KR Equestrian Canada

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Let’s talk saddle pads, or more specifically, memory foam and gel pads. Are they helpful, or are they a hindrance? I see a lot of fat squishy memory foam and me...mory foam/gel combo half pads being used, especially under close contact saddles. Now for me, having one of these pads under your close contact saddle defeats the whole objective of having a close contact saddle. Close contact means exactly that; that you are sitting as close to your horse as possible with very little panel between you and the horse. You can feel your horse moving, and that’s the whole point. So if you add thick layers of cushioning under the saddle, you are no longer sitting close to your horse. You are perched up above his back. No more close contact. Why do people buy and use these pads? Well, they’re cleverly marketed as a tool to increase shock absorption and cushion your horse’s back. I’ve even seen them marketed as improving saddle fit. That’s a good one. And, they come in all sorts of pretty colours to complement your horse’s wardrobe, too. But do they actually work, and are they good for your horse’s back? So what is memory foam, exactly? Well, first of all it’s a synthetic non-breathable material, so if you read that it absorbs sweat and keeps your horse dry, it doesn’t. Read on... Foam saddle pads are made from one of two types of material: closed cell foam, which is cellular rubber also known as neoprene, and open cell foam, which is polyurethane. Closed cell foam is generally smooth, somewhat elastic and has a very tight fine grain. Open cell foam has small holes and a more grainy look. Interestingly, the compression ratings for both types are similarly poor. Neither has any wicking ability whatsoever and both trap heat. Especially in summer when it’s hot, as your horse quickly warms up beneath the pad, the heat builds up in the foam and is radiated right back onto your horse’s back. Have you slept in a foam mattress in summer, and got overheated at night? This is exactly why. There is no cooling function with a foam pad, despite the clever marketing. Tests have also shown that after about 30 minutes of pressure from rider weight and saddle, the foam becomes compressed and loses its shock absorbing qualities. Also, let’s be clear - foam cannot wick sweat away. By its very nature it is not able to absorb moisture, even if it has holes in it. It is an impervious material. Moisture by way of sweat may also cause the formation of mould, and I have seen leather panels on very expensive foam saddles dotted with mildew. Moisture will build up quickly underneath a foam pad, and simply soak into the cover and be very uncomfortable for the horse, especially with the heat retention properties of the foam. Furthermore, sweat degrades foam and eventually causes it to break down. And yes, this applies to the foam panels on your saddle as well, if you have them. Gel pads are simply PVC bladders filled with a non-hardening gel material. The intent behind development of the soft gel pads was to find a material base that would lessen severe impact from a sharp force. The only application I can think of for a soft gel saddle pad would be to cushion the impact of a rider landing back down on the saddle after a jump. Or perhaps posting, if the rider doesn’t have a light seat. However, with the consistent pressure on the gel pad from rider and saddle in normal riding, the gel will only provide protection and cushioning for approximately 30 minutes. After that, the gel will bottom out, leaving no compression protection below any pressure points that might exist in a saddle. The PVC bladder encasing the gel also traps heat and has no wicking ability. I’ve included some photos of a client’s horse. As you can see from the top photos, he has numerous lumps on his back in the area of the saddle, or I should say in the area of the gel and memory foam saddle pad that the rider was using. The horse is a thoroughbred with sensitive skin. The lumps are called nodular collagenolytic granulomas, nodular necrobiosis, or protein bumps, and they’re formed from excess collagen build-up under the skin. They’re hard bumps, and generally painless, although they can become irritated by a saddle or saddle pad. Sometimes, if they’re large or bothersome, a veterinarian will inject them with cortisone to help them disperse. They are thought to form as a result of trauma, and some horses will develop them at injection sites, or where they have been bitten by insects. But because they are so common in the area of the saddle, it is also thought that they form directly from the trauma of an ill fitting saddle, or in response to heat build up under the saddle or saddle pad. In this case, they developed quickly when the rider started using a gel and memory foam saddle pad. After we replaced the gel/foam pad with a breathable sheepskin half pad on top of a cotton saddle pad, the bumps went away, as per the bottom photographs a few months later. So, my advice is if you are regularly riding with a memory foam or gel saddle pad, ditch it. I don’t care if it matches the rest of your stuff. If you must have a pad, use either a natural cotton saddle pad, or sheepskin, or both. The natural fibres will wick heat away from your horse’s back and disperse it. I always recommend this for any foam panelled saddle, too.

I am very lucky to have one of the very best farrier's in the area to see to the hoof health and maintenance of our horses!

Nick. Its been 25 days since my unplanned dismount off of Nick. The bruised kidney and the various bruises on my body have mostly healed. The bruised diaphragm and ribs are taking their sweet time recovering. I've been on Nick twice since the fall. But very briefly. Today marked our first "real" session, and we started with groundwork. I bought a fitness armband for my phone, because I like to track my horsework on Equilab. With this fancy shmancy band, i can not only strap ...it to me, but i can also strap it to a horse for tracking groundwork! The little clump of circles is where we began. I've watched Nick slowly unravel over the past few weeks. The fall I think shook him worse than me. He has been becoming increasingly agitated, cribbing more, and even lashing out at other horses. His mind hasn't been calm. So we start with groundwork. It took an uncharacteristically long time for him to settle in and start to communicate, alternating between stiff and halting, and hollow and rushing. Eventually though, the good deals of soft halterwork calmed his nerves and he started becoming more steady and rythmic, listening to the directions i was giving him. He even started learning the sidepass in-hand that goes with this exercise. When he was finally on track, we went back to the tack shed to bridle up. Despite the ground work, his steps on the ride were uncertain, slow, halting. Not quite "i need to go back", not quite balky. But very uncertain. He still wasn't feeling quite well. And that was okay, we took it slow, making our way down the hill to the schooling area. By the time we finished we were somewhat damp, but relaxed and calm. And when I took the bridle and bareback pad off, Nick was soft and much less agitated. He still has a few sessions to go, I think, to get over this hump. But today was a good step towards it.

We monitor our horse's condition twice a day, regardless of weather. Every check involves a look at overall body condition, coat, eyes and nostrils for discharge or discoloration, and any signs of swelling or cuts. In rain and cold, we don't rush to put on blankets unless its needed (if they are shivering). Alvin gets a blanket as soon as it drops below -12. He is older and underweight. Although he is stalwart and very rarely shivers, we prefer his feed energy goes in to fat ...rather than heat as much as possible. The rest, we watch. Sammy joined the Blanket Brigade today, I'm not surprised as she is pretty fine and didn't come in to winter with a good layer of fat. Po and Nick remain unfazed by the temperature, with fatty ribs and plenty of hay. Czar and Mira never get blankets. They are fat, and only shiver with wet cold. Even then, they usually just get shelter, no blankets. See more