Hi. I am considering getting one of the english toklat pocket pads and I am not sure which would be best- the woolback or the coolback. Could someone enlighten me as to the differences/pros/cons of each?
Thanks in advance!
Difference is…Woolback made of 100% wool fleece, very good and keeping your horse cool. Coolback is high quality synthetic fleece, also fairly good at keeping your horse cool but not as nice as wool.
Woolback is more expensive. Coolback is economy minded.
IMO you get the best results with the 100% wool.
Personally I consider Toklat to be the best manufacture of fleece products.
Thanks, I guess I’ll go with the woolback even though it is more expensive. She better like it!!! Also how do you wash the woolback pads? Is there a particular type of product to clean them?
Mild soap on gentle cycle, I run the rinse cycle twice to make sure all the soap is out. Or you can hand wash.
You can fluff up the fleece with a steel wire pet brush.
Toklat has instructions on how to wash too.
Definitely woolbak.
As Mersy said brush it with a wire dog brush before washing, or when it is dry. I got my wire brush from walmart. I wash in woolite, and hang outside to dry.
I have the woolbak double elastic girth too. I wash in the washer also, brush with dog brush.
This pad will last for years. Worth the $. Also synthetic can or may burn your horses back given the right conditions. I find the synthetic pads very slick, woolbak stays put on the horse’s back.
for what it is worth, I use Toklat Valena boots w/woolback and have regularly been throwing them in the wash with regular detergent and bleach on the whites cycle (hot water, heavy duty) and then toss them in the dryer on high… for about 6 years on at least one of the pairs. So far they are trucking along just fine. My only caveat is it’s kind of hard for a boot to shrink, so this might not work well for a fitted pad, but I can promise you the woolback is not suffering from the wash/dry routine.
I have both cool back and wool back pads. I like them both and I see no issue with the cool backs wicking AND holding up.
I have cool backs 16 years old that are just as fluffy as the day I bought them no issues. GREAT pads no saddle sores or heat issues with cool back
Coolback gives you colors wool back doesn’t and i like the color!
I have a Toklat Woolback and I really like it. Tommy likes it too. We switched to one of the woolback girths and I’ve noticed that he’s not been as girthy the last few rides. We’re in early days yet, so it will be interesting to see how long this lasts 
Woolback
I have two Toklat woolbacks and I love them! And so do my horses. I worried about them being too hot in our humid summers here, but my horses love them and seem to be less bothered than before I started using 100% wool.
Love my coolback pads. i have had some for 8 yrs or more that have been in use the whole time. i usually keep 2 and rotate them. i throw in the washer, and then in the dryer.
