365 Days in Horse Country – Saddle Pads
There was a time when nothing came between a horse’s back
and his saddle. Things have changed,
however, and nowadays horses wear saddle pads when being ridden.
Saddle pads come in a vast assortment of sizes, shapes, colours, and materials. Western saddle pads tend to be thick to help evenly distribute the rider’s weight across the horse’s back. They are often in Southwest designs in keeping with the Western theme, although some are solid colours. Western pads often have a leather pad at the front, or a cut-out area to provide more room for the withers. Some therapeutic Western pads feature shock absorbing material inside the pad to help keep the horse’s back from getting sore.
English saddles also use pads, although these are much thinner and lighter than their Western counterparts. Styles vary along with the saddle type. Riders using close-contact saddles typically use pads that are a few inches thick and are cut to follow the design of the saddle. Dressage riders often use thin, quilted square pads that are designed primarily to protect the saddle.
When choosing a saddle pad for your horse, your budget will be your primary factor. Pads range considerably in quality and price, with simple pads being the most affordable. Therapeutic pads featuring special materials to provide benefits above and beyond what ordinary pads provide will be considerably more expensive.
Michael