Horse Saddle pad materials

If you ride a horse, chances are you use a saddle (at least most of the time!), and if you use a saddle, chance are you use a saddle pad. But why? And are you using the right one for you and your horse? What materials work best?

The concept of the saddle pad itself is fairly recent in the history of the riding horse. Up until even thirty years or so, many English riders still stood by the adage that if the saddle fits well, you don’t need a saddle pad, and in some show ring events even today the saddle pad is discouraged.

Western riders were among the first to routinely use saddle pads, in an effort to protect their working horses from sores and brusiing when they might be wearing a saddle for twelve hours a day or more. The very earliest saddle pads were actually substitutes for saddles – woven hair or wool pads strapped to the horse with a surcingle, to give a rider a little more grip and comfort when a saddle wasn’t available or affordable. As a result, the very first saddle pads were also made of wool or woven hair. It was not uncommon for the pad a Cree Indian of the northern US plains and Canada would have used instead of a saddle to be almost identical to the very first saddle pads used by the cowboys in the same area.

The benefits of saddle pads to prevent sores, stop the saddle slipping, and absorb sweat were quickly recognized, and saddle pads found their way into English riding as well. However, saddle pads also grew in popularity as a way to make a saddle ‘fit’ a horse, which is possibly one of the downsides to the popularity of saddle pads, at least as far as horses are concerned. For responsible riders today, choosing a good pad to keep your horse comfortable under a well-fitting saddle makes sense, but a pad should never be used to compensate for a badly fitting saddle. If keeping your horse comfortable is a priority for you – and a comfortable horse will perform its best – then consider your investment in your saddle pad. If you spend thousands on your horse, and hundreds (or more on your saddle), then you should invest in their interface and get the best pad you can afford.

Saddle pads come in a variety of shapes and designs for different saddle. Western pads are shaped to be square or round-cornered depending on the shape of the saddle skirt, and pads for the specially designed barrel racing and Arabian horse saddles are also available. English pads, or ‘numnahs’, also come is different shapes to fit saddle seat, jumping, general purpose, or dressage saddles, and to match the fashions of different showing disciplines. The saddle you have and the look you are after will most likely determine the shape of your saddle pad – your biggest decision is the material. Saddle pads today come in two basic types of materials – natural or synthetic - each with its own benefits and disadvantages – there is as yet no ‘perfect pad’. If environmental factors affect your decisions, saddle pads are one area where you are really in luck – there are plenty of pads made out of natural materials like wool and cotton, and research suggests that natural materials may still be the best choice for performance and economy too!

What makes a good saddle pad? The features you are looking for start with ‘moisture wicking’, where the pad pulls the sweat away from the horse’s back. This keeps the horse dry, preventing blisters and sores, and also cools the horse’s back. You also want a pad with ‘purchase’; this means that it prevents the saddle slipping and doesn’t move around on the horse’s back. A pad that slips and bunches is often a sign of a saddle that doesn’t fit, although some materials can slide more. Some pads will come with loops and straps to attach to the saddle to help prevent twisting and slipping. Finally, you want ‘cushion’; the pad should absorb some of the pressure of the saddle and the weight of the rider, dissipating it out over a larger area.

Natural materials

Wool: Wool pads are most commonly seen in western disciplines, where they are usually square and made in traditional Native American patterns. Wool is very absorbent, doesn’t slip, and if used in layers can provide plenty of cushion. Wool is also one of the best pads for cooling, because of its capacity to wick away sweat. The downside is that they can be difficult to keep clean; they need to be washed regularly and they take a long time to dry. Wool pads, including those made of a wool felt, if properly cared for, can last for many years. Wool though varies in quality; the best quality wool usually means a more expensive pad

Cotton: cotton pads come is a variety of styles, and the cotton is sometimes only in the cover – in other words, cotton fabric may cover a quilted inner material. Cotton pads are light, absorb sweat well and so keep the horse cool, although if a horse sweats a lot thin pads can become saturated. Cotton pads are easy to wash and quick to dry, but they are often slippery and need to be secured in place. Cotton pads are among the cheapest choices, meaning that you may be able to have several pads so you always use a clean one.

Sheepskin: sheepskin pads are among the very best choices. The fleece is denser and more resilient to compression than synthetic fleece, and so holds its shape and retains its cushioning qualities longer. The denser hairs also offer more grip than synthetic fleece, and the leather back prevents bunching and twisting. The air in the fleece wicks away moisture, and cools the horse. The disadvantages are that the pads are very difficult to clean, and very expensive to buy, and under hard use – or with a sweaty horse – they don’t last long.

Synthetic materials

Neoprene is popular because of its excellent cushioning qualities. However, neoprene is slippery when wet, and many neoprene pads will have a cotton cover to afford more grip. Neoprene also traps heat next to the horse’s back, and without an absorbing layer of cotton the horse can become prone to sores and blisters form the trapped sweat and moisture. Some neoprene saddles are now available with ‘cooling channels’ or a ‘waffle weave’ to improve cooling, but in practice these channels and pockets either compress away under the saddle, or trap air and actually increase heat. Neoprene also has a negative environmental factor – neoprene is a petroleum based product and its production and disposal is very damaging to the environment (although gentler alternative materials to make neoprene-like products are being developed). The advantages of neoprene are that it is very easy to clean, and if your horse requires the cushioning properties of neoprene it may be the right choice for you.

Fleece: polyester fleece is becoming less seen in saddle pads. Like neoprene, it absorbs and traps heat. When the fleece is brand new and fluffy, the pads have a reasonable wicking capacity, but most fleece pads quickly become compressed or matted, and the pads become ineffective at absorbing moisture and cooling the horse’s back. Similarly, new fleece pads offer some cushioning, but they quickly lose this with use.

Gel pads: unless matched with an absorbent cover, gel pads will not absorb and wick away moisture; even with a cotton or wool cover, these pads will trap heat and as the cover becomes saturated with sweat will increase the heat against the horse’s back. Surprisingly, research studies show that gel pads do not offer the cushioning properties we would expect, because the gel material quickly moves around to find areas of least pressure, leaving close contact pressure points exactly where the gel is needed most. Gel pads, or gel inserts into cotton or fleece pads, are heavy, and can be expensive.

Closed cell (‘memory’) foam: these pads seemed to make great sense; if they made good mattresses, they should provide good cushioning and cooling properties for horses. In practice though, they have not performed well in research tests. Unless carefully manufactured the foam compresses quickly, reducing the cushioning qualities, and unless matched up with a cotton cover the foam would trap heat and moisture next to the horse’s skin. This is a fairly new addition to the saddle pad market, and with more research and development may produce a good product for horses. Like neoprene, memory foam is a petroleum product and so these pads have a negative environmental impact, although again, alternative materials (like soy based foam) are being researched, but these aren’t available in the saddle pad market yet. The best examples of cell foam pads are expensive, and come from specialist equine suppliers, and they certainly have potential.

Top-end pads

• Professional’s Choice

Available at Professional_choice.com

• Cush-N-Air

Available at horsesaddleshop.com

• Weaver pads

Available at miricalcollar.com

Mid-range pads

• Reinsman

Available at Reinsman.com

• Lami-cell

Available at lamicell.com