# Saddle Pads



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

I have a 5-Star wool saddle pad I bought at a yard sale...
$5.00 was best money I've ever spent..._hardly used._
People were not horse-smart and I was not educating... :icon_rolleyes:
I love the breathing ability of that pad on my horses back...he may sweat but the heat is not crazy when I pull his tack off. 

I do _*not *_like the neoprene pad bottom pads...just to hot on my horses back on any length ride.
I know many use them, I will not.
Not girth/cinches either...

:runninghorse2:....


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

It really depends on how you ride and what suits your horse. 

I naturally wanted the best for mine, like we all do. I bought some high end pads thinking more = better. But what works best for my own horse is an inexpensive Weaver foam pad with faux fleece on the underside and something that's supposed to look like a Navajo rug on top. I couldn't even find a color combo I liked. But it's the best for him for very long days doing ranch work (8-12 hours). For short work and light riding I use a single Navajo blanket.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

boots said:


> It really depends on how you ride and what suits your horse.
> 
> 
> For short work and light riding I use a single Navajo blanket.



The horse is who dictates the apparel used is so right...

*What is your Navajo blanket made from?*
:runninghorse2:_..._
_jmo...
_


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

Agree with horselovinguy.
Another option if you dont want to spend the money on a 5 Star is Toklats Coolback or Woolback pads. Very breathable. 
Just found my husband's the other day, forgot what a great pad they are. The one he has you can take the inserts out and through the fleece in the washer for easy cleaning.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

horselovinguy said:


> The horse is who dictates the apparel used is so right...
> 
> *What is your Navajo blanket made from?*
> :runninghorse2:_..._
> ...


Wool. It's a true Navajo blanket. I have a couple of them. And they seem to last long.

I bought and have away two different 5-star pads of varying thicknesses. I really thought they would be great. They didn't work with my preferred saddle nor two other saddles I tried.

Nothing wrong with their product. I would suggest we still have to assess anything we buy on the horses we use them on.


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## AGibson (Nov 23, 2018)

Thanks for the replies. I agree with no Neo-prene. I bought one because everyone said it was the cats meow. Took it as a back up pad on a camping trip to the High Sierras. One long day ride in it gave my mare the worst skin rash/irritation. I really like the Weaver pad and at first my gelding liked it to. But with time it seems to have flattened out. Even after I've hosed it off and fluffed it back up. I like the memory foam in the classic's and the channel along the spine. I've tested his back to see if there is any soreness. His only reaction was to look at me and wonder what I'm doing. He's such an awesome trail horse, that I want him as comfortable as possible for our long rides. I wish you could take saddle pads out on trial like you do a saddle. LOL


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Sheepskin.


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

I'm another happy 5-star pad rider.


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## Cedar & Salty (Jul 6, 2018)

Agree with no neoprene. I have an Impact Gel pad that works great for my horses. The only one I think I'd consider instead is a 5 Star.


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## trailridertwh (Sep 15, 2018)

I rode with a CSI for years and I loved it - but I had to sell it because it was not working with my new gelding.

I'm using a Toklat Coolback pad now and I love it.


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## QueenofFrance08 (May 16, 2017)

Toklat T3 Matrix Woolback. Worth the money (and I think Riding Warehouse has a crazy good deal on them right now). Best purchase I've ever made, I got the one with the shim pockets which is nice to have. I also use just the plain Woolback and Coolback pads on regular rides.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

I ride an ESP on Trigger and Sarge - they're both high withered and the ability to move the shims around for Trigger was a huge plus. I got both of them on ebay, barely used, for about 50 bucks.

I ride a Classic Equine... oh wait... it may be a pro choice (contoured wool felt pad) now that I think about it... on Gina, Oops, and Superman gets the same pad, though for the time being, he's semi-retired.

I did try a pro choice out on Sarge... every time we saddled him up, he'd buck a little. Ultimately, it didn't give him protection where it was needed most - through the shoulders, and he needed a wider saddle. On a lark, I tried Trigger's ESP on him and Superman's wider SrS roping saddle... BOOM. Bucking problem fixed, happy horse.

So, oh yeah. The HORSE dictates the pad, and no two horses are built alike. 

I'd LIKE to invest in a 5 Star... I really would... but that's a want, not a need. We're outfitted pretty good right now, there's really no need to jump into a 5 Star unless I find one at a really good price. $5 bucks at a yard sale? I'd be high as a kite with euphoria for like... 3 months if that happened. LOL


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## pasomountain (Dec 19, 2018)

I'm a bit late to this thread but I just have to put in another plug for a Toklat Cool Back pad! Had the same one for like 20 years and it still looks good and works fine. I like the fact that it's breathable, flexible and washer/drierable--if that's a word--ha!


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

I gotta revise my post here. I have a Relentless wool felt pad I picked up as part of a larger tackroom buy out.

It's ugly, it's been used in the manner in which it was intended, but I sure like how it fits Sarge and how well made it is. I swapped his ESP for it yesterday before we hit the trail. That may be his pad from now on.


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## AGibson (Nov 23, 2018)

I got Christmas money from Santa so I went to a local tack shop. They had them ALL. The good, the bad, the ugly. So I played with them all. I sat on a few, laid on a few, definitely felt a few..., what I ended up with was a ... Toklat T3 orthoimpact pad with felt. I rode 5.99 miles in it today. Dany the Redheadedpony liked it. I liked it. Super happy. And I love supporting a USA based company.


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## AndyTheCornbread (Feb 3, 2019)

I use a Reinsman Tacky Too 32"x32", 1" thick square pad on one gelding that has pad slipping issues with regular pads. They aren't super expensive I think they run between $100 and $130 from Stateline. All my other horses I use Diamond Wool Black Gold Performance Pads on. I use the 1" thick version that is 32"x32". I have several of them because I like to have one set of fitted tack for each horse. I think the Diamond wool ones run between $140 - $200 at Stateline depending on what kind of sale you can get on them. I usually wait until they have a 25% - 30% off sale with free shipping when I plan on buying over $100 worth of any kind of tack.


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## jgnmoose (May 27, 2015)

I have been a fan of Diamond Wool pads. They are Merino Wool and the horses seem to like them fine. Affordable too.

Just be aware that you will need a couple of them because they stink bad after a few weeks riding. I ride a few in rotation, rinse them out, hang to dry etc. Otherwise the smell gets overpowering lol


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## AndyTheCornbread (Feb 3, 2019)

I have been thinking about getting a five star pad for the next horse we get in. From what I have seen they seem to be nicer than the Diamond Wool ones I use now but they are $100 - $200 more in price and so far I haven't pulled the trigger on going up that much in price for a pad to see if it is worth it. Tack always makes me wish I made more money no matter how much I make at the time. A fella could go broke just trying to get everything that he would like to try on his horses.


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## AndyTheCornbread (Feb 3, 2019)

This article outlines the reason why I am looking at trying a five star:
https://www.5starequineproducts.com/articles/saddle-pads-and-what-manufacturers-dont-tell-you

Five star uses an F11 felt that is 100% virgin wool. I have been told that diamond wool uses 100% wool as well but it is 46% virgin wool and 54% pre-consumer reclaimed wool and is around an F13 type felt. So better than an F15 but not as good as the F11 used by five star. I have no idea how much of a difference it makes on the ground? but I think this summer I might spring for one and see how much difference it makes for my horses personally.


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## jgnmoose (May 27, 2015)

That was a good article on their part. That is exactly the problem with pads, the marketing is overwhelming. 

I know a pretty decent horsewoman who only uses Neoprene pads and thinks wool are too hot. I think the real reason she likes them is she can rinse them off with a hose after every ride and be ready to go on another. 

I'd definitely give 5 Star a serious try if I was only riding one or two horses. DW are just more affordable for me since I need a few in rotation to have reasonably clean and dry pads to ride.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

I prefer the Skito woolback pads! Super comfy and saddles stay put. As I ride in a treeless saddle on a round horse, non-slip is very important! 

I have also used a cotton pad under the Skito to help keep the pad clean, but best to just have several pads and rotate them. 

Will admit pulling out the inserts prior to washing them is a bit of a pain, but my horse's comfort is worth it.


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## AndyTheCornbread (Feb 3, 2019)

jgnmoose said:


> That was a good article on their part. That is exactly the problem with pads, the marketing is overwhelming.


I agree 100% 

The other problem I have run into not with just pads is how hard it is to get honest reviews of stuff from online horse forums. 

For example I wanted reviews of a book I was thinking of reading(and later did) so I searched the COTH forums and they had this HUGE thread full of people bashing the book, saying it was no good and full of useless info. Guess how many of them had read it? Two. That's right, everybody had an opinion, mostly negative, but the only two who had actually read it gave it high marks for being an excellent book. 

This forum seems to be a bit different, people here comment with what they have used and have liked for pads, same for books FWIW, and say they can't comment on something else because they haven't tried it. This is exactly what I was looking for, but I tell you what, of the three horse forums I belong to, this is the only one I have seen honest reviews on, where people have actually read or used etc. the product in question. 

I don't really see that "I am an EXPERT, even though I have not tried it" haughty/snide mentality here so far, although I did find one old thread in the barrel racing forums but other than that this forum has a refreshing lack of the whole reason why I almost never post over on the other forums like COTH.


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## RMH (Jul 26, 2016)

I've tried a number of different saddle pads over the years and finally spent $250 on a 5 Star 7/8" wool pad which is far superior to any that I've had before. I've also got an $80 Diamond Wool pad, which is better than any of the synthetics (I have a micro suede Tacky too and several synthetic fleece pads) but it is not in the same class as the 5 Star. The 5 Star pad is made with finer wool which is softer yet seems to provide more support. It also doesn't get as frayed as the Diamond Wool pad.


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