Your favorite shock absorbing pad

[TRIPLEBAR]

[QUOTE=Ceylon Star;8867518]
Thinline all the way. I have a trifecta that I use with my jump saddle, and a plain black ultra thin line for my dressage. I use the trifecta with the jump saddle because it needs just a teensy bit in the back, and the half pad plus one set of shims is perfect. The dressage fits great so I use the regular ultra thin line under it. With it being an older saddle I feel like it is only fair to my pony to have a bit of shock absorption.

I am a heavier rider with some physical issues that sometimes lead to me being a bit unsteady, especially jumping, so I use a shock absorbing pad to hopefully make it a bit easier on the pony.

I have ridden in one of the equifit pads and it helped a bit, but not as much as the thinline.

I really dislike memory foam. I find it makes me sit above the horse rather than on and around the horse. And combined with the horse’s foam flocked saddle I felt like I was riding a trampoline. Thinline + wool flocking = happy CS!

The only downside to the thinline is if you have an air flocked saddle. It really doesn’t make a difference with the air panels. Works equally well with wool or foam though, and I find it takes a lot of the bounce out of a foam flocked saddle.

I used to have a gel pad similar to the one you posted, and I hated it. It was gummy and sticky and I couldn’t pull it up into the channel properly so it put pressure on the horse’s withers. It also didn’t seem to make much of a difference in bounce. I gave it to a girl at the barn to use on her gelding, and they seem happy enough with it.

I would like to invest in a back on track back warmer at some point. Both to use on my pony’s back before and after a ride, but also to use folded in half over where his driving collar sits. After using the back on track ankle brace on myself and having noticeable improvement because of it (even my physiotherapist was impressed) i am a big believer in its benefits![/QUOTE]

You and I have similar challenges, glad to hear the Thinline works for you

[PNWjumper]

[QUOTE=Peggy;8867528]
Hoping not to derail, but my recollection from years ago, confirmed by Googling, is that you one used the SaddleRite pads (which both of us had inherited from our mothers). I’m assuming that you like the Invictus even better, which has me intrigued, especially as I can view them in person this weekend at the Longines Masters.[/QUOTE]

Yep, I have a large assortment of back pads that I’ve amassed over the years! I have a couple of SaddleRight pads - one that I purchased new for myself and one that my mom gave me (purchased at the same time as mine) when she quit riding.

I think I was a nothing-but-saddleright pad person for many years. I absolutely loved those pads! Now they serve as the padding on the saddle racks that my saddles sit on. I pulled one out a few months ago to see if I still liked them and I was surprised by how “rigid” and almost jarring they made my saddle feel. And I do ride a couple of my horses periodically without any back pad at all (just square saddle pad and saddle), so I figured they wouldn’t feel any different than that, but they do. Now, of course, my saddleright pads are 20 (?) years old now, so maybe they’ve gotten old and super compressed in that time.

Then I went into a Thinline/Ecogold/Mattes period. And so for the last 5-10 years I’ve alternated between Thinline, Thinline with shims, Ecogold, and Mattes/Fleeceworks (I have both, but use them interchangeably).

What prompted me to try the Invictus was my Voltaire saddle rep. I’m a happy County customer and have several County saddles that I love. The Voltaire rep said she would love to come by and have me try the saddles and out of curiosity I agreed. My suspicion was that my two younger horses might benefit, but my big guy for sure is happy with his County. I had it wrong. My two young horses felt exactly the same in the Voltaires as they did in my Counties. My older guy was another story - he felt the same with the first saddle she put on him, but then she shimmed the saddle slightly differently and he was like a different horse. I suspected it was because of the density of the foam shims and the way they kept the saddle off of his withers. So I started playing around with pads and read about the Invictus. They’re similar to the SaddleRight pads in the sense that they’re not “compressable” so much as a dense material designed to deflect impact. I got the first one I ordered and felt that it allowed my County to feel the way the shimmed-up Voltaire had felt.

So my lessons were twofold. First, I absolutely love the Voltaire saddles thanks in large part to the customizable nature of the in-saddle shims/foam process. But I also love my Counties, and the ideal scenario would have been the ability to buy a shimmable pad made out of the Voltaire material (which sounds like it is now or soon will be a possibility).

So yes, the Invictus pads are a little thicker than Thinline. But I don’t find that they change saddle fit like memory-foam type pads do. And I’ve been able to ride in the Invictus pads on horses who I can also ride with no pads on. With my big guy (who always takes a pad) I use the Invictus pad + a full set of shims.

My only advice, if you order one, is to order brown. The first one I got was white and it looks terrible now. To be fair, I haven’t tried to wash it or clean it, so it’s not really the saddle pad’s fault. But I sure wish both of mine were brown!

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

I must be the only person who can’t feel a difference riding with or without a thinline pad. I’ve tried the black and the white. I don’t like how they can pull down on the withers either.

I would really like to try the Invictus–now I’ve heard two people rave. I ordered an Ecogold on the Dover free shipping (oh wait, I mean 20% off because that’s how expensive the shipping is) sale. I have a horse I’m riding with a mattes and thinline (to add a bit of bulk) and I’m trying to find an alternative that won’t break the bank. We’ll see.

I’m not familiar with the Voltaire saddles–will have to check those out.

[PaintedHunter]

Your mom.

JUST KIDDING. I love my Thinline.

[lmlacross]

Thoughts on Lami-Cell?

[tbchick84]

Thinline Trifecta

[fordtraktor]

As PNWjumper says, I love the Invictus pad. It is marvelous in every way she describes.

My main jumping saddle is a Tad Coffin. As those familiar with his system will know, the idea is to shim that up on a horse that is a medium tree. So I use the Invictus with one set of shims under my primary horse and it is perfect…rigid enough the saddle doesn’t get on his withers because of the width, and he is so happy in it. My other horse goes in the same pad minus the shims because he is a bit wider.

I have the brown and love it, it matches my TC2 perfectly.

My only wish now is that they would make a dressage version as the jump version doesn’t fit well under my dressage saddle so I am still using Thinline under that.

[Peggy]

[QUOTE=PNWjumper;8868296]
Yep, I have a large assortment of back pads that I’ve amassed over the years! <snip>
My only advice, if you order one, is to order brown. The first one I got was white and it looks terrible now. To be fair, I haven’t tried to wash it or clean it, so it’s not really the saddle pad’s fault. But I sure wish both of mine were brown![/QUOTE]
Thanks so much! Most of my barn is on the Olgilvy train but I haven’t climbed aboard, in part because they seem awfully thick. I have ridden in them when riding some other people’s horses, but never on my own.

I would definitely buy brown.

[Lusoluv]

I’ve never felt any difference from the Thinline either

[PNWjumper]

[QUOTE=Peggy;8868870]
Thanks so much! Most of my barn is on the Olgilvy train but I haven’t climbed aboard, in part because they seem awfully thick. I have ridden in them when riding some other people’s horses, but never on my own.

I would definitely buy brown.[/QUOTE]

I have an Ogilvy pad as well. I hate it more than any other pad I own! I think it destabilizes the saddle and none of my horses reacted well with it. Though to be fair, I purchased the thicker of the 2 pads. Perhaps I’d be more willing to give it a fair shake if I’d gotten the thinner one!

[Renn_aissance]

OP, I’d encourage you to add EcoGold to your list if you’re looking for a pad that won’t compromise the fit of your saddle. I’ve been an EcoGold fan for about 10 years and my horse appreciates the product for its shock absorption. It also functions moderately well as a non-slip pad, if your horse’s withers encourage any saddle to defy gravity, and I appreciate that it seems to dissipate heat well.

I started a thread on EcoGold vs. ThinLine earlier this year and got some great reviews of both products as well as some others that might also fit your needs.

[Inclined]

I’m another one who’s never felt any difference one way or the other with Thinline. My former trainer had problems with her coccyx, and she said that the Thinline pad helped tremendously.

The pad that helps my back the most is a Gelite foam pad by Equinomics. http://www.equinomicproducts.com/equestrian/gelite-products/

I would also second the recommendation to try a Back on Track brace. Their calf brace has been a game changer for me.

The Lami Cell foam pad has a good bit of cushion, but I always had a problem with saddles sliding on it.

[LookmaNohands]

Take your Thinline pad, or which ever one you want and put your hand under it and then drop a hammer or bounce something up and down directly over your hand and see what you feel. That is what your horse will feel.

Dropping a bowling ball onto a pad that is laying on a cement floor does not tell you what your horse will feel if something heavy lands on the saddle and saddle pad.

Really.