Has anyone had any experience with the Mattes velvet pad? I’m wondering how they hold up…
Thought I’d post a little caveat about the Mattes velvet saddle pads…
After waiting nine weeks for a pad that I ordered through World Equestrian Brands, it finally came yesterday. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! The fabric that they advertise is not anything that resembles velvet–it looks more like felt. I was expecting a dark color, yes, but this has no life, having more of a matte finish. The navy may as well be black; so when I put black binding with pearl and black piping and black sheepskin on it, it doesn’t have a lot of spark. A representative from the company said this, “Mattes has been using this material as their ‘velvet’ pad for a while now. It is correct to say that it is a blended material because a true velvet would not be durable enough to uphold to being used as a saddle pad. With using this blended type material it keeps things from sticking to the pad as well (stuff like hay, etc will actually stick less to this pad than even a standard cotton pad).” I ordered the pad based on the photo of the gray horse shown on this website: http://www.pinkequine.com/shop/Mattes-Bespoke-Mer-System-Fleece-Rug. WEB says it can’t be responsible for photos of Mattes pads on other websites–and I can respect that. So…no offer forthcoming of an exchange–which didn’t surprise me either, but which would have been nice.
If anyone wants a pretty blah, beautifully made, $319 saddle pad, let me know:). Just don’t want anyone else to make the same expensive purchase without knowing what they’re getting. I suggested to WEB that they let Mattes know they’re not representing the fabric accurately–that probably won’t happen either.
