Which comfort/gel pad? Shires Shock Absorbing or Jelly??

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RunRunReindeer

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Hi all, am looking to improve my horse's back comfort with a pad such as the above (although ideally I'd like one which could be used on its own rather than with a numnah/saddlecloth) - any opinions or suggestions much appreaciated, thanks.
 
A well fitting saddle really shouldn't need anything but a thin cotton pad underneath for most activities. I find that only endurance riders, and some jumpers, need more, for different reasons. I recommend sheepskin for both - for shock absorption and wicking on endurance horses, and with SJers for slightly lifting the saddle away from the scapula freeing it up.

Gel has two issues - the gel moves away if you poke your finger nails through it, not ideal if you want to stop pressure points, and it can cause hot spots. I only personally like wool lined pads and sheepskins, though I have heard good things about Thinline pads.

My boy had sensitive skin (he got infected follicles often, those little lumps) and all his pads had a half wool lining purely for that.
 
I know a lot of people hate gel pads with good reason - they can be heavy, warm, sticky and not the easiest to use - but I bought a Gel-eaze pad to use on my pony this spring because his saddle was causing the hair to break at the back and no saddler seemed to be able to cure it. The problem only occurs when he is growing his summer coat and I bought the pad really just to see if there was anything that would help. It worked brilliantly for this but to my amazement it has also very nearly got rid of a lump he had on his spine caused by a previous ill fitting saddle compounded by the saddler telling me to put a thick pad under the front of it. By pure chance the Gel-eaze pad has a hole in it which fitted perfectly over this lump thus taking all the pressure off it and I now use it all the time.

I would add that my pony is a chunky chappy who is perfectly able to carry the extra weight and I wouldn't use it without a numnah in between it and the saddle because it is sticky but overall I'm delighted with it and my boy seems much more comfortable and is moving much more freely.
 
sbloom said:
. I recommend sheepskin for both - for shock absorption and wicking on endurance horses, and with SJers for slightly lifting the saddle away from the scapula freeing it up.
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see i would disagree with this (sorry!) if you saddle is correctly fitted, you wouldnt need a sheepskin half pad. I used one on a fitted saddle and it ended up doing alot of damage to my mare as it changed the fit. I felt awful but and my saddle fitter said it was becoming more common because it was the fashion. If you want a sheepskin pad, get a saddle fitted with it.
 
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I'm not saying that all jump horses should have one, just that sometimes there is a reasonf for using one. before I became a fitter I thought it was all about fashion but a horse with a very prominent scapula just can't get away from the flap of a forward cut jump saddle. A pad simply lifts the saddle fractionally - you need to be eagle eyed fitting it and ensure that it is not lifting the front of the saddle out of balance with the back, and obiviously the saddle must fit in the first place. If the saddle is in balance and stable, and fits without the pad, then the pad will not cause an issue. What a pad cannot do is shift the pressure points caused by a too wide saddle - the angles of the tree must be parallel to the horse's ribcage. A wider head, not a wider angle, to the tree is what ideally allows for a thicker pad.

I fit at least 90% saddles with a thin cotton pad only.
 
I have an acavallo thin gel pad to stop my saddle from slipping. Was told by my saddler not to use a sheepskin numnah and to use the thinnest numnah possible, I put the gel pad under the numnah and it has helped to stop the saddle slipping on my round cob.
 
Stability is just as important as pressure points in saddle fitting, so if a saddle moves, there is still an issue in my mind. Wide horses can be tricky, but the saddle should not need a sticky pad. And I'd not usually recommend sheepskin for a very wide horse - you want the saddle to be as close contact as possible without losing concussive qualities of the panel (so a happy medium, not too thin a panel) and a sheepskin will lift it away too much in most cases, leaving it perched. Sheepskin can also, due to the length of pile, add to movement of the saddle. A short pile one is ideal where a sheepskin is needed.
 
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