Hello! I’ve been getting out on the trails again this year and we are started to do more miles/time than previous years. I sat in a saddle last week that had a sheepskin cover and WOW. So comfy. I am currently riding trails in a western saddle and would like to get something for myself. I saw online that sheepskin and gel seem to be pretty common.
Any recommendations? All of the previous threads on this seemed quite old.
When years ago I was bucked off high up there and landed on my behind, breaking my tail bone, for several months after that I used one of these:
Worked very well, had another similar one but with shorter hair, not so fluffy, for my English saddle, that I still have somewhere.
Finally gave them up, but they sure made for a comfortable ride.
I used a sheepskin for an English saddle; liked it a lot for my hard, slippery, but very well-fitting saddle.
It was small, brown, and very discreet.
I find sheepskin still keeps its bounce when synthetic fleece becomes flat and worn. I find sheepskin is cooler than a gel pad, which becomes ever more important if riding in a hot climate for a long time. If only being used for an hour or so, I don’t think there is much between a sheepskin or a gel pad.
I vote for real sheepskin.
Gel is just as comfy, but adds weight.
We used both when DH was learning to ride & “parts” needed protection.
The gel pad - for a close contact saddle - weighed at least 5#.
Sheepskin weighed a couple ounces.
Super helpful thank you! The sheepskin is a little more pricey, but seems like the way to go for the long run.
Another vote for sheepskin. As others have noted - it’s a little more expensive but so comfy!
We have a Gel-Cush™ Seat Pad that riders have loved, it’s leather coated and has the Tucker Gel-Cush™ padding in it, which is a cushion that behaves like a gel. It won’t compress over time and because it’s a cushion and not a gel it won’t leak or freeze.
I ride on a sheepskin in all weathers in steamy North Carolina. Itmakes me feel like Queen Elizabeth.
Sheepskin is the best choice for me too, synthetic fleece is too hot during summer and I didn’t find gel pads so comfortable
I love my Christ Lammfelle sheepskin seat cover (I ride in an English saddle). We’re going on our 3rd season and it’s held up great. Got caught in a freak hail storm last week and used that as an excuse to throw it in the wash for the first time in a few months-it fluffed right back up like new!
Another vote for sheepskin! I have the JMS seat savers on my western saddle and a Mattes on my English for long trail rides. The Acavello gel is also very cushy but had too much random wiggle for me.
I’ve also tried the following and didn’t like them as well as sheepskin - Cashel, thinline, Heather Moffett.
I’ll be out near Schneider’s this weekend and they have a JMS brown one in stock; I’d rather have black but they are back ordered. They are only $99 which seems to be pretty reasonable! I might just settle for brown. My whole seat was a little sore for my lesson today after 5 miles yesterday and that’s not even that far!
I ordered the brown JMS. My butts excited!
Congrats!
I have both sheepskin and ThinLine seat savers for my English saddles, but stick to the ThinLine because I found the sheepskin I have to be too bulky and create a pressure point under my thigh where the edge is, though this may just be an issue with my specific one (an older model Fleeceworks). If it weren’t for that, I would probably layer the two and it would be perfect (I’ve tried this just sitting in the saddle and really liked it aside from the pressure point issue). The ThinLine is very low profile, but adds a surprising amount of cushion/shock absorption. I like the fact that it’s thin and so it doesn’t make my saddle feel smaller or make me feel perched, but it does make my older, hard seated saddle softer for trail rides and keeps me comfortable for longer. It does not have the same amount of cushion as something thicker, but makes a noticeable difference for me. I believe they make Western seat savers as well.
One thing to take note of if you get a ThinLine for an English saddle is the sizing, as the close contact, all purpose, and dressage ones are all different lengths and will fit very differently regardless of what style your saddle is if you have a deep seat and/or a larger seat size. I ended up getting a dressage one (19.5" long) for my 18" deep seat jump saddle and it barely fits (the close contact one I originally ordered was way too short, and the all purpose is slightly shorter than the dressage).
Sheepskin for me.
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