My horse has some pretty high withers and is built uphill. So one of my biggest challenges is finding a saddle pad that has a big uphill sweep at the withers so the pad doesn’t lay on his withers.
LeMieux has some saddle pads that look as though they would be high enough, but spending $100 on one saddle pad, eck.
Any other brand recommendations that I should take a look at?
Check out some of these:
Most of mine have wither relief, and they are of various brands (horze, eskadron, lemeiux, to name a few). The dura-tech v-free one looks nice.
I have a horse with major shark fin withers. I have a Horz, PRI and a Lemeiux. I have an ECP shimmable half pad that my saddle fitter sold me. My trainer’s Back on Track has nice high wither relief to it. I really like the Lemeiux that I have. It is holding up well.
Quite simply, I don’t use a saddle pad.
Eskadron and Lemieux work well. Cheaper in Europe though.
I love my LeMieux pads because of the D-ring attachments, which really help keep the pad centered and the wither relief up into the pommel so it doesn’t bind. The ones without the sheepskin are more like $50-60, still not cheap, but IMO worth it.
If you can find Eous pads, I feel like they’re quite good for wither relief.
My horse has normal high withers and I really prefer the fit of the Ogilvy baby pads to most of the brands. I did look at LeMieux in the tack store but they were a definite price point above the Ogilvy, which I already considered s bit of a luxury :).
I find that more important than pad shape is ensuring I pull it up into the gullet of the saddle. Even a very shaped pad can really pull and rub if you don’t do that, particularly on big withers.
I use the cheapest all purpose pads I can find on Mr Giant Withers, because anything of substance with reinforcement on the edges rubs and makes him bleed within one ride, since he’s also Mr Thin Skin.
I buy my Le Mieux pads on ebay from reputable UK sellers and they’re not $100. More like $50ish. Still expensive but they are superb quality and wash and wear extremely well. They are certainly the most durable and good looking saddle pads in my trunk. They fit my OTTB extremely well and I adore the d-ring velcro.
Ogilvy pads have a nice cut without breaking the bank.
I ride OTTBs. My favorite is Pacific rim high wither cut or Toklat classic types. I use other types as well but they have really good cuts.
I really like the Ogilvy saddle pads for their generous wither cut, and how durable the fabric is without being a super thick pad.
THe pads that have Velcro that does up to the D-rings rather than the billets are great for keeping the pad off the withers.
I have heard a lot of people say that the Le Mieux saddle pads rub their horses. I think the Lettia CoolMax ProSeries pad does a good job of staying off the withers. I also like Eskadron.
VTO saddlery has PRI pads. Affordable, hard wearing, and wash well.
Thanks everyone.
I put my Back on Track saddle pad and my horse’s withers filled the wither relief area. I never relived how high his withers really were until today!
If it continues to be a problem, the Schneider’s Saddlery Duratech V-free pads are inexpensive and have a very good amount of clearance for high withers.
That’s funny since my Le Mieux pads fit great but I had to give away my Lettia pad. I have an OTTB with shark fin withers and sensitive skin.
Another vote for Ogilvy! So many pads slip back on my horse and never these. I also have a monoflap saddle so appreciate the d-ring billet attachments on the profile pad. Bonus is they wear really well and have a lovely soft suede underside that wicks moisture away from the horse.
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