Equitex Saddle Pads

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onemoretime

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Just browsing through the new BD Magazine and on the inside of the front cover is a big Ad for Equitex Saddle Pads. According to the Ad (and David Marlin) they are the best thing since sliced bread. Has anyone got one or used one, they are pretty pricey at £229 and £269.
 
I haven't used one but there are a number of people at the yard who have one (or two) and they all love them. A friend is considering buying one and she was asking the people who have them what they think and they all recommend them. The pads have no straps but they stay where you put them. They wash nicely too.
 
I've got one, that my liveries bought me for Christmas. Its great for Alf as it fills in a few spaces where muscle used to be, and his saddle stays put. Sweat marks are very even when I untack him and he feels less humpy when we start off! It's also absolutely beautiful and really well made
 
I have one and was massively upset by the price but decided to give it a go. Horse bloody loves it and now I’m considering buying a second one. My horses physio has confirmed he’s feeling good and I can’t see me using anything else now. I had been trying different pads and half pads/ wool etc but horse is noticeably more comfortable in this than anything else. (He now poos freely under saddle which he never previously did! ??)

edited to add if anyone reads/ joins this thread and doesn’t like their Equitex I might be willing to buy!
 
Fluffypiglet said:
edited to add if anyone reads/ joins this thread and doesn’t like their Equitex I might be willing to buy!
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Its a Nope from me! I suspect mine will outlive the horse, and I a not ashamed to say that one of my criteria for the next horse is that it looks good in emerald green!
 
My only beef with Equitex, or more specifically, the emerald green colour, is that I cannot for the life of me find boots that match that shade. Really annoys me!
 
LEC said:
Just the latest thing, until the next one comes along. A lot of money for it as well!
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Yes I agree it is very expensive for a saddle pad. I have been using a VIP pad which I find very good but just wanted to hear what others thought of the Equitex.
 
LEC said:
Just thinking of all the zeitgeists:
Ecogold
VIP
Prolite
Winderen
Ogilivy
Acavallo
Mattes
Invictus
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Slightly strange use of zeitgeists?

It is an age old problem that we may need to cushion some horse's backs from rider's weight and saddle and improve pressure distribution. It is a hard thing to get right so many solutions.

And sure a horse with a good back, good conformation, good topline and muscle development and a well fitting saddle probably doesnt need more than a thin cotton numnah.

But many horses are compromised in topline / age / posture / or doing a hugely demanding athletic role etc. and then why not make them more comfortable where you can?

I thought the selling point of ecogold was that is was very breathable, not as a cushioning pad?

Winderen, Prolite and Avacallo are old technology and have been replaced by better options.

AFAIK

Mattes (and other top quality sheepskin pads)
Thinline
Invictus
Equitex
VIP

Are currently the best options on the market.
 
I have one on order, sometimes there's a wait as they only make them in small-ish batches. I want it because when I see how much hair my normal saddle cloths pull off, the Equitex has got to be nicer than that on the back for the horse, and easier to clean for me. Plus I use a TCS, so I think it will be a really nice, non-slip base layer.
 
I'm going to go against the grain here and share my awful experience... Bought one for my sensitive warmblood and despite it being advertised as "non rubbing" it rubbed him raw - at the shoulder and behind the saddle. Suggestion from the company was that they could accept it back and have a satin binding fitted by one of their trusted partners, so I sent the pad back, they had the satin binding fitted and sent it back to me (all at my own expense I should point out). To say it was badly done is an understatement, it looked like a school kid had stuck it on. When I expressed my disappointment with back to the company, I was told to "try and see if it helped". It didn't, largely because the binding came away and the poor stitching itself started to rub. When I then asked for a refund, given that the non-rubbing pad did in fact rub, I was met with nothing but animosity and they were delighted to point out that now that I'd had the pad modified, it wasn't in as new condition. I should be honest and say that by this point I'd bought two (navy and a white one for competing), so not far off £500 out of pocket.

Long story short, what I've found most interesting is that anyone who has had a bad experienced or hasn't loved the pads has been met with really poor customer service and I actually got an aggressive message from the company asking me to stop replying to review type threads on Facebook (presumably because I wasn't sharing the adoration). There is a real undercurrent of people not impressed and met with the same response and I've had messages from folk sharing similar experiences. Think it is only fair that feedback (both positive and negative) accurately reflects customer experience, so from my perspective, I would not touch with a barge pole.
 
Hillpark said:
I'm going to go against the grain here and share my awful experience... Bought one for my sensitive warmblood and despite it being advertised as "non rubbing" it rubbed him raw - at the shoulder and behind the saddle. Suggestion from the company was that they could accept it back and have a satin binding fitted by one of their trusted partners, so I sent the pad back, they had the satin binding fitted and sent it back to me (all at my own expense I should point out). To say it was badly done is an understatement, it looked like a school kid had stuck it on. When I expressed my disappointment with back to the company, I was told to "try and see if it helped". It didn't, largely because the binding came away and the poor stitching itself started to rub. When I then asked for a refund, given that the non-rubbing pad did in fact rub, I was met with nothing but animosity and they were delighted to point out that now that I'd had the pad modified, it wasn't in as new condition. I should be honest and say that by this point I'd bought two (navy and a white one for competing), so not far off £500 out of pocket.

Long story short, what I've found most interesting is that anyone who has had a bad experienced or hasn't loved the pads has been met with really poor customer service and I actually got an aggressive message from the company asking me to stop replying to review type threads on Facebook (presumably because I wasn't sharing the adoration). There is a real undercurrent of people not impressed and met with the same response and I've had messages from folk sharing similar experiences. Think it is only fair that feedback (both positive and negative) accurately reflects customer experience, so from my perspective, I would not touch with a barge pole.
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I am really surprised. I dont have one, but an older horse at my yard does, as do others. There doesnt look like any seams or edges to rub.
 
Hillpark said:
I'm going to go against the grain here and share my awful experience... Bought one for my sensitive warmblood and despite it being advertised as "non rubbing" it rubbed him raw - at the shoulder and behind the saddle. Suggestion from the company was that they could accept it back and have a satin binding fitted by one of their trusted partners, so I sent the pad back, they had the satin binding fitted and sent it back to me (all at my own expense I should point out). To say it was badly done is an understatement, it looked like a school kid had stuck it on. When I expressed my disappointment with back to the company, I was told to "try and see if it helped". It didn't, largely because the binding came away and the poor stitching itself started to rub. When I then asked for a refund, given that the non-rubbing pad did in fact rub, I was met with nothing but animosity and they were delighted to point out that now that I'd had the pad modified, it wasn't in as new condition. I should be honest and say that by this point I'd bought two (navy and a white one for competing), so not far off £500 out of pocket.

Long story short, what I've found most interesting is that anyone who has had a bad experienced or hasn't loved the pads has been met with really poor customer service and I actually got an aggressive message from the company asking me to stop replying to review type threads on Facebook (presumably because I wasn't sharing the adoration). There is a real undercurrent of people not impressed and met with the same response and I've had messages from folk sharing similar experiences. Think it is only fair that feedback (both positive and negative) accurately reflects customer experience, so from my perspective, I would not touch with a barge pole.
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Many thanks for that Hillpark, that is very interesting. Im sorry you are so out of pocket, are you able to sell them on Ebay or Facebook? I think after reading your story I will give it a miss. There is nothing wrong with my horse and I use a VIP on top of her saddle cloth which works fine.
 
I got carried away shopping at Windsor and bought an Equitex pad close contact pad in Champagne velvet which fits my GP saddle well. I absolutely love it and it’s really made an improvement to my horses way of going. I bought another brown numnah shaped one for showing and am considering another in green as that is his “colour” being a vibrant chestnut. Then that’s it. I’ve completely stopped using anything else.
 
onemoretime said:
Many thanks for that Hillpark, that is very interesting. Im sorry you are so out of pocket, are you able to sell them on Ebay or Facebook? I think after reading your story I will give it a miss. There is nothing wrong with my horse and I use a VIP on top of her saddle cloth which works fine.
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I sold them at the time and they were snapped up but obviously for a fraction of the new price. Lesson learned - my saddle fits and is a monoflap, so I'm not going to add any bulk under my saddle, back to cotton plain numnahs for me!
 
GreyDot said:
I would prefer to spend the money on regular saddle checks. I find mine go best in a pure cotton sadlle cloth and they are by no means normal confirmation, but I do get my saddle checked regularly.
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Do you think that people use swanky pads instead of getting their saddles checked regularly? I do both!
 
GreyDot said:
I find the price really quite amazingly high. I would prefer to spend the money on regular saddle checks. I find mine go best in a pure cotton sadlle cloth and they are by no means normal confirmation, but I do get my saddle checked regularly.
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Agree with this. Saddle checks all the way.
 
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