Not that I study the Smartpak site or anything but I noticed that Ogilvy has come out with a Friction Free all purpose saddle pad. It sounds like it has a sort of built in half pad. Anyone seen these or tried them? I know that EcoGold came out with a Frictionless Dressage pad last year (maybe?). There’s also a knockoff EcoGold pad from Success Equestrian.
Anyone tried any of these out? Have opinions?
I have many Ecogold friction free pads, love them to death. Great pads, worth every penny. Equinelux has similar pads that are also very nice. http://www.equinelux.com/innovative-saddle-pads.php
Hi, I have the friction-free ogilvy in the eventing pad. I really like it and would like another. Thin padding with the inner liner that seems to slide back and forth freely. Sounds odd but the horses like it and it stays in place very well despite that it sounds and feels like it would slide around.
Bumping this because is looks like I am in the market for a frictionless pad. It looks like EcoGold only makes a dressage version. Ogilvy has one that I am strongly considering (prob a schooling one and one to keep pretty for shows). I was unable to find the frictionless versions of the other brands listed. None of them specified this. Was wondering if there are any less expensive frictionless pads that are good performers? If anyone has tried multiple brands I would love to hear what you liked best. I am also considering sheepskin, so if you find that to be better or worse, I would love to hear. Price is a consideration. I am a jumper, so while the schooling pad can be dressage, I would need a jumper or A/P pad for shows. Thanks for any input.
Not a fan of my new Oglivy hunter pad- too narrow behind and kind of disappears into the saddle and tends to shift to one side. Kind of disappointed for the price.
[QUOTE=Atlas Shrugged;7782226]
Not a fan of my new Oglivy hunter pad- too narrow behind and kind of disappears into the saddle and tends to shift to one side. Kind of disappointed for the price.[/QUOTE]
Glad to know it isn’t just me; mine shifts to one side also, and is pretty well engulfed by my saddle. I’ve been using their baby pads for years, they’re one of the few shaped to fit shark fin withers, but the hunter pad blows.
I bought an EcoGold half pad and it came apart where the fleece meets the pad. I used it mostly for showing so only had been used three times max. I contacted Smartpak because they are ususally wonderful about returns but they referred me to the manufacturer since it had been over 6 months. I had no luck with the manufactuer. (Multiple E-mails with no resolution) I kept being told they never recieved my email and pictures. I finaly just gave up. I purchased a Success Equestrian All purpose pad and absolutely love it! Great quality and it gives me the Non-slip feature that I need. My Mare has a huge jump and the pad always slips. I then bought a fitted show pad by Success Equestrian that has worked even better than the EcoGold. I don’t have to get off and readjust the saddle and pad after every round. With the EcoGold I did. Also the EcoGold “fleece” is very cheap looking and is not anywhere close to being fleece.
My Ogilvy half pad shifts to one side, but I am almost sure it is because of my riding (bad leaner). I’m interested in anyone’s opinion on the EquineLux pads.
You have to wonder what weird “thing” they will come up with next, just to sell pads. “Frictionless” - who are they kidding ?
I’ve never heard of it called “frictionless,” but I have the Success Equestrian hunter pad and I love it. It is the only pad I’ve found that doesn’t slip with my shark fin TB.
Wouldn’t you think you’d need friction to prevent it from slipping ?
"Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: Dry friction resists relative lateral motion of two solid surfaces in contact."
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/frict.html
No friction and you disappear over his ears or off his butt ! (legs allowing)
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This is an older thread but I am wondering, is there a difference between non slip and non friction pads?
Actually, there’s a recent study that demonstrates saddle slip to one side is a reliable early indicator on soreness in the hind end as opposed to rider induced. The lighter the rider, the more likely it was to evidence
https://thehorse.com/118331/saddle-slip-as-an-indicator-of-hind-limb-lameness/
the Ecogold pads are amazing. They are expensive, but worth it. My horse is a chestnut with sensitive skin so he can get rubs easy from thick pads with heavy binding on the edges. The Ecogold is prefect for him as it doesn’t rub at all.
That is extremely interesting and a completely new idea to me. You should post this as a new thread on Horse Care since it probably won’t get seen as widely here at the end of an old thread on a different topic.
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This is not a new concept.
That saddle slip is most likely to be caused by very subtle hind limb lameness, rather than back assymetry or poor saddle fit?
I haven’t heard this in all the saddle fit advice I’ve read. Maybe lameness experts know about it!
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It doesn’t take an expert.
@Equibrit Considering the number of people I’ve encountered that find this to be new information, including some vets, I think its worth sharing. Feel free not to read it
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Well, I’ve never dealt with a slipping saddle or with hind leg lameness other than very obvious abscesses.
It seems so obvious once you read it, but I truly have cruised through all the saddle fitting websites when I was saddle shopping and learning about fit, and I have never seen this mentioned. Just lots of suggestions for panel adjustments and gummy pads!
Likewise I’ve read up some on identifying lameness, looking for the wonky hip, etc but I’ve never seen saddle slipping suggested as a symptom of mild lameness.
It’s likely the two areas of expertise don’t communicate.
Also a lot of people ride through subtle or growing lameness without even noticing, obviously.
Anyhow I found it interesting! Some time I’ll have to ask my very well trained saddle fitter if she was taught this. It’s quite possible she and many others know this, but since I haven’t had these problems, it hasn’t come up.
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