Menu

Stay in Touch
Sign up for ENews
Subscribe Now

Unlimited access >

Menu

Saddle pads

Hunting
#1

I’m hoping you all can help me with some saddle pad advice. I’ve purchased 4 different types of pads the last few months and I’m not crazy about any of them in the hunt field. Right now I’m using a typical all-purpose pad from Wilker’s topped with one of their wither relief pads, but I’d like something a little more advanced in shock absorbtion.

My hunt’s fixtures are verrrry hilly, with lots of up and down at the canter/gallop. I just got my horse re-clipped and noticed that he has two matching white spots on the sides of his back behind his shoulders. The area is not swollen, but obviously I’m a little concerned. I’m not sure if it is from my hunting him once, occassionally twice a week or from the person who exercises him for me daily (I work full time and he lives an hour away, someday this will change!). Either way, he is super fit and, in return, his shoulders are quite big and I’m worried about the way my Butet is fitting him with all the extra bulk of his shoulders and the 2 pads.

I’m considering changing to the ThinLine pad on top of my Wilkers, the Fleeceworks Fieldhunter pad, or a combo of the two, the Thinline Hunter Sheepskin Comfort Pad, which at $299 is painful to even think about. I’m open to all suggestions, though. Any ideas for what would work best for him? He’s a 16.1HH 7/8 TB appendix QH.

#2

Sorry to say, but white spots are a sign of a fundamentally ill fitting saddle. No amount of monkeying with pads will fix that. More pads will only make a tight fit even tighter.

I’ve had to buy new saddles twice in the past five and a half years for just such a reason- one English, one western. I know the pain. So maybe now with three western saddles, three English saddles, and one Mexican saddle (which I haven’t used in 40 years!) I could hope for a complete size inventory. But probably not.

#3

I agree with Beverly but will differ one teeny little bit. Of course you’re going to want to start with overall saddle fit. She’s 100% right on that.

Piling pads won’t work. Been there, done that.

On the other hand, if you’re doing a lot up and down on hills, and his shoulders are big, or the horse is built downhill, the saddle may fit ok but his conformation is changing too much as he moves. Does that make sense? Saddle fit may be perfect when the horse is still - but the gyrations during hunting; particularly if you’re in 2point a lot - can force even a well fitting saddle down too much.

I have this problem with my field hunter. Even went to a medium tree, got that fitted, fitted again as he became fitter. He’s a tank, big shoulders and built downhill. Still started to get white spots. A reverse wedge pad did the trick. I don’t care for those - I prefer to just have a my sheepskin pad. But the reverse wedge works on him. Now I just go through 3 girths each season as he gets fitter.

I’d certainly consult a qualified fitter, even get the help of your vet if you need to. Do that first.

Best of luck to you. I feel your pain - really. I went through the same thing and have quite a collection of saddles.

#4

“Sorry to say, but white spots are a sign of a fundamentally ill fitting saddle. No amount of monkeying with pads will fix that. More pads will only make a tight fit even tighter.”

Crap. Do you think it is my saddle (used once a week, hunting for 3 hours) or the exerciser’s saddle (used 5 times a week, an hour cross country each day, keeping fit for hunting in hilly terrain)? It wasn’t swollen after I hunted, but maybe it is on other days when I’m not there? Grasping at straws here! :frowning:

#5

I’d check both. It stands to reason the saddle used most often would be the likely culprit. But if you can check both saddles - I’d do it.

#6

I use the fleeceworks fieldhunter pad. It’s about the only pad I’ve found that really fits my 17.5" Barnsby.

I also have a fleeceworks All purpose pad but it does not fit the Barnsby that well. I use it with my Pessoa.

I’ve not had any saddle soreness problems. But them my horses have a lot of white so I’m not sure I would notice any extra white spots.

I do like the fleeceworks pad. I wash it every time in Woolite and so far it is doing well. I just got it after the end of last season so have just used it this season.

#7

White hairs are caused by a long term saddle fitting problem. (Or an owner who does not care to have their horse made comfortable)

#8

Here is a start to figuring out which saddle might be the problem. Get a 30" length of copper wire, not quite as thick as a regular pencil, about the thickness of an eyeliner pencil. Take this wire and put the center of it on the center of the withers. Now press down the length of wire on both sides of the horse, making sure the wire is going straight down in the contour of your horse. Once the shape has been made lift the wire away and lay it down on a piece of poster board. Trace the outline of the wire, it will look like one camel hump or an inverted V. /\ I put the “open” end of the wire at an edge of the paper. Cut out the shape. Take this shape and place it under your saddle, exactly where the highest point of the withers would be with the saddle on. Look closely at the “sides” of the form. A too narrow saddle will not allow the form to snug up correctly into the pommel. A too wide saddle will push directly on the top of the form/withers.

The above is a just one step in getting a correct saddle fit and nothing replaces on site expertise & fitting. I use a Bates AP with the adjustable gullet and I’m pleased with it. I have used it on 4 horses w/ 3 of those horses needing a different size gullet.

Paintedwings- I’ve been eyeballing those Fleeceworks Pads. Is your Pessoa a close contact style saddle?? I want it for the Bates I mentioned above but wasn’t sure if I needed to spend the extra $$ on the field hunter style if the AP style would work.

#9

In my experience with the fleeceworks they are very nice at first.
Even with proper care mine tend to really flatten out easily. I brush them and wash them as directed but I found both of mine deflated after a few months. I just ordered a thinline saddle pad…the one with sheepskin and I am very excited to try that. It was rather expensive but what I hear from many users it is worth it and they make wonderful pads.

Thinline Hunter Sheepskin Comfort Pad, that’s the one I ordered. I hear it has great shock absorption as well.

#10

Depending on the size of your Bates you might want the field hunter. My A/P pad is a little short at the cantle so that the back of the panels are hanging a little off the pad. If your saddle is 17" or smaller it might work.

My Pessoa is an old A/O Event. Very much like the old A/O with a little bit wider flaps. The saddle is almost 10 yrs old and was one of the ones made by Harry Dabbs in England. It’s a great saddle but I was worried about it holding up to the seasons of foxhunting.

I bought a Barnsby near the end of last season and one of the first hunts with it was in a total downpour at the Western Challenge. Nothing like breaking in a saddle right. Glad my Pessoa didn’t have to live through that though. The Barnsby look like it will be really tough and last me many years of foxhunting. Plus it’s very comfortable. I will now be able to save the Pessoa for eventing.

#11

[quote=ThoroughbredFancy;2894835]
In my experience with the fleeceworks they are very nice at first.
Even with proper care mine tend to really flatten out easily. I brush them and wash them as directed but I found both of mine deflated after a few months. I just ordered a thinline saddle pad…the one with sheepskin and I am very excited to try that. It was rather expensive but what I hear from many users it is worth it and they make wonderful pads.

Thinline Hunter Sheepskin Comfort Pad, that’s the one I ordered. I hear it has great shock absorption as well.[/quote

I have read that about those pads. I have an Equine Comfort Pad that I have used for two seasons and it has held up beautifully. Sheepskin. I no longer have to use an anti-slip pad. I thought about a thinline - not to fix a fit issue - but just as a good pad - but decided to stick with the Equine Comfort Pad for now. I think it’s a bit less expensive than the fleeceworks.

#12

Thanks!

Thanks for the input, everyone. I’m going to figure out how to get someone out there to check both saddles (do saddle fitters travel or will I need to haul the horse into town?). In the meantime, SLW I am going to try your suggestion. If there’s an obvious problem with one of the saddles, that will at least be enlightening. If it’s not my saddle, but the exerciser’s, I’ll be interested to hear how that Sheepskin/ThinLine combo pad holds up for ThoroughbredFancy.

Equibrit, not sure how you define “long term”, but I’ve only owned him for 2 months and he didn’t have the white spots when I got him and put him into an exercise program.

#13

I’m sure Equibrit didn’t intend to insult you. Most often these white hairs disappear when the coat sheds out. One horse of mine has permanent white areas on one front cannon bone from rubs caused by a splint boot - that’s what it looks like, anyway. They were there when I got him. He’s a chestnut, too.

Another of my horse (Chestnut) gets them from any type of irritation, including insect bites. I thought they were Birdcatcher spots but nope - bites.

They can get white hairs from anything - any irritation. In the saddle area it’s definitely a red flag that your saddle is causing irritation and probably poor fit. But the how and why and how to fix it is what is perplexing. Particularly if you have a horse that changes shape dramatically as he gets fit, or a horse that is growing, or his conformation makes a good fit almost impossible.

Don’t beat yourself up.

#14

Just my 2 cents…
*Many people have billed themselves as “saddle fitters” and are really saddle sellers.
*After using sheepskin the last two years I am back to 100% wool felt and recommend it.
*Of course Equibitch meant to be insulting.

#15

Wool felt? I didn’t think they made wool felt pads for English saddles.

#16

xeroxchick - really? You went back to wool felt? And here I am swearing by that sheepskin pad. Do you get yours at Horse Country? The only place I’ve seen those (these days) are at foxhunting type tack shops.

What did you feel was superior about the wool felt?

#17

Xeroxhcick- which wool felt do you use for hunting?? I do my regular riding in a Diamond Wool felt pad, the thicker schooling one. Do they make one w/ white trim???

JSwan-Thanks for the info on the Thinline/Comfort pad. I’ll go google that.

#18

Saddle fit…

It does sound like your saddle is too narrow for your horse - unfortunately stuffing more pads under it just makes the fit tighter - think putting more thick socks inside your boots.

It may be that the saddle just needs re-stuffing, or (unfortunately) you may need to buy a saddle with a wider tree. A good saddle fitter will come to your horse and spend considerable time with both of you, studying the horse’s conformation and its way of going, your riding and conformation (!), etc. It’s money well-spent, and if you buy a quality saddle, particularly a used one, it will hold its value for many years.

Any reputable tack store should be able to put you in touch with a qualified saddle-fitter. A saddle fitter will probably have been trained by one particular manufacturer, so it’s quite possible he or she may nudge you towards one particular brand or style, but an ethical saddle-fitter will find the saddle that works best for you and your horse, without favoring one manufacturer over another.

You can expect to pay anything from $100 to $500 to have your saddle re-stuffed, because it involves quite a bit of precise work when done correctly. It’s neat to watch! You can often reduce your costs by involving other people with whom you share the barn, etc.

If it’s any help, I do know of a few reputable saddle-fitters, who do travel extensively, and you can also find some useful and well-illustrated suggestions on saddle-fitting by using google, looking at the websites of some of the bigger saddle manufacturers (particularly the british ones, for some reason). pm me if you like.

Do check the credentials, rates, etc, of anyone claiming to be a saddle-fitter - anyone can stuff more dead sheep between two slabs of leather - it takes an expert to do it well!

#19

The more I think about it, the more I hope/think it must be the exerciser’s saddle. I’ve had my Butet for 14 years and I used it all through high school and college doing the jumpers on a few appendix QH’s and one big Trakehner whom I showed up to the Junior A/Os and Modifieds. I’ve never had a single problem and always thought I lucked out with one of those earlier Butets that was actually made to use on several horses. It is in great condition, but maybe restuffing would be a good thing to look into.

Anyway, I’m going to get a good saddle fitter out there, regardless, and hopefully get to the bottom of things. Romany, I’ll PM you.

#20

Wool Felt… well, the sheepskin was flattening and getting thin and I’m sure that all the washing didn’t help even though I used that leather wash and rotated two. I’m wondering if many pads cause hot spots (=white marks). We are out so much longer than competition riders, and what works for competing just is not meant to meet our needs.

The felt seems to hold up well and distribute heat (not that sheepskin doesn’t, I just felt the sheepskin is more delicate). What worked for the Mongols works for me. Maybe I’ll start sticking a raw piece of meat under there too so I will have a snack.

I use the Diamond Wool and another pad that has the wool felt inside the white quilting called a Fritz Theideman or something that I got from Libertyville Saddle Shop. I put a shaped baby pad on top of the Diamond for the clean white look. They have lasted for years.
Every time a saddle fitter or chiro looks at our saddle fit I get different feedback. All I know is that it never slips and my horse is going well. I am not a fan of bulking up with too many or too thick pads. Personally, I hate square pads in the hunt field. Nothing worse than seeing some people constantly gettting off a checks and adjusting their pads.
Oh geez that reminds me of when this girl got dumped in a creek and had to ride the rest of the hunt wet and wore different pad was wet and uncomfortable…well…enough of that. Sorry, I digress.

Get your Digital Subscription here - only $21.95 / year

Subscribe here
See gift options

Sign up to our monthly newsletter!

By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.

Copyright © 2023 The Chronicle of the Horse