I’ve found a thick western saddle pad with wither relief hole works the best for my saddlebreds. Neither of them has low-back. What are your go-to brands? The one that my friend has lent me is the classic equine pad, and it worked well.
I know a lot of people that use impact gel pads, I tend to just use diamond wool for work pads, but then… I’ve never had a horse with withers. lol!
I can’t say enough about SPHGear pads. I bought 5Star, CSI and SPH all at the same time and SPH easily won. The large split is great for wither relief (even on my mutton withered horse), and makes it super easy to adjust once the saddle is on. I think the large split also helps stabilize and prevents roll – slipping or leaning to one side doesn’t pull the entire pad/saddle over, just that one side. Very well made.
It has a cutout for your leg, and I didn’t think I wanted or cared about it, but now that I have it, it is pretty nice. There is a FB site for “Riders who like sph…” where riders trade if they got the wrong size. The owner is active on both the company and rider FB page, and very responsive to text.
