Long time reader, first time poster. First, has anyone tried this new pad from Total Saddle Fit?
Second, what do you think of their research videos they’ve shared?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Detl7bieW5c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA-8qsXdPMU
Personally, I’m a long time Thinline fan; not opposed to sheepskin, Thinline is just easier to clean and customize. The squish pad interests me because ten plus years ago gel and foam pads were all the rage, then we all heard they trap heat and foam just compresses, so it does nothing. Thinline and sheepskin pads seem to be much more popular recently (natural fiber in general as I see a lot more fitters talking about wool flocking), with the few outliers like Ogilvy and Acavallo. The Winderen pad is another new pad with foam which had positive reviews, but even then I saw some fitters say they take out the foam layer (one replaced it with Thinline).
In conclusion, in the face of this research, or your anecdotal use of this pad, what do you think? Are there holes in this research? Could the data be being misinterpreted?
Sidebar: has anyone seen the pad who also used Ogilvy and if so, are they similar? The concept of gel foam sounds a lot like Ogilvy, though I have no experience with either pad.
Hi Kathy
I watched both videos all of the way thru. I can’t help you with the “Squish” pads ultimate applicability, but I will comment on one thing they failed to mention, and that’s the breathability of the pad.
Old-school gel pads I have tried have basically none; they are impermeable to water vapor and extremely hot/sweaty under a saddle.
I have a Parelli “Theraflex” pad that is basically a Thermarest backpacking pad (two of 'em) built into a saddle-pad shape. I does a great job of evening out saddle pressure/compensating for minor saddle misfit , but it too is impermeable/hot/sweaty.
I have, for years now, used Supracor pads, under both the Western “bars” of Georgies Synergist Endurance saddle, with a Crestridge Endurance saddle (also “Western”-based), and under the flocked panels of a Passier Dressage saddle. Mostly for mountain trail riding. Walk/trot/canter, but obviously mostly walking, up and down over steep rough terrain.
This on my Mule George, an XL Thoroughbred I used to have (RIP, old friend), and an Elderly Paint Horse (Also RIP, now, and mostly just easy flat going given his advanced age, but he just loved to go).
The Supracor pads have performed flawlessly; never a hint of saddle pressure soreness, and due to the open honeycomb structure, they breathe very well, and go a long way towards keeping Equine backs cool, comfortable, and even relatively dry under the saddle over the course of a long days ride. They’re virtually indestructable, and clean up with a garden hose. The Supracor material was developed for use in hospital beds/bed-ridden patients, just FWIW.
I’d suggest taking a look at them (supracor.com), but at least investigate the breathability of the “Squish” pad before spending money on one. The Supracor pads are expensive, but you can probably find a good deal on one if you shop eBay . . . And recover most of your money by remarketing it there if you decide you don’t like it, but I doubt that will be the case.
Maybe contact the “Squish pad” people and ask for a pressure-pad comparison with the Supracor; just to see what sort of reaction you get . . . I’d be curious as to what they say if you do, and I’d also be curious to hear about your experiences if you do try the Squish Pad on your critter, so keep us posted.
I recently bought both the Squish pad and the Winderen pad. I have two horses but one has shark-fin withers and the other does not. I had been using the Thinline Trifecta, but even with the shims, it wasn’t enough to correct the shark-fin, and the chiropractor said that the other horse was back sore.
So, I bought the Winderen pad first with shims. It works fantastic for the shark-wither, but was too shimmed for the other horse who has a more normal wither. A couple people at my barn had just bought the Squish pad. I tried it on my mare and loved it, so I bought one for her. It also comes with shims, but I haven’t tried them yet on the shark-finned horse since the Winderen is working so well for him.
I like that the Squish pad has an adjustable piece over the wither and can actually be completely removed to give full wither clearance. I also noticed that it is way more comfortable for me as rider than any other pad I’ve ever used. My mare seems very comfortable and really goes well in it too. I will be curious to see what the chiropractor says about her back when she returns in a couple weeks.
TLDR: I really like both the Winderen and Squish, and would recommend them!
They just look so THICK. I can’t see how they wouldn’t affect saddle fit if your saddle is custom-fitted to your horse - like wearing an extra pair of socks in your well fitting shoes.
It reminds me of when I was growing up - one medium treed saddle fit all horses and we padded up “if needed” a la the thick Beval pad.
I thought that too initially, but after I got them, found the thickness to not be an issue. Here’s a sample pic.
That is a lot of pad; there’s no way it isn’t impacting saddle fit. I won’t use anything more than 1" thick under my western saddle, which is much more forgiving of fit imperfections than a close contact. When I still rode hunters, the most I would do under a well-fitting saddle was a baby pad (or, for short periods of time, a fleece show pad) over the thinner of the ThinLine pads.
It looks thick, but it squishes down when you get on. The only affect it has on my saddle fit is for the better! I used Thinlines for years and really think these are better (at least for my horses). They may not work for everyone.
I feel like I’ve tried every type of halfpads and I keep coming back to sheepskin. My saddle is wool flocked and I actually ordered the Mattes pads that have the sheepskin on the underside of the square pad… so the sheepskin is directly touching the horse. This has been the only combination to alleviate the back soreness in my horse. It’s a pain to clean for sure, but it’s worth it to have him more comfortable I think. I do think there is something to the breathability.
It would be interesting to put a Port Lewis impression pad under those pads and look to see if there’s a change in pressure - either in spots or all over.
For those that use them, do the squish pads give the same sort of feel as the Ogilvy half pads?
I’ve been riding in an SaddleRite pad for the last ~2 years but have come to really like the fleece half pads (Fleeceworks and others) that have been put under my saddle at shows. So, as much as I don’t love the care and handling of fleece, I bought one.
This is where I’m at. I have two custom wool-flocked saddles for my mares. They are both fitted specifically for the pad and/or half pad they will be used with. See: my analogy of using an extra pair of socks on a pair of shoes that fit well.
That makes sense if you have a custom saddle for a specific horse. In my case, I have one saddle for three horses, all with very different backs.
I wonder if this is different today because many ridden horses have back/wither muscular atrophy for a multitude of reasons. Its hard to tell if backs were really that different ‘back then’ because there’s not as many photos without the saddle on to compare, nonetheless at a good angle or image quality. I have noticed older Stubbens were mostly 31 or 32, but now most I see used are 27-29, as a small sample size comparison. Also, most saddles now are foam flocked so shim pads are more often needed because the panel cannot be adjusted as much or as easily.
Thank you for the suggestion. I had a Supracor half pad for a while and my horse did not like it, so I sold it. However, I’ve since gotten a new saddle and done a back muscle rehab to reverse his trapezius atrophy, so he’s overall a happier more forward horse. I have considered getting another one now because I loved the quality of the pad and my horse may feel different too.
This is what makes me wonder how these types of halfpads (Ogilvy too) make a difference if they’re squished down when you’re actually using it. However, if it works, then there’s something to it, it just makes me wonder.
I noticed in the research video, the team didn’t see merit in a pad that can stop a bowling ball, but instead something that lessens smaller movements. I would like to see a test like that with a Thinline or another of the ‘bowling ball stopping’ pads to see if they also work at lower impact exercises.
I tried a Fleeceworks sheepskin pad once too, but it was SO thick. Maybe it was because it was brand new, but I was surprised at how thick it was and didn’t feel it would fit my saddle well to go in between pads since I use a Thinline. I used to have a Mattes as well; overall didn’t see it making a better difference than my Thinline and more difficult to clean.
