I’m looking to buy a bareback pad. I want a thick pad, removable stirrups and a leather girth.
Any suggestions/recommendations?
I would not recommend stirrups. They’re a major hazard with bareback pads as there is no way to keep you from sliding sideways if you are uneven in your weight.
I love my thinline comfort plus bareback pad, but no leather girth on that one though I’m sure someone sewing savvy could set it up with billets for a regular girth.
There are bareback pads that have sort of a pommel sort of tree you can attach stirrups to that keep the straps from grinding your horse’s withers.
I have a Christ pad that I love.
Trekehner, can you post a link?
Why not just ride bareback?
Hey, even I have a Christ one, and I love it as well!!
[QUOTE=adelmo95;8988038]
Why not just ride bareback?[/QUOTE]
Ask my sensitive TB mare this question. LOL. She says no to bareback above the walk. And hell no if you push her.
I have problems with my own spine and need the padding.
I also have a Christ sheepskin pad that I LOOOVE. I just have the basic one, but they have models that include pommel, cantle, and thigh rolls for more security. It comes with billets, so you’d easily be able to use whichever leather girth you wanted with it. (Dressage-sized.) However, I could not in good conscience recommend using stirrups with them, for two reasons:
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It would be very easy for any uneven weight in the stirrups to slip the whole pad over the side
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The pad doesn’t have any substantial weight distribution through it’s core, like a tree does; which means that stirrups will create a very direct, concentrated pressure point in one strip over one small point on the horse’s spine. I’m personally of the opinion that that could end up being pretty bad for them. If you’d prefer to ride in something ‘lighter’ than a saddle, but still want stirrups, you may want to look into treeless options, which still have some sort of weight-distributing core (though they’re not made of something rigid like a traditional tree.)
I don’t necessarily want to ride in it with stirrups but want the ability to if I decide to for short rides.
[QUOTE=adelmo95;8988038]
Why not just ride bareback?[/QUOTE]
My lady bits don’t like it. Mare is pretty wide but her spine goes right into some very tender places!
I use a Best Friends fake suede pad. It’s comfy, it stays put (has a grippy underside), and not terribly expensive.
I just got my first bareback pad for Christmas and oh my goodness, what a game changer! I’ve ridden for 15 years and always thought bareback pads were pointless. I’ve been taking my older, retired mare out for short bareback rides, but she’s lost so much muscle tone that her withers and back are more prominent, bareback hasn’t been very comfortable. I also got the best friends pad and love it! Not a leather girth and no stirrups but very comfortable!
If money is no object - and I’m not kidding - Supracor has a bareback pad with its honeycomb pads inside an ultrasuede and wool cover. It has rings to accommodate stirrups and a breastplate. It is wonderfully comfortable. Ridiculously expensive. But the BO took mine on a trail trip to Acadia National Park years ago and rode in it all day, like at least 6 hours worth. She swapped with someone on day 2, who complained bitterly about being saddle sore. She regretted her decision. You could buy a used saddle for what it costs these days.
I love my Skito bb pad. It has long billets ( I can use a dressage girth, no buckle under my leg, yay!); rings that I can put a breast collar on; no stirrups or rings for them (I wouldn’t want stirrups on a BB pad); and such correct padding that after a long hot ride, my girl had sweat marks from my thighs starting a few inches from her spine on each side, but nothing on her spine-dry hair!
[QUOTE=quietann;8988573]
My lady bits don’t like it. Mare is pretty wide but her spine goes right into some very tender places!
I use a Best Friends fake suede pad. It’s comfy, it stays put (has a grippy underside), and not terribly expensive.[/QUOTE]
I second the best friends pad - the square model even has a little pocket on it for your phone or a water bottle and comes in fun colors. I have found it to be very comfy, even on my horse with a shark-fin wither.
If you want a pad substantial enough to handle stirrups you might want to stretch a bit farther and check out the freemax saddles. I’ve seen them for sale new around $100-$160 and they are almost exact replicas of the $1400 Freeform treeless saddles. It’s like riding a couch and probably cheaper than a lot of the fancy bareback pads. You will probably need a saddlepad with a substantial channel for it though as they were designed to be used with those.
