getting sweaty. I want to get a thin pad liner to help out with this. I'm torn between a Professional Choice Contour liner which is 80% wool and 20% poly or a tacky too type liner by Reinsman. Both are about 1/4 in. thick. Any recommendations or other suggestions?
 
#2 ·
How thick is the pad that slips. If it's thicker than an inch adding more padding may worsen the situation. Are you using this pad just for barrel racing or is it your everyday pad? Too much padding can causing binding at the shoulders and the rear of the saddle to float. The Tacky Too's have been know to take the hair off the horse's back. My preference is 100% wool, either woven in a blanket or felted.
 
#3 ·
I was hoping to use it for both. The sides are an inch thick but it has a thin spine so just the bars get the thickness. I just wanted a liner to help with slippage so it doesn't have to have any extra thickness. I may end up using this pad for trails if I can't get the slippage figured out. I didn't pay too terribly much for it.
 
#5 ·
I think it may be the cheaper synthetic materials. The saddle has fit this same horse OK with other pads. With this particular pad it mainly tends to slip while mounting even when I tighten it pretty good. I haven't had to tighten it too severely with other pads. This particular pad has 1 inch thick memory foam type shock panels covered in a woven material both on top and underneath. I don't think it's real wool weave though. I'm almost positive its synthetic. I paid about $40 for it at a local tack shop so anyway...it'll probably make a cute trail pad but I'm not sure if I'm going to play too hard in it. Live and learn.
 
#8 ·
trail pads are even more important to breath. but I still suspect a saddle fit issue, unless your horse is really low withered it shouldnt be slipping when mounting.
Look at a diamond wool pad, they are not super expensive and they do have some recycled materials but all in all a really god pad for the money.
EC- Diamond Wool Endurance Contoured Felt Saddle Pad

Alright Joe. :) I bit the bullet and ordered this pad. I actually found it at this place for $71 shipping included. Diamond Wool Contour Endurance Pad . Seemed like more than KO Trading at first but once they added shipping and taxes, it was going to cost me $85. So not bad for $71 considering its a brand everyone seems to swear by. I've been giving myself headaches researching pads lately, and going back and forth between wool and tacky too. Then I found a few good 100% wool pads for slightly less but they'd be thinner or not quite the size I wanted. I wanted the dropped rigging endurance cut. So anyway, I know I'm probably boring you with this but I'm excited to possibly have the pad I can turn to for quite some time for any discipline. Tell them where to send your commission! :lol:
 
#7 ·
Yup. That's part of our issue. He has no withers, pretty well fed (lol) and short back. Totally opposite of my barrel mare who is very wide with high withers. I had problems fitting her too because of her width and she does NOT want any restriction or pressure in the gullet area and on her shoulders. I do really like the pad in your link, especially the one pictured because my saddle has very low rigging so that one would actually fit really well. Too bad it doesn't mention length. The horse in question has such a short back that length from front to back makes a difference. Like 29-30" is ideal. I'll do some digging. Looks like some of my stuff is going on ebay. Thanks for your replies Joe.

Here's a shot of the saddle I'm using on him (when I first got it so it still looks "pretty" :wink:). The pad pictured is not the one I'm having trouble with. This one is a Reinsman tacky bottom and it's just a tad too thin for my liking so I'm giving it to my daughter which is why I'm looking for something else.

Horse Mammal Vertebrate Rein Horse tack
 
#9 ·
mammakatja, I am totally with you about researching and researching and researching... I try to make an informed decision and considering how many choices of tack stuff there is out there, it drives me batty ;-D

I really like the reviews on the Diamond Wool pads and know people who think the world of them. Good luck with the new pad!

*****

<gulp> I just bit the proverbial bullet and got a Impact Gel contoured barrel pad (CONTOUR 100% WOOL Pad.) to go with our new saddle. I was looking for a 3/4" thickness, so that limited my choices. I was also lucky to find it for over $30 less than the price noted. I've had good luck with Impact Gel in the past and the saddle fitter I used this time around also recommended them for our horse.
 
#10 ·
Ooooo, I like that one too but I was trying to stay under $100 so I'm quite glad Joe turned me onto this Diamond wool pad. Even those usually tend to run a little higher depending on the cut and size. I love the endurance cut for the saddle I have. I'm just glad I finally made a decision because this research has had me next to obsessed. Good luck with yours too! I bet you'll love it. I just wish I would have spent the money from the start instead of piddeling around with numerous cheaper pads that I'm going to end up selling or stacking in my tackroom. Now comes the wait for the new box for both of us it seems! :)
 
#11 ·
There are a lot less expensive (is anything really 'cheap' anymore?) saddle pads out there and some hugely expensive ones that I would love to try but can't make myself do it - I'm lucky that my hubby would tell me to, but I just can't.

http://www.csipads.com/index.html
5 Star Saddle Pads, Saddle Blankets, Cinches 100% Wool

Anyways, post back with your reviews on your new pad. I will do so on ours... That is as soon as our farrier gets here to reset a tossed shoe.

I'm going to start another thread on best tricks for keeping these wool pads clean. Hope to see ya' there.
 
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