WTB: Bareback pad
 

A friend of mine is looking to buy a bareback pad for a 14h mare. Must have stirrups and either an English- or Western-type girth. Prefer a neoprene underside and/or d-rings for a breast collar (though not required). Please have photos!
Thank you~

Woooo ... all I gotta say is tell your friend how dangerous bareback pads are with stirrups!

Eh~? I've heard that they kinda suck, don't stay on all that well (I keep telling her that if she wants to learn to bareback, that she needs to *bareback*, and not cheat with a silly little pad and some flimsy stirrups, but she won't listen to me.), but dangerous?

Stirrups on bareback pads ARE dangerous. Bareback pads tend to slip around a lot and with stirrups even more so. If you put uneven weight in the stirrups or lean to one side the whole thing could slide, and since you'd have your feet in the stirrups you could go with it.

If you become unbalanced or the horse spooks and most of your weight goes in to one stirrup, the WHOLE thing can slide and roll under the horse's belly. It's best to ride a bareback pad with NO stirrups.

If she wants some "stick", look for one with a suede top. I have one of those for my daughter and she likes it a lot. It's a Diamond Wool brand with just a strap for the girth. I use a real sheepskin girth cover to keep my mare more comfortable, and a thin wool felt liner pad under the bareback pad for a bit more cushion. I got it on eBay used for like $10. They're normally around $50-75 new.

Eh, guess I didn't think of that. The old one I had had a breast collar, so I'd never had much of an issue.

At any rate, I talked her out of it just today. She wanted one to help her learn to ride bareback, and I convinced her to go without because the stirrups wouldn't be any help in learning to ride bareback (since bareback doesn't have stirrups. :P ) and Ruby (my mare, whom she's riding) has a broad enough back that she's not hard to bareback. She told me she wanted stirrups for trotting (Ruby's trot is extremely jaunty, and hard to ride even in a saddle), and I told her I'd rather she not trot bareback, since it's hard on her back and my friend is almost too heavy for her, I think.

But thanks for warning me of that, I'd honestly never thought of the possibility. I'll keep it in mind if she starts insisting on a pad again. XD

Oooh i ride bareback the traditional way with NOTHING lol! But my mom is getting a pad with stirrups... i must warn her!

Yes.... the bareback pads with stirrups are REALLY bad and harsh on the horses back! Plus, why would you want to ride BAREBACK with STIRRUPS?!