Shock absorbing half pad???

[supershorty628]

[QUOTE=genuineequestrian;8203379]
My saddle fits fine and is not hurting my horse in any way, and my horse is very fit and muscular. No matter what saddle I use, the fit will not change absorbing shock. But my question was about if the thicker pads actually make a difference, or if the thin saddlright is the better choice.[/QUOTE]

Well, yes, they do make a difference - because they change the fit of your saddle and make it too tight if you had it fitted without the thick half pad. Hence my point.

On a non-half-pad note, but a “keeping older horses going for their jobs” note:
I agree with Bogie re: Jim Masterson’s massage methods. They’re beneficial for any horse, but especially the hardworking senior citizens.

The other thing you can do if your horse has a lot of tension through her back and neck is talk to your farrier. It’s not something you might think of off the bat, but my farrier changed what my [19-year-old] jumper goes in by adding some memory foam in her shoes, and there’s a marked difference in whether she gets muscle knots at the base of her neck or not. Just something to think about.

[winstonian]

I really like my ecogold triple foam half pad. It’s a lot thinner than the Ogilvy and I prefer it to the thinline that I have. In my experience, the thinline is nice if your saddle fits very well but the ecogold does a bit of a better job improving the fit and comfort level if you’re starting with something a bit away from an ideal fit.

[aabradley82]

I have one of these… http://shop.impactgel.com/English-Quilted-Cotton-Half-Pad-EIPQW19.htm and I really like it… my horse seems to like it too

[Brigadier]

If you do go the ThinLine route, I would suggest the Trifecta pad over the basic ThinLine. I’ve seen the basic pad crack at the withers with heavy use, but I have not had that problem with the Trifecta. It’s worth the extra $$ to have it last longer.

[Noctis]

I will fully admit to using a shock absorbent pad for my back almost more than my horses back as I have some bad back issues. I really like the equifit t-foam half pad. I didn’t notice much difference with the thinline pad but a big improvement with the equifit. Nacho loves it too. Not too thick either.

[genuineequestrian]

[QUOTE=Bogie;8203406]
I have seen a horse’s back improve with a well fitting saddle and a sheepskin pad. She was an older horse and she just needed more padding.

FWIW, I owned a Saddleright pad too. It was a bit too much pad for my saddle/horse combo. If you want one, check out eBay as you can get them for less there. They last forever and they are very well made.

If your horse is carrying tension in its back, also consider learning some massage techniques as padding won’t necessarily fix tension. I’m a big fan of Jim Masterson’s techniques and he has some excellent CDs that teach you how to do them. You can get a taste of what he does on his YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/mastersonmethod[/QUOTE]

Thanks, we have tried just a normal sheepskin and it doesn’t really help. And my horse also gets massages regularly, but thanks for the recommendations.

[genuineequestrian]

[QUOTE=supershorty628;8203418]
Well, yes, they do make a difference - because they change the fit of your saddle and make it too tight if you had it fitted without the thick half pad. Hence my point.

On a non-half-pad note, but a “keeping older horses going for their jobs” note:
I agree with Bogie re: Jim Masterson’s massage methods. They’re beneficial for any horse, but especially the hardworking senior citizens.

The other thing you can do if your horse has a lot of tension through her back and neck is talk to your farrier. It’s not something you might think of off the bat, but my farrier changed what my [19-year-old] jumper goes in by adding some memory foam in her shoes, and there’s a marked difference in whether she gets muscle knots at the base of her neck or not. Just something to think about.[/QUOTE]

my horse also has pads in her fronts. What I meant about the saddle was that there is no way for me to improve it with another saddle unless I also had half pads.

[supershorty628]

[QUOTE=genuineequestrian;8210907]
my horse also has pads in her fronts. What I meant about the saddle was that there is no way for me to improve it with another saddle unless I also had half pads.[/QUOTE]

Pads in front =/= memory foam in front, unless your farrier specifically used that.

[HiHopes]

I have both a prolite half pad and a thinline trifecta half pad. They are both very different. I use the thinline for the shims and my horse does really like it. If I wanted something purely for shock absorbing properties and I wanted something that would not alter the fit of the saddle I would choose the prolite though just because it fits under the saddle so neatly and well, you cant even really see it.
I think a a shock absorbing layer is not a bad idea as it helps the horse on landing after a fence. Another brand to consider is Acavallo (sp?). I also have one of those but I have never used it so can’t comment, they are very thin like gelly but they are tacky to touch. That also might work.

[sicillianstallion]

Wilker’s has good half pads. You can get almost any color you want, too!

http://shop.wilkers.com/hunter-jumper-half-pad/
http://shop.wilkers.com/hunter-jumper-memory-foam-half-pad/

[Horseman15]

Like many others have said, the sheepskin pads are excellent. The used Stubben saddle I bought fits my one horse fine but the other it didn’t fit very well. The “good” saddle I have has the wrong size tree. I used a Fleeceworks pad with shims on both horses (my OTTB has only been off the track since February so he’s not muscled up yet) and there wasn’t any soreness whatsoever on either horse using that saddle. With my new Voltaire I use the same pad and Chey loves the set up! Both horses have no soreness anywhere using it. The OTTB was just on a 2 hour trail ride and afterwards my trainer checked him for soreness and found nothing wrong with him so I’m sold on it.

[LookmaNohands]

Do your own “test” of several pads. Put a pad on your hand then pound on your hand with something (I used a hammer.) Thinline was the WORST! Memory foam was the best and memory foam plus wool was about as good.

Don’t believe the advertising.

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=LookmaNohands;8265163]
Do your own “test” of several pads. Put a pad on your hand then pound on your hand with something (I used a hammer.) Thinline was the WORST! Memory foam was the best and memory foam plus wool was about as good.

Don’t believe the advertising.[/QUOTE]

I don’t know how you ride, and I’m no Beezie Madden… but I don’t think my riding is at all like a hammer. I’m not sure that’s really a fair comparison. The idea of these pads is not to buffer a repetitive heavy impact over a small surface area but to spread weight that is fairly evenly distributed and moving more slowly over a large surface area.

[BostonHJ]

I know a number of people who swear by Back on Track saddle pads for a back that carries tension despite a good saddle fit.

[Doctracy]

I noticed a big difference in personal comfort when I switched from a Mattes to a Thinline.

[Renn_aissance]

I’m an Ecogold user myself- vet and I noticed a substantial difference in my horse’s way of going when I switched to one of those several years ago and have continued to use them ever since. They’re also no more or less substantial than a regular sheepskin saddle pad, so they don’t really impact the saddle’s fit if that’s what you started with. I don’t have a ton of experience with Thinlines on their own, but have used the Thinline Trifecta shim pad, which has sheepskin on the bottom and four shim pockets for Thinline Ultra shims. It’s become my favorite shim pad (over Mattes, ECP, etc.) because of the combination of sheepskin and customizable impact protection with the Thinline shims.

[eclipse]

My horse has lost top line due to ulcers, he’s back in full work but until he’s back to full muscle. My saddle fitter recommended the ultra thin Thinline to cushion his back. My fitted saddle doesn’t fit as perfect as when he was proper weight and muscle, and I have noticed he’s much happier with the Thinline

[LookmaNohands]

[QUOTE=vxf111;8265318]
I don’t know how you ride, and I’m no Beezie Madden… but I don’t think my riding is at all like a hammer. I’m not sure that’s really a fair comparison. The idea of these pads is not to buffer a repetitive heavy impact over a small surface area but to spread weight that is fairly evenly distributed and moving more slowly over a large surface area.[/QUOTE]

So I wonder why they drop a golf ball onto the thin line pad and other pads to show shock absorption? How does that translate into riding? a golf ball doesn’t weigh much. A rider does. I just want to know how this really works or not.

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=LookmaNohands;8266670]
So I wonder why they drop a golf ball onto the thin line pad and other pads to show shock absorption? How does that translate into riding? a golf ball doesn’t weigh much. A rider does. I just want to know how this really works or not.[/QUOTE]
Marketing gimmick

[relocatedTXjumpr]

For those of you that show, how are you pairing these pads with your show pads?

I generally ride in one of these:

http://www.doversaddlery.com/equne-cmfrt-air-rde-hlf-pd-1%2F2/p/X1-190084/?ids=rqk0dppkx2smyqbf52bvqwch

I do not like the way it fits with my show pad however, but those weekends are the times he needs the most protection due to the number of rides…what do you use at shows?