Numnah! I don't think that word means what you think it does. UK riders HELP!

[Chaila]

When I was riding in England Circa 1990 they called (or at least this is what I recall) sheepskin saddle covers numnahs. I had never ridden in one and it was very cold so I remember being very excited about learning about numnahs.

Now it turns out that this is a standard term for a shaped fleece or sheepskin saddle pad.

Will the real numnah please stand up? I don’t remember a saddle pad ever being referred to in this way, just what we would call sheepskin “seat savers” in the US.

To make matters more ridiculous, this is actually one of the questions on the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture instructor’s exam. :yes:

[Crockpot]

We always used the term for saddle pad back in the olden days.

[WNT]

I went to the source: my 1988 edition of The Manual of Horsemanship for the British Horse Society. “A numnah is a pad cut in the shape of a saddle and usually made of the following” and goes on to list several materials including sheepskin and felt. Basically, numnah is British for saddle pad.

[Crockpot]

yes in fact all our saddle pads were shaped in the olden days and usually made of felt or fake sheepskin

[Guilherme]

IIRC “numnahs” could be a saddle pad but were also, at one time (prior to about 1906), saddle bar shaped pads that were made of felt or sheepskin and were designed to eliminate the need for a conventional pad or blanket. They were not successful, caused sore backs, and were discarded in favor of a more conventional pad or blanket. You can see some examples in museums and they sometimes turn up in antique venues.

G.

[Chall]

I thought it could also mean the part of the horse’s natural coat that you did not clip. The unclipped hair was where the saddle was put. Basically the same shape as a saddle pad, but made of the horses fur, were the rest of the body was clipped.

[billiebob]

Shaped saddle pad–I worked for a Brit for years and sometimes had to translate :lol:.

[Chaila]

So am I just totally misremembering that they called seat savers numnahs? Do they not do that? Did they ever?

[Guilherme]

[QUOTE=Chaila;7818038]
So am I just totally misremembering that they called seat savers numnahs? Do they not do that? Did they ever?[/QUOTE]

A lot of equine-industry terminology is “local.” So it’s quite possible that in some locale, somewhere, a “seat saver” might be called a “numnah.”

G.

[furlong47]

I have only ever heard numnah used to mean a saddle pad.

[kdow]

[QUOTE=Guilherme;7818109]
A lot of equine-industry terminology is “local.” So it’s quite possible that in some locale, somewhere, a “seat saver” might be called a “numnah.”

G.[/QUOTE]

That’s my guess. Something like all sheepskin type things get referred to as a numnah, and it goes from there. I only thought it referred to saddle pads (shaped) when I lived in the UK near London.

[Saronicos]

Numnahs are saddle pads not seat savers. At least in Ireland anyways.

[jenm]

I had a saddle pad custom made for cross country via a company in the Uk called Nagrags: http://www.nagrags.co.uk/

If you look at their homepage, it shows square pads as saddle cloths and shaped pads as numnahs.

[phoebetrainer]

I’ve never heard a seat saver called a numnah - and I grew up with British terms.

[QUOTE=Chaila;7818038]
So am I just totally misremembering that they called seat savers numnahs? Do they not do that? Did they ever?[/QUOTE]

[RutlandH2O]

[QUOTE=furlong47;7818116]
I have only ever heard numnah used to mean a saddle pad.[/QUOTE]

Yup, a numnah is a saddle pad.

[ddashaq]

Rode in the UK from 1987-1996 at a BHS center and the shaped pads were numnahs and the square ones were pads. Back then numnahs were used almost exclusively.

[sdlbredfan]

I grew up knowing that term. The saddle pads to which it referred were shaped, contoured thick felt.

[Griffyn]

I guess the “seat saver” interpretation came from using the numnah to prevent numb- nahs. Male anatomical preserver just seemed too cumbersome.

[ISR]

Shaped saddle pad= numnah
Square saddle pad= saddle cloth

…and for some reason throat latch=throat lash.

[Frog_Pond]

What makes you think that’s a question on the MDAR instructor exam? I remember a lot of annoying things about that test, but definitely not numnahs – that would’ve stuck in my craw! Good luck with it.