Contoured baby pads: LeMieux? Ogilvy? Other?

[Renn_aissance]

Don’t buy new saddles, people, none of your existing arsenal of equipment will fit them and you’ll have to buy new. To be fair, I’ve had some of these baby pads for 15 years and they don’t owe me anything. I’m looking for:

• Long spine (25" would be ideal)
• Forward-contoured flap
• Some kind of non-slip mechanism- girth loops, etc.
• Thin- it’s being used with a half pad, and its job is to keep me from having to wash the half pad.
• Doesn’t slip. (That’s the problem I’m having with the 15-year-old square pads. My horse has big shoulders and an active, swingy back. Now that I’m not using them with an EcoGold non-slip pad, they move around too much.)

I hear the Ogilvy baby pad slips but the Profile less so. Is the LeMieux cotton one too thick to use with a half pad? Are there other products I should be looking at- ideally ones that charge less than $60 for a baby pad I’m going to need 6 of?

[anon510129]

I love the simple Dover baby pads with the Gel-Ez non-slip pad underneath. It really is a game changer. I personally use Ogilvy, but I use the jumper pad. It truly doesn’t slip!

Gel Eze Non-Slip/ Under Bandage

[Scribbler]

I like Ogilvy under my dressage saddle but I found my mare’s big shoulders were really moving the saddle pads under the jump saddle. I like the substantiveness of the Ogilvy but decided to go even stiffer with the Lemieux for the jump saddle. It’s still thin, it has a nice soft underside, but it’s just firmer somehow.

[Tha_Ridge]

The Ogilvy baby pads don’t have loops of any kind, but the jumper pad does—and it definitely doesn’t budge.

[SolarFlare]

Another vote for Ogilvy Profile pads. They are thin, wash well, have good shape to accommodate a wither. I also love that their “Regular” size can accommodate my jump saddle that has a long and forward flap, so I don’t have to size up to a giant pad.

[IPEsq]

I like both Ogilvy pads. The baby pad is more square in front and doesn’t slip unless you have a saddle fit problem. The profile pad is the same thickness and has girth loops.

The LeMieux pads are thicker…I would not call them baby pad thickness at all.

Wilkers makes the ultra thin baby pad style and they now have some with more shape to them. I think the Ogilvy ones are better for shape and they wash up better too. But they are pricier.

[ChasseurSauteur]

Believe if you order the Ogilvy pads directly from their website, they can add girth loops to the baby pads upon request. (I’m in Canada so not sure about shipping times/duties if you’re in the US though.)

[Renn_aissance]

@IPEsq

The LeMieux pads are thicker…I would not call them baby pad thickness at all.

I’m having trouble figuring out how thick these are and it’s not listed on the manufacturer’s or retailers’ websites. I’m looking at the cotton square CC pad. Would you be able to compare them to another manufacturer? I don’t mind if it’s closer to a Dover or SmartPak standard square saddle pad than a thin one-layer quilted Franconia baby pad.

[Scribbler]

The LeMeiux pads aren’t really any thicker than Ovation.

[adultammylife]

I love both the Ogilvy baby and profile pads. Since you’re specifically looking for a forward-contoured flap, I would go for the profile pad (baby pad is considerably more square - but fits fine under my 17.5 3 flap Butet, for reference). You can also have girth loops added to the baby pads, and some stores will automatically add them when you order any baby pad. Believe Malvern Saddlery does that.

[IPEsq]

It’s such a different material, it’s hard to compare it to foam core type pads. There are a number of brands making pads similar to the LeMieux now. They aren’t foam core and fluffy, but they are not thin like the Ogilvy. I only have the SP equivalent of a baby pad which is thicker than the Ogilvy but still less bulky than LeMieux. I’d say thickness is more like a Back on Track pad?