Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

 

 I have one of the Len Brown corrector pads, and I really like it.  The only complaint that I had with it, he wants you to put it directly on the horse's back. Since this pad is $150, I want something there to protect it from the grime and sweat. I use a thin wool felt pad under mine, and I am also checking into buying a toklat woolback pad with the openings for inserts, but without the ultracell. Then there is just one pad to fight with. Shouldn't be a problem since he now sells an envelope pad as well, but it is a little pricey.

 Just one word of caution about a treeless.  I have a treeless saddle as well, and have used it on all three of my horses. My round flat backed mare loves it, no problems with it moving around, it does not even need a breastcollar on the steep hills. My gelding is not as wide, and he did have a sacral injury last year, so he does much better in a big horn endurance saddle, which puts no pressure on his spine. My other mare is built slightly downhill, and she seems to like the treeless as well, but she only goes on slow training rides, I have not competed her in it.  I do use a skito pad with this saddle, I have one with 3/4 foam, and one with the shims and the drytop. I like my treeless, but like any other saddle, it is not going to work with every horse.  I have noticed on my mare she seems to have lost some of the muscling in her back while I was using it on every ride. Coincidence?  Treeless saddles have their own problems, I have had a bob marshal, and I now own a barefoot, which I like better. If you look at the barefoot saddles, you might want to call them regarding which size seat you want. According to their size chart, I should be in a 1, but a friend of mine had one and I tried it, and found the size two much better. I ride in a 17" english saddle.  The way they explained it to me was that if you are a woman and wear a size 8-10 pant, you can ride in a size 1 if you ride with a long stirrup, and don't like any extra room If you are a 8-10 and ride with a shorter stirrup, or ride a posting trot, then you would be more comfortable in a size 2. I ride with my stirrups a hole shorter than dressage length, and my thighs were hitting the pommel on the size 1.