Cleaning saddle pads?

I’ve tried various wool felt and fleece saddle pads with Mac, but the ones that seem to work best for him are the saddle blankets that are on the thinner side because his saddle already fits him well and something too thick is, well, too thick! (how’s that for a run-on sentence?! :lol:)

I’m using something like this:

http://www.freckerssaddlery.com/product.php?p=239&c=1

And then I have another one like this:

http://www.freckerssaddlery.com/product.php?p=272&c=1

How do I wash these? I was using them on top of a thinner wool felt pad, but it still seems just a bit too much with all of it together. I don’t know if I’m overly paranoid or what, but Mac does have withers and these are the only pads light enough that I can pull them up into the gullet so that the pad doesn’t smush him in the withers (even a wither relief pad).

I’ve thought of an alpaca pad - I remember someone in the past recommended those. How would I wash one of those?

For saddle pads, I just take them to my local car wash. I hang them with the mat holders, pressure wash with soap, rinse it off well, and tada! Good as new.

Just did that last night, actually.

I second the car wash method.

Great idea, thanks!

The car wash method works nicely. For wool or wool-blend pads/blankets, I only occasionally use soap,though, because it takes the natural oil out of the wool and makes it scratchy and it doesn’t last as long. Most of the time I hose them with cold water until the water runs clear. When they’re especially dirty, I do use the soap setting.