One of my horses has expressed to me that he is very aware of what is touching his body, and has definite preferences towards the soft and comfy side of things. I came across the Mattes harness pads, they look lovely, and they are spendy! Does anyone have them, worth it? How thick/substantial are are they in addition to the sheepskin. It says there’s another layer, but without actually putting my hands on it it’s hard to know. Thanks for any thoughts!
I don’t know them but I’d be VERY concerned about what you’ve said generally.
In my opinion a driver should always be aware to ensure that a harness fits perfectly and most of all, comfortably.
I’d not personally want to seek to remedy any sign of discomfort or evasion with a pad. That’s not what they’re for. Rather it’s not what they should be for.
I’m inclined to say that you need to thoroughly check your harness for fit and proper adjustment.
Note: I do actually use breast collar fleece covers. Not for comfort though. It’s because I’m lazy and it’s a heck of a lot easier to stick those in the washing machine than pick a load of hairs off and thoroughly clean the leather every time it’s been used. Escpecially when it’s most often several times a day!
WoW
you found someone (in the US) who carries the Mattes harness pads???
We use a sheepskin halfpad (riding) - Fleeceworks - for our Alex - not because the harness saddle does not fit but because his back was injured in a barnfire and needs the extra protection on the thinner and hairless skin
I LOVE the sheepskin pad and I actually like the feel of the Fleeceworks better than I liked the Mattes halfpad. But they both have wondefully dense fleece
BOTH are $$$ price I saw for Mattes harness was $139 AU
My Fleeceworks halfpad was over $75
At the GS CDE yesterday I checked out the harness pads that Marjean had at Camptown harness.
She has a nice dense cell foam from Cashel for very cheap and they do custom sizes
she aslo has a waffle type pad
these are good for easy to wash and not $$$
But I absolutely agree with Thomas
The harness has to fit correctly first and the pad just gives a little extra
You dont make a harness fit by filling in with pads
Though I will also say that some horses just prefer a bit of extra cushion - Princess and Pea effect
Thomas and NJ, my horse thanks you for your concern 
I consider pads for saddles to be like socks for shoes, they keep things cleaner, but a pad will no more “fix” an ill fitting saddle than the most expensive pair of socks will fix a pair of ill fitting shoes.
I’m a bit of a tack snob, and I don’t like to use synthetic much of anything. My horse prefers his padded leather halter to a nylon one, and is noticeably happier wearing the softest of the coolers, so it seemed reasonable to me that if I were going to use a harness pad, to get a nice one of good quality real sheepskin. I don’t use synthetic pads under my riding saddles, so why would I use one for driving?
Read my postings over time and you’ll come to appreciate that I MUCH prefer the likes of leather, cotton, wool. I use only the thinnest of cotton numnahs to protect my English leather saddles.
but… see below.
[QUOTE=Quelah;4908337]
I don’t use synthetic pads under my riding saddles, so why would I use one for driving?[/QUOTE] Modern fabrics are manufactured to wick sweat away from the horse. You can stick them in the washing machine. They fast dry. They’re not as bulky and thick. Last but not necessarily least, they’re cheaper and longer lasting than sheepskin.
But for me first and foremost its because they’re actually better.
Quality of the synthetic fabrics can differ greatly. My favorite is Equibac, a fleece from the past. It just had a huge volume of fiber per inch, over other fleece pads. It stayed thick, creating the cushion effect I wanted. No stuffing layer, just the top and bottom fleece pieces sewed together. Other fleece products just flatten out in use, not protective or leaving the air spacing I was looking for when adding the pad. Never had a sore backed horse with those pads, no matter how many hours were spent in the saddle.
These were riding saddle pads, but I did use their girth covers for breastcollar covers. They were terrific, and as Thomas said, washed and dried fast, kept the leather cleaner when used. I am not going to pay for real sheepskin to use as hard as we do use equipment. Leather only works that well when still on the animal! Has to have much better care than synthetics do, though some new treatments to sheepskin make it easier to care for.
We are using the waffle pads at the moment, came with the harness. Easy to hose off, drip dry fast.
I saw the mattes pads at some US online store, but cannot remember where. I have never had a mattes product I didn’t love, so I can’t imagine they’re not top notch and thick loft.
I too don’t like synthetic anything, and I too am discovering I like padding to keep the breastcollar and saddle clean, and my horse is sensitive about his back. I happen to like sheepskin and quality wool felt for riding saddles, so I made my own sheepskin harness pads from a whole hide I have specifically for the purpose of crafting custom pads.
I find sheepskin brushes clean quite easily.
now, if only I could figure a way for a nice mohair girth… 
I have a Roma half pad for my dressage saddle. It is way cheaper that the Mattes brand, but made of merino wool. OMGosh, I want to buy a second one and make myself a pillow out of them! Dense, fluffy, non-crushable, soft, gorgeous, luscious, washable (I use blanket wash or Woolite, not detergent) and after 3 years, it’s like new. I can’t imagine any horse not liking a harness pad made by Mattes - or Roma, or the other brand that is just like them.
My thought is, it won’t hurt your horse as long as the saddle fits well. If you’re a tack junky and want to buy one, then go ahead. I wouldn’t be happy about paying the Mattes price. You can buy saddlepads made out of the merino woll from Aussie saddle shops. If you’re at all crafty, I bet you can make a couple out of one aussie merino wool pad.
Yip
Busted!
I knew because I’m a tack junky too - but on a budget! When I rec’d my Roma pad, I didn’t even want to take it out to the barn!
OK, tack junky here and i’m in love with that mattes harness pad just cause it’s pretty…
BUT, i use a waffle pad on my cob mare cause it came with the harness. It is easy, just hose it with the harness, but i dont really like it. It’s kinda stiff and thick and doesnt really let the saddle mold down to the horse. She doesnt seem to care though. I’m really wanting to get a pad for her breastcollar, she doesnt mind about it either, but i just think a little extra padding might be more comfy, or maybe just something else to clean… 
My mini has a synthetic fleece pad in kelly green to match his tacky kelly green cart and his adorable kelly green feather flume on his bridle… Because sometimes its just cute to look tacky… When you’re 38" tall i suppose you can wear yellow striped socks and have pink polka dots painted on you and still look cute…
Oh to not be on a really strict budget right now, that mattes harness pad would be on its way, just because it’s pretty.
BUT, if you picked up a mereno sheepskin “rug” the kinds that Ikea sells if you have an ikea, they dont have any backing or anything, it’s just the skin. You could easily make one yourself, and i think the small skins are $26… I’m crafty though, something like that would be so easy you could finish it in minutes and make a few extras for spares. You could even dye it fancy colors if you wanted to.
