@hallie2 PM’ed you!
An update because I’ve been thinking about it - younger horse is no longer at my barn and I never managed to get him to stand on these. I have the real ones now (thank you hallie2!) and I loooove them for my older gelding. I’ve had little to no issues getting him to stand on them, stacking them, etc. Some days he doesn’t react much at all, other days it’s licking and chewing and swaying. A couple of times I actually got nervous because he almost fully fell asleep and looked like he was going to fall over lol.
Sometimes he’ll stand on them for a bit then step off, sometimes he’ll be reluctant to lift off them when I want to put them away. It just depends on the day - I can’t say I’ve seen a massive difference under saddle for the most part but figured if he relaxed on them and let me massage him while standing on them then I’m very happy with that. He’s a cribber and arthritic in many spots so he has a lot of muscle tension.
Until the past couple of days however, when I really started to appreciate having these. This horse bucks under saddle, and bucks HARD. It’s only in the winter time, mostly during one canter lead, and presumably because of stiffness in mostly his SI and a bit in his hocks that haven’t been resolved with injections. I’ve managed to avoid most of the bucking this winter so far, but the other day I got on and every time I cantered to the left he was bucking and kicking out hard. I put him on the sure foot pads afterwards, and he had huge releases-massive massive yawning, licking, chewing, falling asleep, swaying a bit. I coupled that with some stretches afterwards, and the next day under saddle he bucked once or twice and that was it! Typically when he starts bucking, it sticks around for every ride until the colder weather ends no matter what I try. I put him on them again after the second ride, and his reactions were still present but less so. This lines up with the notion that he was less tight the second day.
That’s just my anecdotal evidence - but I’m definitely going to keep using these through the winter, and do even more research into combos to try since I’ve mostly been picking the density and feet they’re used for intuitively thus far.
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Bumping this thread because I noticed the authentic Sure Foot pads are included im Smartpak’s 20% off July 4 sale, in case any one is looking 
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Oooo thanks for the heads up! I’ve been thinking about getting the real deal. I have a squishy yoga mat type thing, but it would be easier with the small ones.
Have you ever done work with a Bosu Ball? I look at it similarly. If you’ve never stepped on one, you’re going to have a hard time balancing at first but the more you do it the more stable you get. If you’ve never stepped stop that practice, you’ll lose those gains. I have a Bosu under my standing desk that I will stand on to keep my balance sharp. It makes a difference for me.
The balance mat we have is a great tool that I try to work on once a week or so. I find it helps with proprioception and I do think it helps him overall.
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Ooo I would definitely recommend them for anyone thinking about it! I haven’t been using them quite as frequently now that winter is over, but I still do a few times a week and intend to start doing more again once my schedule frees up some more. A vet who was there for his daughter’s lesson saw me using them and said he loves them, and a friend of mine who has worked at top rehab facilities used them a lot there too.
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I’m gonna third this recommendation of getting them for a bit of a discount if you can!
My DD bought them for me about four or five years ago (I requested them as a Christmas present 
) She was astonished by how much it cost for simple pads – but I have my mare stand on them while I’m tacking up, so use them five times a week.
Previously, I bought some cheaper “versions” off Amazon, but they crushed easily under the weight of a horse so really did not provide the stability required to engage the core and improve proprioception.
