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Washing saddle pads

Dressage
#1

So here’s a mundane question.

How often do you wash your saddle pads?

I splurged on a beautiful, while BOT pad that I promised myself I would only use for lessons and keep “good”. But two lessons in the high heat and humidity and it has sweat stain and of course the underside is no longer white.

I have a decent collection of pads so no need to use the same one daily. Do you change out your pads every ride? Wash every ride? Only when too gross to look at?

Tell me.

I can’t afford a 7 day collection of super nice pads, unfortunately :smiley:

2 Likes
#2

I think like cleaning anything, don’t wait until they are super gross before washing them. I’ve always thrown mine (2 max) into my own washing machine and air dry them - even my BoT pad.
I just wipe down and clean the machine afterward. As long as the pads are balanced, the machine was fine.

We luckily don’t deal with too much humidity here, but I’d wash a pad after about every 4-5 rides depending on the gunk factor.

5 Likes
#3

lol - least of my concerns is my machine!

This will be the last white pad I buy until I’m showing again…

Are there any tools to scrape off the hair from the underside before washing?

35 years in horses, you would think I would know this stuff.

#4

Some people vacuum the bottom before washing. I just use a stiff brush to get as much hair and dirt off as possible before I wash mine.

5 Likes
#5

Depending on the material, a wire slicker brush or a short, stiff bristled brush should get most of the hair.

1 Like
#6

Mine get gross. I let them dry, brush them with a retired mud brush, vacuum with them with the pet brush attachment and bring them to the laundromat. I collect about 6 or 7 and use the biggest washer. The pro machines do a much better job than my home washer.

1 Like
#7

I don’t use the BOT or thick pads in general. I like the basic square pads that cost around 30.00. They wash up nicely in the washing machine…if I feel I need something more between the pad and the saddle I use a half pad. None of my horses have ever had a problem because of the type of pad I use.

1 Like
#8

I have one white pad, it lives in the trailer for shows and it’s my second choice even then!

For my other pads I generally brush them off with this amazing Haas brush called the mustang, it’s a mix of steel and regular bristles. It’s about the best shedding brush ever (especially clipped horse shedding) but also super useful for deshedding saddle pads. Then I usually vacuum the underside at home, put each pad (reverse, so dirty side out) in it’s own wash bag with some cactus balls and wash. If needed I’ll air fluff in the dryer after they have dried and vacuum again. Since I swear Fjords shed 11.75 months of the year, this method gets as much hair off as anything else I’ve tried!

I wash both PSoS pads every 2 weeks, I usually swap out after a week of riding, so I only have 2 pads at the barn and 2 in the trailer for lessons/shows.

2 Likes
#9

I take a fresh pad to the barn every week, and it’s used for the entire week.

2 Likes
#10

Yes! This rubber tool from Alan Davies (Valegro’s groom) gets all the hair off.

8 Likes
#11

I throw all mine in my front load washer in a wash bag that traps the hair. I wash as needed but not weekly.

https://greatbritishequinery.com/shop/ols/products/wash-bag

#12

In the winter maybe 5-7 rides in the summer 1-3 rides. I go over mine once dry with a hair removal tool, express cycle with the tiniest amount of wash, and then air dry. My goal is for them to be clean but I actually would rather they smell neutral. I don’t want any extra soap in the fabric that could cause irritation.

2 Likes
#13

I use this for hair removal:

And use a wash bag similar to this:

Saddle cloths get washed as and when they are dirty enough, so depends on sweat, shedding etc.

Unfortunately I’m currently banned from washing pads in the washing machine because I blew up the last one trying to wash a stiff pad that didn’t bend and got caught in the drum :cry:

Good tip, I’ll add this to my want list :+1:

2 Likes
#14

I vacuum off shedding hair. I put one pad at a time in, folded horse side out. I use a large load of hot water in my top loader and soak for a while to loosen gunge. Then wash on regular and hang dry.

I wash more often in the summer, as they pads sweat through. On a camping trip I try to take one pad for each day as they get super sweaty and I don’t want any irritation on multiple days of long back country rides.

But I also go for darker colors. If I had a nice white pad I would save it for shows :slight_smile: not even lessons. Also I’m not sure about white, but my Ogilvy and LeMieux pads all have black backing regardless of the pad color.

I really like the look of dark piping on a white saddle pad to give it some shape but I think if I bought a nice white pad I would get no colored piping so I could use Oxyclean without qualms. Oxyclean solution kept wet out in the sunshine is quite effective on stains on white.

I do have some imperfect white pads I collected just in case I suddenly need to be presentable but the stains under saddle and bottom are kind of stuck there. I did bleach them

2 Likes
#15

I have a dedicated 'barn/work" machine in the workshop. It’s only hooked up to the cold tap. but we only wash our own clothes in cold water anyway.
I was also on as when/needed basis also, usually 2-3 in the machine at a time. I use each pad between 3 and 5 rides, depending on sweating, shedding, etc. I often wait to wash until I have 7 or 8 pads and do 3-4 loads at a time, so my dirty pads have time to dry and dirt or hair to fall off while waiting :laughing: (benefit of having ‘too many’ saddle pads- I never run out of clean ones). if there’s still hair attached I use a plastic or rubber curry comb to release, but as I said, my washer doesn’t ever have normal clothes in it so a few hairs is meh. I DO like those brushes linked though, so may look into that.
I also have summer and winter pads, I have so many so I often only do 2 or 3 loads a year :rofl: At the moment I can’t even ride, so all except 1 or 2 pads are clean
(heads off mumbling about lame horses…)

1 Like
#16

Fyi these were nicely priced and huge (35x27), 2 for 9.99
Large Laundry Bag, 2 Pack 35 in x 27 in Washable Laundry Bags Mesh Wash Bags, Fine Net Washing Machine Bags for Delicates, Blankets, Bedding, Clothing, Toys, Pet Items https://a.co/d/czHOmeZ

#17

After every ride for me. My horses sweat a lot and pads are dripping soppy wet after a workout.

Just this morning for some reason I was thinking about rain rot and how I haven’t seen any since moving to my own farm. Could that be related to having a washing machine and dryer in my tack room making it easy to wash pads after every ride?

7 Likes
#18

Or, you can get this one for $9.00. I have one and it works great for getting hair off pads.

7 Likes
#19

In winter I may get a week if I’m lucky and it’s not shedding season. Summer, I’m lucky to get 2 rides. Mine are all white Ogilvys. They go in the washer and dryer. Bleach as needed. If I were showing, I’d keep 2-3 new ones just for shows and then those would gradually replace worn out ones as they aged or stained.

I’ve had all my current pads (5 total) for about 8 years and they are all still fine and I’d still do a clinic, but none are really nice enough for showing anymore.

I don’t bother with brushing them or any of that nonsense. The washer and dryer can deal with that. Caveat - I have a giant old style washer and dryer. They laugh at saddle pads and sheets and only sigh lightly at winter blankets.

4 Likes
#20

Probably doesn’t hurt! But your soil also may not be contaminated with the bacteria that cause it.

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