I still have my old EquiGel pad… yes, behind the times. However, my new horse doesn’t have any top line to speak of and seems to be stiff flexing to the right during trot, picking up right canter lead, etc. I was wondering if the Ogilvy half pads are worth the $ when doing flatting and jumping? I do not have a custom saddle for him but I have had my saddle checked and it fits him well. Any tips would be very helpful before I purchase new equipment. Thank you!
In my experience, if your saddle fits well, the Ogilvy may be too thick and alter the saddle fit too much. I have a jumper half pad and it only works for the horses I’ve ridden where my saddle didn’t fit as well (actually, both were older horses whose topline had aged so the thicker pad was helpful).
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You might try a back on track saddle pad. If he’s stiff, it may help loosen the muscles in his back and shouldn’t really alter the fit of your saddle, if it fits him nicely.
As Madison said, if your saddle fits well, I cannot imagine how you’d wedge an Ogilvy underneath.
I borrowed one last winter to try. My mare liked it, but my biggest beef was that it was so thick that until I was in the saddle (and the pad had a chance to compress down), I couldn’t get my girth tight enough to mount from a block that wasn’t so tall that I couldn’t just swing my leg over. More than once my saddle slipped significantly and that’s not ok for me–but I have mounting “issues” compounded by the mare being one who would often crowhop away from the block. YMMV and possibly if her withers had been sharper, my saddle would have been less likely to slip.
Are the BOT saddle pads appropriate for summer use?
I actually like my ThinLine pad better than my Ogilvy. As others have said, it alters fit. The ThinLine can be used with shims, but can also just be used as an extra shock absorbing pad, and is fairly thin.
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Agree with all of the above. I found the ogilvy to be overkill. Too much and left me feeling less connected. I LOVE my thinline pad. We have a great saddle fitter and she found my horse was slightly asymmetric–I added a shim to the thin line and 6 months later, he was much more even and the shim came out. It is enough to add a little padding. So no, would not say they are worth the money. The ability to customize and monogram though…
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I like mine. It works well especially for my saddles whose shape fits the horse but are a bit wide. Especially on my youngsters or fresh OTTBs who are still developing their top lines. I have a thin line fleece half pad that I like too.
the Oglivy do come in different thickness. I’ve only had the super thick one as my point in buying it was to address a slightly too wide saddle.
Also OP…I’d have my vet check my horse based on what you described. More than equipment…I’d be wondering if something is up or perhaps he needs a supplement or strengthening exercises.
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