Talk to me about seat savers

[frankieduck]

I currently have the Acavallo Gel-Out seat saver on my jump saddle but it's getting a bit tatty and due an upgrade - is there anything better on the market before I replace like-for like?

I like the stickiness of the gel as horse can throw some shapes and do find it gives me extra security although I do feel a bit 'far away' from my horse if that makes sense.

I don't really use the seat saver for any specific purpose other than I accidentally caught the seat of my saddle unloading the lorry and now have a loose thread in the stitching... Albion won't repair the stitching and wanted a lot of money to replace the whole seat instead, so I opted to just pop a seat saver on to protect it from getting worse

 

[Widgeon]

I have an Acavallo gel out and it was good, but I needed extra comfort for hacking so I bought a second hand Mattes wool one (not sheepskin but wool on a mesh backing). That's absolutely lovely. It's not sticky in the same way, but of course wool has plenty of grip and it doesn't add the bulk that the Acavallo one does. Washes well too. I would definitely recommend.

 

[HopOnTrot]

Daughter and I both have suede Heather Moffett ones.

 

[Abacus]

I had the gel-in one, and it was also very comfortable. Probably not quite as grippy, but soft and I didn't feel disconnected from the saddle or the horse. Still hate those straps through that go under the panels.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Had a Heather Moffat one. Awful thing! Like sandpaper on certain "bits" of my anatomy.

Half an hour's riding in the dang thing was 29 mins too much! Gahh!

 

[Aleka81]

Be super careful with seat savers. Some saddles hate them! Particularly anything with beautiful soft leather or synthetic

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

Buy full seat sticky Jodhs/ breeches cos there is a possibility of damaging your saddle and you already feel “above” the saddle with your seat saver. I tried one for a while but I saw the clips scratching my saddle and I didn’t feel as if I was sitting deep on my seat bones or with my legs wrapped round my girly with the gel seat saver I had.

 

[Orangehorse]

The only seat saver I use now is a proper sheepskin if I am riding long distances, on holiday for instance.

I tried a Heather Moffett and had a similar experience to those above! Ouch, never again.