Question for racing peeps!

0ldmare

0ldmare

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As some of you know, I work for a company that manufacture numnahs. We were approached by a flat racing stable to come up with a design of pad to replace the neoprene they use under the saddle during races, which we have and they seem very pleased with it.

Soooo we thought, while they are in a happy frame of mind, lets see if we can come up with something good as an exercise saddle pad. This trainer is very traditional and has always used Polypads (nothing wrong with that, Polypads fine).

They have a hang-up with having a centre seam so after a huge amount of effort we came up with a design that doesnt have a centre seam, but does have a raised/shaped wither. (Actually we are so chuffed with ourselves we patenting it!)

Then we get feedback to say that he doesnt want a raised wither
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and can we just make a square like a polypad.... well yes... but if thats what he wants then why not just buy a polypad?

So, my 2 question are:

What do you use under your saddle when exercising your racehorses?

Is there a reason why you wouldnt want a raised wither in your saddle pad? Is it something to do with the shape of the racing saddle?

Just interested in anything you can tell me really....Thanks
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my friend from the yard uses-
(in this order)
a tea-towel
one of those non-slip pad things
neoprene pad (or, in my horses case, a sheepskin pad)
then a thin quilted numnah.

it sounds like alot, but i bet all thats only as thick as a new polypad.
 
Depending on horses i ride...

I have Old mill ex saddle which is full tree. I either, Neopene pad then a sheet (sweat cotton sheet or towelling ones) then 2 flatten polypads but for the high withered ones have Neopene, sheet, poly then felt pad with withers cut out

I do find it bit difficult to pull up the polypads up in the pommel of saddle so there is no tightness on the withers. One of my poly pads (think it's the racing one) got stretchy strip down in the middle which had made alot of differnce...

Hope this helps
 
I ride with 2 poly pads and then the weight cloth on top (ocasionally), in a race he wears non slip pad, one poly pad and then weight cloth.
 
Thank you! Think I am now beginning to understand just how much padding goes under the saddle! I had thought the samples we made were really thick and was surprised ed when he said he wanted it double the thickness! (Presumably so that he wouldnt need 2 of them!).

From what you say it sounds like there could be a place for the raised wither version as well as a flat one depending on what saddle you use?
 
Our horses either wear a tea towel, poly pad and exercise sheet or tea towel, nuumed hiwither half wool exercise pad and exercise sheet.
At racing school we had two polypads which I didn't like and at another racing yard I worked at we had tea towel or non slip mesh, poly pad and felt pad and exercise sheet.
Have no idea about the seam thing, look at the nuumed hiwither exercise pad.
 
Ours wear a polypad and a thick felt pad or a gel pad, but I personally would very much like a high wither pad. You can get the Nuumed ones with the fake sheepskin, but they're quite thin and if you use them a lot and wash them the sheepskin goes lumpy. So you either have to use them with a stable rubber underneath, which defeats the object of having sheepskin in the first place, or they don't last all that long.
 
We use bates half tree exercise saddles on ours.

Usually with the non slip gel on first then one or 2 poly pads.

I suppose if we were really picky we would want a poly pad doubler with the non slip in contact with the horse but would assume this would be difficult to keep clean?
 
Thanks for all your replies. We are going to go and visit some more trainers to get some more input. Like all these things I suspect there is no one answer and that we will almost certainly end up making a range rather than just one option.
 
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