Your horse should be your first concern. Your horse’s spine should remain pressure free and pressure from the saddle should be distributed evenly. If your saddle lies comfortably on your horse, your horse will have all the freedom of movement needed to develop and use its back muscles.
The right fit
If the saddle fits, you should not need a half pad, however, a half pad can help with an even pressure distribution. It is important to note, that a half pad cannot correct an ill-fitting saddle; i.e. a saddle with a tree which is too small. A half pad is meant to finetune your saddle and make it even more comfortable.
• When looking at half pads there are a few things to keep in mind:
• Room around the withers: does the saddle follow the anatomic line?
• Room above the vertebra: is there enough freedom of movement?
• Not too short: does your saddle fall within the half pad
• Breathing materials: prevent overheating
Merino half pad
The most popular half pad by LeMieux is the
Pro Lambskin Merino Pad. As you might guess, this pad is made from Australian Merino Wool. Big advantages of this natural fabric are its breathability and moisture wicking features. It regulates the temperature no matter the season. Your horse’s back won’t stay wet and pressure distribution of a wool half pad is much more effective than a synthetic pad. The significant improvement of pressure distribution is especially noticeable when landing after a jump.
The Merino pad has an open sleeve in the place of the vertebra. This way the horse´s back retains freedom of movement and it also allows for the passage of air to regulate temperature even better.
It´s important to check whether the withers lie free when using a Merino half pad. Additionally it is really important for the fur collar to fall outside the saddle panel. If your saddle extends pressure on the collar, the pressure distribution will be negated.
Pressure distribution
As aforementioned, the half pad offers extra comfort. An important part of this is correct pressure distribution. During jumps as well as with certain dressage exercises the rider will drop in the saddle harder which will results in increased pressure on the high point of your horse´s back. By adding a pressure distributing half pad, for example a Merino one, the shock is absorbed and the energy of the impact is distributed more evenly.
Filling
A sheep wool half pad is an accessible and safe choice which will instantly offer more comfort to your horse. However, some circumstances might require a temporary correction to your saddle. The Prosorb pads by LeMieux are an ideal choice in this case. A Prosorb half pad has compartments at the top which can be filled with foam pads. The foam has a shock absorbing function, is breathing and comes in different sizes. The compartments are featured on all sides, front and back+ this means you can easily add small corrections to the saddle position.
The frontriser feature, with just foam pads in the front is suitable to use when your horse has reduced muscle mass around the withers. The backriser feature is ideal when your saddle tends to tilt backwards. Bilateral imbalance can be fixed by using a thicker pad on the one side than the other. If you'd like an individually and easily adjustable pad, you should try the
LeMieux Prosorb Lamb.