Tack Warehouse Top 5 Best Western Orthopedic Horse Saddle    

Tack Warehouse for over 30 years we have knowledgeable staff that fits western saddle and western saddle pads.  A lot of our work is helping customers fitting western Orthopedic Saddle Pads which are designed to help and prevent horses from having or creating back issues. There are many to issues the rider must consider when looking for the best orthopedic saddle pad to protect their  horses back : 

1. Does the Saddle Tree fit the horse?

2. How is the horse shaped

3. Thickness and materials of saddle pad is best for the bottom of the western saddle pad in contact with your horses back?

4. Unique issues of the horses back confirmation and muscles and also saddle fit?

So what is an Western Orthopedic Saddle Pad?

Western orthopedic saddle pads are designed to make the heavy work of a horse and their back more comfortable while working or performing. Tack Warehouse; we carry a selection of brands and western orthopedic saddle pads for horse and riders. The first thing we help a western rider evaluate is if their saddle fits their horses back or if their horse needs some sort of back relief and we invite riders to bring their horses into our store. Tack Warehouse staff effectively does this  by placing the western saddle directly onto a bare horses back and then evaluate to see if the saddle sits level front to back. We check the entire saddle to make sure there is even contact between the western saddle tree that runs along the horses back. We do not want any gapping along the horses back ; rather even contact and no pressure points or air spots. We look to see if the saddle tree comes and angles forward resulting in pinching the horses withers or if too wide pinching lower down on the wither where the muscle is. As opposed to  if the saddle is angles backward meaning the western saddle is too narrow for the horse and perching on the wither. Next we put the saddle pad on the horses back and place the saddle on top. We look for simple things like measuring the length of a horses back for saddle to make sure the saddle is not too long or the saddle pad to short. Foundation quarter horses have classic with short backs , big muscles and if the western saddle skirts are too long and can rub on the hips of the horse and make them sore. 

If a saddle angles forward; this would generally speaking indicate the saddle tree is to wide for the horse. If the saddle is too narrow then in this case we would look for a saddle pad with a good thickness to allow the saddle to raise so that it sit evenly on the horse. 

Sometimes to get a saddle to fit like if the saddle has too much or too little "rock" this  will require us to shim the saddle pad to fill in gaps, and other times we are picking up the entire saddle with a 1" pad to lift it up off the horses back, or it could mean a sway back pad (typical for an older horse) that has a dropped back to shim the center area  fill in air gaps bridging between the horses wither and back so there is even saddle contact and no gapping . If a Narrow saddle, then if no other options exist like a wider tree then this saddle needs to be lifted up so that it is not angled backward putting pressure on the horses kidney's and back and hip. We choose western saddle pads with built in hard or rubber plates or add an  equipedic saddle pad or even use one of the many of the equine saddle pad that have a back riser built in or equipedic western horse saddle pads and these pads are thicker to raise the saddle up over the back and wither and make the saddle sit level and  balanced. 

Tack Warehouse associates evaluate the western rider and some larger  or tall riders need thicker ortho saddle pads to protect the horses back from rider weight or concussion.  The orthopedic saddle pads can improve the horses comfort and rider or saddle fit by creating even weight distribution along the horse’s back.

So how does a western rider know they need an western orthopedic correction saddle pad? 

The rider will want to look at  the back of the horse being worked. The horse’s back should present evenly wet with no dry spots. Dry spots normally show up along the withers but can occur farther along the back as well and you will see this on a horses back after being worked. This is not good and is an early indicator there was to much pressure by the saddle in that spot on the horses back and the horses sweat glands were cut off. This could be from an improperly fitting saddle or a rider that is too heavy and putting too much pressure in one spot along the horses back. The dry spots on the horse without correction measures being put into place quickly  after time will  turn into patches of white hairs. White hairs are what inexperienced riders will notice first ; but when you see this often it is too late because the saddle did not fit properly for the horses back. This makes the horse sore and cranky. The horse may grind their teeth, stomp, bit back at the back or riders foot... Western orthopedic pads can help with saddle fit issues.

Evaluating the western orthopedic saddle pad...

 Some horses can  have allergies to neoprene or other synthetic man made saddle pad materials. Riders that out on the trail for long periods of time  do better with an all natural saddle pad materials made from cotton, felt , bamboo or wool; materials that  absorb horses sweat.  Thick wool felt saddle pad material can take pressure from an ill fitting saddle through the material  compressing to meet the slight changes in saddle pressure points. 

Another thing we look is at the western horse saddle pads and see if they are shaped and raised in the front  commonly called "contoured saddle pads" to allow the pad to slip up into the pommel of the saddle and give the horse room to move their shoulders and back.  We look to make sure the saddle pad is least 3/4" in front of and 3/4" behind the saddle so the saddle is not in direct contact with the horses back while the rider is riding.

Neoprene bottoms saddle pads that go on the horses back are common with horse trainers . These pads do a good job gripping and preventing saddle slippage however; these pads make a horses back hot if used on warm days and we have seen this cause issues if  riders go out for long periods of time causing hot spots or welts. Also to consider is can an orthopedic saddle pad prevent saddle slippage due to horses sweat? Neoprene is often the choice for this because it  is sticky by nature and contacts the horses hair. The neoprene prevents saddle slippage but also realize the material may create problems.  With that said the feature of neoprene pads is that they can easily be sanitized for western horse trainers using the same saddle pad  for riding multiple horses.   

 It is to simplistic to think the western rider can buy the perfect western a. The reason is that horses muscle differently depending on the time of year and how much the  horses back will change with time; whether the horse is being worked, or fact horses often loose weight during cooler months, also considering the age of the horse as the horses will muscle up in their shoulders and back as they come into themselves. Plus an older horse will start to loose top line and back drop or become sway backed. Western rider must be vigilant to make sure they are using the best saddle pads to fit their horses ever changing shape and conditions. 

Running bred horses tend to have high withers or the foundation bred with no withers depending on breeding.  Whatever the case, western saddle pads should maintain gullet air space between the horses wither and saddle with the rider having  at least 2 fingers  clearance and minimum distance and avoid pressure and contact with the front of the saddle rubbing on the horses withers. Orthopedic saddle pads will  reduce pressure points caused by unevenness with the horse’s back. And horses with prominent withers; this means they can create hollow wither gaps or pockets that must be filled in by a proper fitting orthopedic saddle pad to keep the saddle set.

Western saddle pads used for orthopedic correcting issues will help improve your saddle's fit to make your horse more comfortable. Orthopedic saddle pads are used to add a layer of comfort and support for both the horse and rider. The saddle pad material can help minimize saddle slippage as well. Basically the rider must evaluate and choose the best options for their horse using a variety of brands and saddle pad styles and saddle pad materials.  Western Orthopedic Saddle Pads Materials; Wool pads , felt, fleece or gel saddle pads.

Saddle pads are used under western saddle and an easy solution when considering the cost of buying a new saddle. A good saddle pad can make the difference between a happy working horse or a horse that is unhappy and uncomfortable and is unwilling, fidgets, grinds their teeth or even jigs because the horses is trying to communicate their back is sore.  

Western pads are shaped with the sides of the saddle pad joined along the spine with a strip of leather or other material that have holes to  ventilated air flow for the horses back. On some pads the leather is wide and shaped and allows structure for the pad and keep the saddle from touching the horses vertebra.   




Western Saddle Pads with Shims - Some western saddle pads come with shims or saddle plates already built in or pockets for riders to add this. Tack Warehouse offers many brands like Professional's Choice SMx Air Ride OrthoSport , Toklat's Cavallo Total Comfort System pads and  the Ricotti western saddle pad as Orthopedic Saddle Pads come with built in shims that fill in gapping.  

Equipedic saddle pad inserts help provide padding and fill in gaps. There are a variety of shim style western saddle pads to choose  from quality manufacturers like Weaver Leather, Synergy, Classic Equine, Double Diamond Shimable pads that can be used with or without the Shims. The saddle Shims are made of varying materilas like dense rubber or dense wool felt insert .


Professional’s Choice saddle pads are fancy and have a selection of Navajo colors for the top with soft wool along the underside of the pad . These pads are often used as western show pads. The SMX has stitched-in shims behind the shoulders that help to raise the saddle up for prominent withered horses.  

The western brand Ricotti form Clements Ca  saddle pad is a  thick wool felt western pad providing a stable base good bound spine and the built-in shims act to fil in saddle gaps or more serious depressions behind the horses shoulders. In this Ricotti saddle pad, thesaddle  shims are beveled and gently tapered off behind the shoulders of the horse. Many western riders that ride cutting horses choose the Ricotti pad brand.

Classic Equine or Equibrand offer  ready to ride off the shelf quality western pads including pads with built in rubber compression dense plates along the bars , saddle pads with built in front riders or rear risers or even a western saddle pad with a center sectionbuilt in  that help fill in gapping for a older horse with sway back . Classic Equine, SMX, Fleeceworks Equibrand and Reinsman have ready to go saddle pads with shoulder fill orthopedic correction pads to protect the horses shoulders nad backs.   

         Links - https://www.tackwarehouse.com/category-s/1914.htm


 

Email Post

Comments

Post a Comment