What sort of pad(s) do you use and why?
Just curious.
Fitted sheepskin (under seat only):
• comfy for pony
• easy to keep clean
• warm in winter, cool in summer
• no excess pad fabric around saddle.
A very plain cotton dressage square saddle pad.
I have several which get recycled through the wash so always have a clean one each ride…
No half pads although yes this is the style now.
. I figure if my saddle fits , should not add a half pad.JMHO
A thin pad (Roma Lite) with an Equigel Gelite half pad. My horse is comfortable with it, and I think it’s helping me to be less sore also.
Are you asking about saddle pads or back pads or like the question implies, all of the above?
My “pad du jour” is my Invictus pad. Absolutely love it on my two upper level horses. So it goes horse, square saddle pad (I like the thin/baby pad-type with girth loops), invictus pad, saddle. One horse gets shims up front, the other doesn’t.
My other show horse gets a square saddle pad and a thinline pad (the super thin one). When we show I use only his fitted hunter pad.
My older semi-retired/no-stirrups horse goes in an interesting sheepskin pad I ordered last year on TOTD (maybe?) that has two strips of velcro down either side of the spine of the pad and has sheepskin “shims” that velcro to the strip wherever you need them. I can’t recall what the name of it is, but I like it more than I expected, and it seems to do a nice job of cushioning her a bit (something that’s become more important as she’s gotten older, even though her saddle fits her nicely).
But depending on the time of the year and the fitness level of my horses I also use: my mattes pad (with shims as needed), a shimmable thinline pad (when I need a little less bulk than my mattes pad), my ecogold pads, and/or a few other memory-foam type pads. On a side note, I have an Ogilvy, but I hate it more than any of my other pads.
Regardless of the back pad situation, I use the same saddle pads directly on the horse.
I did have one horse for a while that had massive withers that tended to push the saddle back farther than I liked. I started using my thinline pad directly on his back with saddle pad on top and then saddle directly on the saddle pad. If I need a tiny bit more, I’d go thinline, saddle pad, another thinline, saddle.
In fact, I often sandwich pads on a horse when I don’t feel like the fit is quite right - this is especially relevant in the late fall/early winter when my show horses lose a bit of muscling and pick up a bit of fat. I usually pick a pad (mattes, fleeceworks, ecogold, etc.) and then layer a thinline on top of it.
Ogilvy square dressage pad. Period.
When my horse was lacking anything recognisable as a top line she wore a thick sheepskin pad to allow room for muscle development. IOW saddle fitted a touch too wide and a squishy filler to keep it fitting ok while she expanded.
I don’t like pads that interrupt the line of the panels. The above sutuation is the only one where I use a thick pad. Fit the saddle properly, ride properly and there should be no need for crazy padding.
I use a thin square or fitted pad directly on my horse’s back, a Thinline on top of that, a Roma sheepskin half pad on top of that, and then the saddle. It sounds like a lot but it’s really not since all the pads are pretty thin. I’ve gone back and forth with the Thinline over the years but my back is currently happier with it in the setup. My horse is a bit of a challenge when it comes to saddle fit (he needs a MW tree but lots of clearance for his big, long withers) and he goes well in this setup. And believe me, if something’s not right in Princess Bobby’s world he immediately informs his human!
I use high wither square dressage pads (usually generously sized ones, because I don’t want any risk that the saddle is going to hit and rub any seams), a shimmable Pro-lite pad, and my saddle. My fluffy sheepskin Thinline actually just sits on my saddle rack as a buffer between the rack and my saddle to keep the flocking from getting dents.
I use a supracor pad under all of my saddles
Square dressage pad, Mattes sheepskin without shims, saddle.
The sheepskin, I think adds a bit of cushion, and we are working on back muscle development, so I think it adds a bit of room for “expansion”.
We use a Roma square pad and a Thinline Ultra 1/2 pad. It works. 
Not sure I’d spend the $ on the Thinline pad again but I’m not sorry we have it.
Depends on the horse and saddle. Either Mattes dressage half pad with rear trim, Mattes dressage half pad with shims, gel pad, or gel pad with shims. And then high cut withers heavy quilted cotton custom dressage pad.
Thin dressage square pad on horse, then a ThinLine Trifecta half pad, then saddle. Saddles are fitted properly and checked 2-3 times a year. Each horses has their own pads and saddle.
When my older horse was rehabbing back from an injury over the winter, he got the full sheepskin ThinLine half pad, with shims, until he regained his muscling.
I like the ThinLine pads, and have used them for years. I like that they “dampen” any concussion.
There are other brands mentioned up-thread that I will have a look at, to see their benefits.
All of my horses have custom saddles or fitted saddles. Two of them use just a saddle pad, usually just a cotton one. One gets a saddle pad and a ogilvy half pad because his back is sensitive.
I just ordered one of these. Hope it will help make pony happy.
I do a plain square pad–I get the high wither ones when I can–and then a Prolite shimmable half pad. I think most of the horses I’ve used the Prolite on have liked it, and most have gone better with saddle fit a touch wide to accommodate the pad. It’s also a life saver with the babies–can’t exactly buy a new saddle every 2 months when they have their next weird growth spurt.
On some horses, I do a Mattes sheepskin half pad directly on their back, with a regular square pad over it. They like the sheepskin on their back and the square pad keeps the saddle cleaner.
Cotton Pads. They absorb, they are washable, good ones are expensive but don’t wrinkle and bunch. I do like those shaped for the withers.
Summer: thin cotton baby pad with no girth loops or anything, the ones I have are really for jumping saddles so there’s nothing under the last inch or 2 of flap, Thinline sheepskin half pad.
Winter/fall/spring: Back on Track square pad, or if it’s dirty a standard quilted dressage pad, Thinline sheepskin half pad.
My saddles fit well enough that I’m not trying to fix anything with pads, and my primary consideration is to try & let the horse’s back & barrel breathe as much as possible when it’s 90+ in the summer. Otherwise I’d use a quilted square pad as base layer all the time.
Mattes Sheepskin Pad
Back on Track pad with a Mattes sheepskin 1/2 pad. No shims. When it is really hot, I drop the BOT and use a plain cotton pad with Mattes 1/2 pad.
