# Best Western Pad? SMX, Impact Gel, Cashel or Thinline?



## Equestrian09 (Jan 25, 2010)

I have 2 big paints and they have outgrown my current FQHB western saddle. It is not short enough or wide enough for them.

After much research, reviews, calling the coompanies and so forth, I ended up ordering an EXTRA Wide, super short, round skirt Tucker trail saddle. 

I can't afford a new saddle, however, my horse's back's are worth it so I will go without somewhere else.

*QUESTION:* What are your personal experiences with SMX, Impact Gel, Cashel and Thinline? 

They are so expensive that I'm hoping to get some real life reviews before making my choice. 

Looking for:
coolest (it is HOT here in the summer)
most comfortable and protective for my horses (trail riding, good equitation
the least slippage (they are both barrel body) 

Thank you for your help!!


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

It's hot where I am at too (Arizona) and I don't think you can get away from sweaty backs in that kind of weather, but I am a big believer in breathable material. I personally go for high quality wool felt. I have both 5-Star and Impact Gel and like them both equally well. I don't know how much the gel helps on the Impact Gel, I think I basically like it for the quality felt. :lol:

I tend to avoid the Professional's Choice Air Ride Pads because the ones I have, which granted are about 10 years old, do not breath well. They are wool on the bottom but the centers are foam and the horses really sweat with them. I don't know if the current Air Rides are the same or not. They are also not as thick as the good wool felt pads.

I've never tried Cashel or Thinline so I can't comment on those. I would guess the Cashel is that neoprene type material like their soft-saddle is made of, and if that is the case it wouldn't breath well either.

I trail ride too, and I will usually put a wool saddle blanket under my wool felt pad to keep it clean. The wool blankets are easier to wash than a saddle pad. The only downside is that they can travel a bit (migrate backwards under your pad) if you climb a lot of hills. But I normally can ride for about 5 hours and never have to make adjustments unless we do a ton of hill climbing. 

I think a friend of mine summed it up best. Which would you rather have for your own underwear? A natural, breathable fiber, or hot sticky neoprene/foam? That made a lot of sense to me, so have stuck with the quality wool ever since.  

A thick wool felt helps disperse pressure points better than the thinner, denser materials too. I have both 3/4" and 1" felt pads. I use the thinner pad with my wider horse, and the thicker pad with my narrower horse (they use the same saddle). And since I also have a wool blanket on the bottom (a single layer Mayatex) it probably adds at least another 1/4 to 1/2 inch to my overall pad thickness.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Gels can generate a lot of heat. Wool next to the horse is a good choice as it wicks moisture away which helps cool a sweating horse. A pad thicker than an inch can cause the saddle float. Keep in mind that everyone touts their product as the best for your horse to get you to open your wallet.


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## Equestrian09 (Jan 25, 2010)

*thank you, both!*

Tucker makes a quality wool pad that is 3/4" and fits the contour of the saddle nicely - if wool is best perhaps that would be a good choice. I love the idea of underpad, as I like to wash my girth and pad after each use.

I am currently use toklat coolback pads and while my horses love them, they are so thick I feel like I am perched a foot above my horse. I bet that is why the saddle rolls, too! 

I heard impact gel was hot, so your feedback confirms that. The foam sounds hot, too, now that you bring it up! I hate neoprene anything, and do not use my reinsman tacky too pad for that very reason. 

I like thinline for dressage, but it looks so well thin! for western.

I like the idea you suggested as a thicker and thinner pad as I have the xxwide and the xwide horse and use same saddle but never share pads. The liner idea would help there, too. Great suggestions! 

I wil find a link to the cashel pad I was looking at after I feed - I hear them both out ther nickering, so I must be 5 minutes late lol

Thanks again! I will check back and post that link.


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

Love my 5-star-pure wool felt, which is best for heat. There is another thread discussing CSI pads, which are also really nice. Both of these are pricey, but worth it, IMO.


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## Equestrian09 (Jan 25, 2010)

*CSI, 5 Star*

Iwill check into both of those, the 5 star looks great! They really are super expensive, but given the amount of time in saddle and the heat here in New Mexico, I agree it is well worth it  

Here is my new rescued paint:
Tiny Dogs Rule

He has had very poor fitting tack (if he was even ridden much before) as the vet who did his chiropractic adjustments said he was severly out in mid back and shoulders and has some calcification on top of spine. He takes and extra wide tree western and a 5.5 inch bit as well, which surely no one ever bothered to provide for him. He hollowed out and squealed when I put just a light saddle blanket on him, which confirms my initial assessment of his past unfortunate treatment, so I want everything perfectly comfortable and nice for him. 

I am still in the ground work, round penning, lunging and developing trust phase with him.


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

What a beautiful guy! Good on you for rescueing him.

With the calcification you may want to look for something with an actual space (about an inch or less (between the wool felt pieces. I have seen them, they are held together by the leather. Mine has a space, but may not be a wide enough one to allow NO pressure on those calcifications whic I would think might be painful with any pad. I know Parelli pads have the space.....others, I am not sure. Maybe CSI. Parelli ones are good too, I just was never really a huge fan of the air bladders....with my luck I would punsture it, altho I have never heard of someone who did, and everyone (but me) had one at the barn I was at last winter.
Western Theraflex (TM) Self-Inflating Pad


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## Equestrian09 (Jan 25, 2010)

Thank you! He is a gentle spirit 

Having my first horse since he was a youngster, there was no damage/abuse to work through and I knew his entire life story, habits, quirks, likes and dislikes. 


This guy, I have no idea what his reaction is going to be to anything, why he was at slaughter or what has happened to him in his 8 years on this planet.


It has been challenging (he was jumpy & fearful - even of being brushed!) and expensive (vet and farrier bills) and rewarding (he is now trusting me, getting willing to learn and trying hard to please.)


I will check out the pads you suggested! I have seen the cut out spine channel pads you mention; that might be a great choice for him.

Here are 3 of the pads I was looking at initially:

Tucker Round Skirt Wool Felt Saddle Pad 48 52 53

Cavallo Reversible Saddle Pads by Toklat for Tucker ptk11-41xx 

Circle Y Round Skirt Wool Felt Saddle Pad 55


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## DejaVu (Jul 6, 2011)

Have you considered Supracor?

It's round about 1/2" thick, and the best support I've found out of a saddle pad. The reason I bought it was because my broad backed horse can't handle anything thicker with my saddle. Too much bulk.

It's the signature Supracor honeycomb material, and very well made. They make several models, so you can probably find the shape you'll need.

Very hot weather friendly as well.


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## Equestrian09 (Jan 25, 2010)

Thank you!

I will look at those, I have heard only positive things about Supracore, 5Star and pure wool, so I think I have it narrowed down a bit - sooo many choices!


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

I've tried many of the brands that you mentioned over the years (except the thinline). The absolute best I've ever used and currently use is the 1" 5star wool pad. 

When I trail ride, I'm out for ~5 hours at a time and the 5star has never hurt the back of any horse I've used it on and it has kept them cooler then any other. At this time, there isn't another pad I would use.


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

I have to agree with the 5-star. Of the ones you listed, OP, the Circle y is the only one that is felt without some foam or something elsse that, frankly, in my experience, holds heat. That said, all woll felt is not equal. If you put a 5 star mext to the Circle y, you would notice a HUGE Difference in the softness and flexibility of the felt, as well as the density. Sort of like the Denier count of a blanket.

I also didn;t notice a real gap between the sides on any of those, which I think may be the key to your success. 

As far as Supracor goes, I had one. I found that their wool felt was REALLY thin. Every time I cleaned it I felt I would brush right thru it trying to get the hair off. I also did not find them to be cool. My horse sweated a lot under that pad, and nothing under the 5 star. Just my experience.

You may have to order some to get a real look at them, unfortunately. It is hard to get a real feel for some of this stuff over the internet.


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## DejaVu (Jul 6, 2011)

franknbeans said:


> As far as Supracor goes, I had one. I found that their wool felt was REALLY thin. Every time I cleaned it I felt I would brush right thru it trying to get the hair off. I also did not find them to be cool. My horse sweated a lot under that pad, and nothing under the 5 star. Just my experience.


Supracor has the "Coolgrip" line. As far as I know, the others aren't designed for comfort of coolness. I have the western coolgrip, and there's really nice airflow with it.The thinness of them, I what I bought it for but for others I know that's not the case. But I feel the support is still there to the back, even with such a thin pad.


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

DejaVu said:


> Supracor has the "Coolgrip" line. As far as I know, the others aren't designed for comfort of coolness. I have the western coolgrip, and there's really nice airflow with it.*The thinness of them, I what I bought it for but for others I know that's not the case.* But I feel the support is still there to the back, even with such a thin pad.


?? I have no idea what you are saying. You bought it for the thinness, but know others don;t buy it for that reason?

I had a regular Supracor, that has the cover. I have no idea what the cool grips have as an undersurface touching the horse. I can only speak about the one I had. Comfortable for the horse, or so it seemed, but not cool. Good support-yes. I used it on my old guy with a sensitive back (apparently someone rode him in a broken tree previously, and he had an issue refusing jumps.....) He liked it. Got us away from the 15 yr old gel pad.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I recently bought a 3/4 inch wool pad, by Diamond Wool. It is shaped to the back and has pockets for shims. But, when I used it, it felt like the saddle was rolling all over the place. Is this because it is new? I had shims in the first time, trying to create a bit more openness for Mac's shoulder, but the second time I took the shims out and just rode with the pad, but I hated the feel it gave. Very "sloggy". Will this go away over time?


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## Equestrian09 (Jan 25, 2010)

OK Everyone, thank you so much for your feedback. I am going to go with the 5 Star (endurance shape) pad in Black felt with Black patent wear leathers (a little flash is good for the soul I will let you know how it works out! My saddle is on order, so I will order the pad when I get the headsup my saddle shipped.

Thanks again everyone for all of your help and feedback!


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## DejaVu (Jul 6, 2011)

franknbeans said:


> ?? I have no idea what you are saying. You bought it for the thinness, but know others don;t buy it for that reason?


Let me explain on that since it really didn't make sense.
My horse doesn't deal with an inch thick pad under my saddle, especially after you throw a show pad over it. I needed basically a thin liner, that still had support for all day showing. The model I bought is merely a half inch thick, 3/4 by the time you put a show pad over it.

Some people, not everyone, who don't have hard to fit horses, can go with a thicker pad. All I meant by that. I bought it because it was thin enough for my tank of a horse, but others don't buy it for that reason. Some don't like that they are built so thinly.


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

Just to clarify, the pads I am talking about are even thinner. (5 star) They come in everything fro liner to over an inch. Whatever you choose. 

I personally, did not like the Supracor as well as I thought I would. Like I said, I think the cover was a disappointment. Since I had the regular one, using it without the cover was not an option.


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