My favorite pad is 5 STAR EQUINE's wool felt pad. I
sell many others, but for competitive riders? I love this
pad!
I'm sold by their simplicity... they are
made of very soft pure wool fibers. The softness gives the fibers a great deal
of "motility" - an ability to move
away from a pressure point into areas where there is less pressure to equalize
pressure.
On top of that, wool fibers distribute pressure
outwardly, increasing the area accepting pressure. I "pinch-test" all of the
pads that come through here (I often have as many as 50 different pads
because my business is recycled tack)and the closed cell foam pads - like gel pads -
actually AMPLIFY pressure points! They are still a good deal of a saddle fits
well and you need shock absorption.
I like Skito too, but I'm
sold on this wool felt!
My "Skito test" was to
lay my old skito and my 7/8" 5 star on large sized gravel - 1/2" size - and
put a bare foot on each and transferred my weight back and forth... I like the
wool felt! Now the Skito was OLD! Age may make a difference...
5 Star pads are shaped to fit a
horses or mules back . They are 2 separate pieces of wool felt joined by
soft leather spine and finished off with a soft leather girth/stirrup
protector at the bottom. 5 Star guarantees these pads for life. I like it
when people have that much faith in their product!
Most people retail the 5 Star for $150 or so, but I sell them
for $110 plus the drop ship fee; I feel they need to get out there under
saddles. I ordered my first ones at
the beginning of the summer after a customer "insisted" - sold me on them
- and kept in close contact with the people I sold the first ones
to. All very heavy riders.
Theses early customers are
all **really** impressed with the pad, and they are folks who ride long hours
in tough terrain. 5 Star has a special "Mule" pad that reportedly helps fit a
QH Bars saddle to a mules back... I have two mule owners - again, heavy weight
trail riders - who swear by them. I need to check them out before I understand
why they work so well.
The company is willing to cut the pads to order, so
they can be fit to suit special needs - like a Sportsaddle pad, and
potentially a Wintec pad.
Linda
Linda
Cowles Horse 'N
Hound New, Used & Consigned Tack & Stable
Supplies 9155 N. State Street #13 Redwood Valley CA
95470 phone 707-485-0347 fax
707-485-0453 Kadence@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
-----Original Message----- From:
ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of
SuperJockey Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2003 5:49
AM To: Ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] saddle
pads?
Hello again!
What saddle pads do you all use? Since Missile and I plan to
ride further and longer next year, I would like to get a better one than the
simple trail pad I use now. Any suggestions?
I keep hearing people talking about sheepskin, but who sells
those?
Also, what about Toklat woolback pads?
One other question... www.equineperformanceproducts.com is having a
sale on Heart Rate Monitors. Can you recommend one?
Thank you! I have not yet been to an endurance ride and am just
now trying to get a feel for the products out there.
Take care and keep riding!
Kristin and Missile, Frankie, Andromeda, and Randy
