Does anyone have one or both of these pads? Interested to hear any reviews. Is the construction/fit/functionality significantly better for high withers than other LM square and half pads? How thick is the memory foam in the half pad and does it change saddle fit significantly?
I use the LeMieux® Merino+ Dressage Square Half Lined Saddle Pad. The wither cut is great - it stays up really well, even without the little d-ring attachments on.
I wash them sparingly because of the sheepskin, but so far they are holding up well.
Thanks! A lot of their pads look well cut and stable for high withers so I’m dying to know what difference their official “wither relief” construction makes. Dover carries the square pad so easy enough to order one and return it if needed, I suppose.
I have the Wither Relief Square Pad, and it does seem to fit pretty high over the withers, but I don’t have any of their other pads so not sure how it compares to those. I find the thickness to be similar to a SmartPak or Dover brand regular saddle pad.
I ordered from Dover, and like you said, they have a good return policy if it doesn’t work for you.
Super, thanks! I ended up ordering the wither relief square and another of their square pads for comparison.
Still hoping to hear from anyone who has laid hands on their wither relief half pad - how does the thickness compare to Ogilvy (which people seem to be moving away from due to it being substantial enough to change saddle fit)?
I am in the opposite situation with a horse with barely perceivable yet wide withers and most of the newer AP/ Jumper saddle pads made for a substantial withered curvy back horse. Sigh.
Also what’s up with all the tiny shaped AP saddle pad sizes? It’s like they are made to fit a pony saddle. Finally find a few that barely fit. Fit until being washed in cool water, hung dry and shrink. Shrink a noticeable amount shrink. No longer a fit for a grown adult saddle with longer forward flaps? Hello!
Truth. I ruled out several options because the spine length was nowhere near adequate. Especially not if you want to use a half pad too.
There are a lot of ways for a saddle pad to not work, that’s for sure!
Following up for anyone else who might be interested. The square pad arrived and it is a high quality product, as expected. Interestingly the wither contour doesn’t look nearly as extreme in person as most of the product photos indicate. Must be some sort of photo angle thing. It definitely has a wither contour and a slightly curved spine but it’s only a little more contoured than some of the other square pads we have laying around. The material over the withers is a thin mesh fabric (kind of looked like plastic in the photos). The thin material gives it just that little bit more wither clearance.
Size L - The spine length before washing is 22". Note that Dover says that the spine length is 26", but 26" is actually the measurement of the longest part of the pad (front to back). Both Dover and LeMieux say that the drop length is 20.8" but that is kind of an odd one too - that’s measuring from the very top/front edge somewhat diagonally to bottom edge under the girth loop. It’s more like 19" at the longest vertical measurement.
On a side note - If you’re not in a hurry for an item and if you know what you want so you aren’t worried about returns, it can be a decent price savings even with int’l shipping to order directly from LeMieux rather than from U.S. retailers like Dover. For example, Dover is selling the suede CC square for $86. It’s $48 + $25 shipping ($74) directly from LeMieux. Still a premium product to be sure but a little better.
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One final update to close out the thread. The square pad is now in regular rotation due to it being a nice, stable, attractive, and well-constructed pad. Interestingly the wither relief contour is still not sufficient for the shark fin on the particular horse I bought it for. But it doesn’t seem to bother him and it’s a little better than my others.
I managed to track down the thickness of the LeMieux wither relief memory foam half pad (3.5 cm/~1.4 in). This is even thicker than the Ogilvy, which I hear is thick enough to change saddle fit. So I won’t be ordering it to try at the moment.
