Monday, October 3, 2016

Help a Sister Out: Half Pad Problems

My guiding principle #1 on half pads is that they are a primarily trendy item and as long as they don't make your saddle fit worse, it doesn't much matter what type you're using. When Courage was scarily attempting jumping, we used an ogilvy half pad, because they're all the rage in that ring and I like being on trend. 
sheep represent
Then we switched over to dressage. DQs are big on dead sheep, so I snagged a mattes correction pad with shims for like $90 and have just rolled with it. Sans rolls. Ha! #halfpadnerdjoke

I have never noticed Courage care AT ALL about what half pad I put on his back, so in keeping with guiding principle #1, I haven't messed with it. Arguably, I could ride him without one and see what happens, but my brain just likes a little something extra in there because I don't trust myself enough as a judge of saddle fit and I feel better knowing there's some margin for error. (Noted: Courage is an EXCELLENT judge of saddle fit and as you would expect, lets me know when things are sub-optimal, so this is probably frivolous. You're just going to have to accept my human frailty on this point.)
so classic
HOWEVER, whilst tacking up the other day, I was futzing (it's a word??? who knew) with my much-used-shimmable-mattes and noticed that one of the shim pockets is creating a ridge of pressure under the panels of my saddle. I tried adjusting the pocket and screwing with the velcro, but it looks like the pad is just old enough that it's not going to cooperate with me. AKA, it's fine if I have shims in it (probably?), but since I don't, it's not quite laying flat, which means it might be causing me problems, which means it's in violation of principle #1.

And see, we're asking Courage to do hard stuff like lift his back and while he does settle in and do it eventually, it's a learning curve, it's going slowly, and my trainer has commented that he doesn't quiiiiiiite want to give in and lift through his withers. That's probably mostly a training thing, but if my half pad was stabbing me in the back, I'd hesitate too.

so. what to do.
hair hair everywhere and it's covered in dust ewwwwww
I rode Courage this past weekend in his jump ogilvy pad under his dressage saddle, which to me is a very non-flattering look. Of course, I'm also anti-winter-fuzzies, so basically this entire picture is just nails on a chalkboard to me.

If you separate out how I felt about the dust+hair combo (SO GROSS MUST CLIP OMG), I actually had a really superb ride. Which is interesting.

This brings us to options.

1) The mattes problem is all in my head. Carry on with what we have and assume it won't cripple the princess. This is obviously a stupid idea and is pre-discarded. I'm just listing it here so you know I considered it.

2) Use jump ogilvy. Carry on like it's not aesthetic hell. This is obviously a temporary idea. It needs to end. The sooner, the better.

3) Acquire an non-shimmable, non-corrective mattes pad. This eliminates the pressure ridge problem by not having pockets. We stay on-trend for the dressage ring. The major drawback is that this is the $230 answer to the $90 question. Or the $210 answer, if we go without rear trim. Thoughts on rear trim?
hmmmm rolls
4) Be enough of a nerd to know that Blueberry (yes, THE Blueberry) has actually eschewed sheepskin in favor of space age gel. His particular model is lined with sheepskin, which is $ more and seems hard to clean, but there's also an option that's cheaper and simple to clean that would just disappear under my saddle. In addition, the non-sheepskin option would potentially be the $100 answer to the $90 problem, so that's something. There's even a $50 knockoff I could almost justify instead, but if I'm changing brands, I want to get the nicest thing and evaluate it on it's own merits, not sort of half ass it and then be pissed it doesn't work.
it's definitely a look.
5) Explore other options. I mean, I'm actually really interested in the Invictus half pad innovations--if the rumors are true (and I've handled one, so I believe them), the pad essentially eliminates pressure points by distributing weight, which is basically what we're trying to do anyways. I'd buy one RIGHTNOW, but this is the $280 answer to the $90 problem. If you're keeping track, that's by far the most expensive option we've considered so far. It's also not particularly attractive, but I guess that's neither here nor there if it actually does what it claims.
the sadly unattractive invictus
6) Go ogilvy/ecogold/equifit routes. This is another one I'm just listing for your benefit. I've had the first two and handled the third. I kinda lump them all in the same heap. They're fine, but they're not on-trend enough in my ring to satisfy guiding principle #1 and I'm not excited about them.
equifit pretties
Ideally, someone will pipe up and say "hey give me $100 and I will give you this invictus half pad", but that seems like wildly unrealistic speculation at this juncture. Talk to me blog land--what are your half pad solutions/opinions/ideas? What else should I be considering? Do you deeply hate one of the options listed?

48 comments:

  1. I have just two opinions: I don't think memory foam is an appropriate material underneath a saddle for a couple of reasons, and I heart Supracor.

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    1. Hm yeah I didn't even think to put supracor on the list. I'll look into them. With there was like a nice rental option to try all these things.

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    2. Mary's has a demo program...including Supracor and Invictus half pads.

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    3. Now that is a valuable bit of information.

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    4. There is not much info online (yet...) but if you call you can talk to a sales associate and figure something out.

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  2. Following, since I suspect I'll be in the market for a shimmable mattes pad soon!

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    1. I might have one I can sell you. ;-)

      (kidding. i kind of trashed it and it's a nice thing to have around i think. maybe.)

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    2. Well... let me know if you change your mind :D

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  3. I looove the look of sheepskin fluffies everywhere. One thing to note is that the rear sheepskin might make the half pad a titch too big for regular saddle pads...so then you might need to buy MOAR PADS. Yay? Yay!

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    1. This is a good point. I have very carefully curated my way to an excellent saddle pad collection at this point and I don't want to start over. I also REALLY hate half pads that appear too large. Hm. Rear rolls might be out.

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  4. I use whatever material the horse likes most. I never was a big believer in memory foam, but Henry has told me (unequivocally) several times that it's his preference. He's never gone as well in any other half pad I've tried (thinline, supracor, mattes, ecogold). If he liked something else better, I'd put him in that. I used to have a lot of opinions about half pad materials, but I've learned that the horses don't necessarily read the same things we do. As far as the trend part - I don't really care about that, as long as it's a good pad that the horse likes. So, were it me, I'd be trying as many different pads as I could get my hands on (even if it means buying from The Awful Place for their free returns policy) and try to find out what works best for the horse.

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    1. My advantage is that as long as it's not bothering him by creating pressure points, C does not seem to care what pad I use. As much as I hate to consider That Awful Place, that might be what it comes down to because I don't have enough local tack ho friends to try all the things for free.

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  5. I say go with the gel solution. I have my black Thinline under my dressage saddle and it completely disappears. It looks very slick in pictures since it's just the show pad you notice and no sheep fuzz to try to keep clean. I'm seeing a trend toward the space age stuff out here, might be heading your way soon.

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    1. I'm really quite in love with the look of sleek black half pads at the moment and I'm always down for space age. I love living in the future.

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  6. I'm currently using the Impact Gel halfpad with fleece trim. It's the first pad that has really helped my sensitive backed OTTB. After using this half pad and a back on track pad, I can finally curry his back without pinned ears! (Its only available through the impact gel Canada site.)

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    1. Um well totes jealous you can curry. That's out for us and it's not a halfpad issue, haha.

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  7. I've always been a thinline fan. Thinline was the only thing that helped Don's back after my years of riding in poor fitting saddles (which he was extremely stoic about, which was funny because if he got even a tiny scrape on a leg or knocked a hoof on a jump it was the end of the world). I have one english and one western thinline and I never ride without one.

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  8. I'd go with the gel, looks really slick! I personally use a straight thinline (the one that just has the thinline, no fabric, sheepskin etc.)...but since you want the pad to look pretty, that probably isn't the best option!

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    1. There is something about that gel design that speaks to me.

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  9. I had a huge half pad collection but I sold them all since a certain little princess informed me he did not want a half pad. I say you go with what Courage says. Maybe you will get lucky and find a used one. I will say I picked up a sheepskin non shimable black half pad on a Black Friday sale super cheap.

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  10. I don't do the rear roll on Mattes because my saddle has always been of the size that it sat on part of the roll which always seemed uncomfortable. I do prefer the rear roll look though.
    I will say Stampede in an Invictus pad is a whole different and happier beast. I even used it for shows (had no choice, not going to risk it with his back issues) but to me it's not really distracting - check out my blog pictures and see what you think. That said they really need to come out with a white one!

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    1. It looks like there is a white one...

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    2. Well crap! Now I'm on a hunt for the white one on sale. Maybe I'll get a deal during the black Friday sales. Thanks for helping me find something else to buy, lol.

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  11. I am totally following this, as I have many questions about half pads as well.
    So, I have a Mattes and love it. But, then I got a gift certificate to a store that didn't have Mattes. So I actually got a Rambo, non shimmable half pad. Rolls in back and front. I really like it! It's held up well and fits under my saddle nicely. I think it was about $80-90? Maybe $100? I know its Rambo, and its not a trendy half pad maker, but their blankets are well made, so that's gotta say something!

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  12. I've been enjoying the Ogilvy I bought, and the horses seem to be basically okay with it. I don't like the sheepskin look. The Acavallo gel/sheepskin things are all the rage with the DQs in my area right now, and you apparently don't have to use a regular saddle pad with them. I think they're ugly, but whatever works?

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    1. Haha yeah I keep seeing that claim, but 1) I have a fantastic saddle pad collection that I plan on using and 2) that seems to create more work by forcing me to clean things. I'm not really into that.

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  13. I personally love my thinline! I don't have one with sheepskin rolls, but wish I did. I like the thinline for giving my horse a bit of comfort without so much bulk underneath.

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    1. Yup! Rode with the thinline fuzzy pad (has shim pockets) & loved it. Washed up well too. Great pad. Or have saddle fitter out and skip half pad trend all together????

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  14. With the rear roll on the Mattes you run the risk of it being too short so the cantle sits on it, which is bad, OR, in my case, its too long, so the sheepskin is beyond the saddle pad a little bit and gets sweaty and disgusting. I would never get the rear sheepskin again no matter how nice it looks..

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  15. Hmmm- I use the Thinline with a sheepskin front and back. BUT if Courage likes the Ogilvy- don't they do a dressage version?

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    1. Courage doesn't object to the ogilvy. Aimee does because she had a dressage model and it was HUGE and because it doesn't have wide acceptance in the dressage world, I actually had a clinician not care for it. I really don't want to go that route at this point.

      Though yes, there is a certain inescapable logic to it. ;-)

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  16. I have a thinline with no fluffs and LOVE it. Its more like a shim than a "pad" but it works. It was a gift too, yay no monies spent. I personally think too many people buy a half pad because its "in style" regardless if they need one or not, which can be counterproductive so I like to spend a lot of time reading up on the actual benefits vs if its just trendy or not. Yankee used a gel pad with a thin cover for YEARS and I loved it. It got trashed easily and got really dirty it seemed. Only negative points on that though, the functionality was great.

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  17. I'm about 70% sure that if I am going to take my saddle fitter's recommendation and get my horses a sheepskin pad (she fit my saddles but wants sheepskin to "loft" the saddles up off their shoulders because they have sensitive princess backs, apparently) I'm going to try the (fake) Shires SupaFleece pad. They claim it's a sheepskin pad without the maintenance issues of real sheepskin, but seeing as the internet is pretty much silent on the reality, we shall see. I love the look of sheepskin, but I don't love the problems listed by some of these posts (and I'd run into ALL of them with my 18.75" dressage saddle and 17" extra long extra forward flap jump saddle). My horses either don't seem to care about their clothes, or I don't associate clothing choices with behavior?

    I like my thinline pads (Trifecta w/o sheepskin & contour) and they're extremely low maintenance, which makes me happy.

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    1. I've sat in tack stores and played with stacks of sheepskin pads. There is definitely a huge quality difference in the lower end brands. I guess it's a situation where "you get what you pay for" is particularly true. Now, if you're not looking for something as thick/durable as mattes, then you can definitely work your way down the food chain. ;-)

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  18. LOL @ DQs loving dead sheep. It's totally true! Curious to see what you decide :)

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  19. I have a sheepskin half pad to sell on the cheap...

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  20. I handled one of those gel things (minus the sheepskin trim) at Devon this weekend and it was reeeeally interesting. I also just kinda adore my regular sheepskin half pad just on principle. Tho I also use the prolite shimmable half pad for my jump saddle bc I spent money on it dammit, and DIY-ed little d-ring straps on it, so it better work for me. Idk. Half pads.

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  21. So funny that the gel is coming back, because those were the thing way back in the 90s when I was a kid. Granted, they looked a little different, as they didn't have nifty little holes in them, but gel half pads were huge. Oh god, and wet car chamois thingies under the saddle for anti-slip, and Navajo saddles pads and full custom chaps and velvet helmets! All topped with a good slap bracelet and sideways pony tail.

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    1. Haha right? It's hilarious how things go in cycles. Keep those navajo pads handy!

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  22. I have one of the matrix half pads and really like it although I'm also of the mind that if you have a fitter out and your saddle does fit there's no need for a half pad.

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  23. I'm not a fan of the gel pads. Never have been. To keep the gel In, they use plastic. Plastic doesn't breathe. Simple as that.

    Rather than follow the trends, why not set them? If the saddle fits, then no half pad is necessary. Two things I ask myself in times like these-> 1) unless I'm in the showring, who's going to see it? 2) so what if they do see it. Who am I trying to impress?

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  24. I have been intrigued by the invictus but since my horses love my ogilvy I haven't had a need to invest. I do think it's interesting that invictus published a study where the invictus offers superior protection at the walk and canter but the ogilvy offers more protection jumping and on landing. Interesting comparison they made.
    http://invictus-equestrian.com/performance/

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  25. I love Ogilvy... so I'm no help lol

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  26. Omg, how can you insult the ogilvy + dressage saddle, aka the "I miss jumping so I'm gonna pretend I'm a hunter with this fancy half pad" look?!

    I have a knockoff Total Saddle Fit pad and... I dunno, Pearl never gives a shit about any tack besides bits, so no help there. Trainer uses a matrix pad and swears by it.

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    1. Dude this whole crazy train started 18 months ago when I made an offhand comment about not liking the jump pad+dressage saddle look.

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  27. I was using the Acavello (Valegro's half pad) on Hampton for about a year. It was pretty decent. But I had to sell it to pay my mortgage. So I'm back to square one. I think I need something I can shim ...

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