Acavallo Gel Pads - Different Types?

[iknowmyvalue]

Hi,

I'm looking at the acavallo gel pads for under my horses saddle. I'm currently stuck looking between these two:

The air release one
http://www.horsehealth.co.uk/acaval...llo-non-slip-gels/acavallo-airrelease-gel-pad
And the normal non-slip one
http://www.horsehealth.co.uk/equipment/gel/acavallo-non-slip-gels/acavallo-shaped-gel-pad-clear

I'm not sure about the difference between the 2?? The first seems like it should have more shock absorbing properties, but the second also says it has shock absorption. Would the first also be non-slip to an extent?

Saddle fits properly, has been checked very recently but saddler has recommended using one of these as my boy is quite sensitive, he likes things on his back to be soft apparently! He is also a fairly unbalanced youngster with a tendency to make any saddle he wears bounce/slip about, mostly he pushes the back of the saddle up and then it bounces back down again (from what saddler was saying) . I'm currently borrowing one from a friend (which I tried while saddler was there and he said decreased the movement) and it is the one with the sheepskin trim, I can't really justify spending the extra money on that but he definitely went a lot better with the gel than without!

Any thoughts?

 

[throughtheforest]

I have the second one. It does exactly what it says, it's sticky on one side and my horse goes well in it. In fact, I never ride without it.

 

[muddy_grey]

I have the air release and it is thicker than the standard one. I think it provides more shock absorption. Both are sticky and stop movement. I use directly on her back and it does leave a funny pattern. My mare is quite sensitive and goes better with the gel.

 

[Fruitcake]

I have the air release one too. Agree about it being thicker. I spoke to the company when I ordered mine as I couldn't decide either. The lady was very helpful and said that they would both provide shock absorption but the air release one was slightly more shock absorbing.

I use mine between the numnah and the saddle and it works well.

 

[iknowmyvalue]

Seems like the air release gives the better shock absorption. Do you find it alters the fit of your saddle significantly? Or not since I'd think it should compress down...

Thank you!

 

[Fruitcake]

Seems like the air release gives the better shock absorption. Do you find it alters the fit of your saddle significantly? Or not since I'd think it should compress down...

Thank you!

I wouldn't say it alters it that much. Before I had it, I used to use a Polypad with my saddle but changed back to a thin numnah to compensate for what I thought might be extra thickness with the gel pad. After a while, one day when my thin numnah was in the wash, I used the Polypad again and saddle seemed to fit just as before. I now tend to use the Polypad again.