5 Star Saddle Pads Colors

[SunshineRose]

Hi All - I know there has been many posts about 5 Star Saddle Pads. With all the information that has been shared I am ready to purchase one, but I have one more question.

For those of you that have a 5 Star Saddle Pad in the other colors then the natural (oatmeal) color, on there website, it reads under the colors this…

“Please note that colored pads may transfer color to light colored animals”

I have a light colored Palomino Mare. So, I was just wondering if any one has experience color transfer to there light colored horses. I am curious because I was thinking I might purchase the brown or black, but I am thinking the natural would be my best choice.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[beau159]

I have a black 5 Star pad that I used on my aunt’s WHITE (grey) horse.
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k27/r_beau/2015%20Horse%20Pictures/IMG_3109_zpsoklqgkme.jpg

Never transferred any color. (besides your normal dirt of course!)

[LSMarnell]

I have a dark (chocolate) brown one on a grey also & it has never transferred color.

[Draftmare]

That is a bit scary. I really like their turquoise pad, but not if it is going to turn my horse colors!

[TheMountainsAreCalli]

I had a green 5-Star pad, and a light varnish roan App. At the time he was a working horse, and after a long sweaty day, there would absolutely be some faint green transfer in a the area where the sweat ran down in front of his hips. It never bothered me one bit. I would use a sweat scraper to clean him up afterward, but never tried to wash it off or anything. I eventually got rid of the pad because they seemed impossible to clean well. That sweat just soaked right in and clotted the wool up and that was that–despite regular washing, the pad had firmed up in about 2-3 years. Maybe that’s the normal lifespan, but man, that was a lot of money for me at the time!

[beau159]

[QUOTE=TheMountainsAreCalling;8560708]
I eventually got rid of the pad because they seemed impossible to clean well. That sweat just soaked right in and clotted the wool up and that was that–despite regular washing, the pad had firmed up in about 2-3 years. Maybe that’s the normal lifespan, but man, that was a lot of money for me at the time![/QUOTE]

Hmm, what is your method for washing it?

My oldest 5 Star that I have is coming up on 6 years old and it washes up just as soft as the day I bought it. (and it gets used…)

I’ll use a rubber curry to brush dirt/hair off it about once a week. Then 2 or 3 times a year, I’ll take laundry detergent and a pressure washer to it. Always love how nice it looks and feels after a good pressure washing.

[TheMountainsAreCalli]

[QUOTE=beau159;8563604]
Hmm, what is your method for washing it?

My oldest 5 Star that I have is coming up on 6 years old and it washes up just as soft as the day I bought it. (and it gets used…)

I’ll use a rubber curry to brush dirt/hair off it about once a week. Then 2 or 3 times a year, I’ll take laundry detergent and a pressure washer to it. Always love how nice it looks and feels after a good pressure washing.[/QUOTE]

It was probably my fault; I was working really hard at the time and I probably wasn’t very conscientious about blanket cleaning. Maybe I should’ve used the pressure washer! I only used the pressure washer on woven pads because I was afraid the pressure would be too much for the felt. I would curry the dirt off it (but let’s be honest, maybe not often enough), and spring and fall I would soak it with the hose, scrub it by hand with a hard brush and some gentle detergent, then hose it with a spray nozzle (but not as powerful as the pressure washer) then hang dry. Those spots on the hips just seemed to get hard with worked in hair and dirt. I probably just didn’t try hard enough to keep it clean. Now I just ride with a wool blanket under a wool felt pad. The blanket takes the majority of the abuse and washing is easier. I don’t even have a pressure washer anymore, so that seems to solve that!