I've been doing some "in your dreams" shopping. You know, looking at stuff you'd like to buy if or when you have money.
Right now I've been looking at bareback pads. Don't get me wrong, I really like my Natural Ride bareback pad... but I want MORE! I'd like to build my collection, and I'm amusing myself by thinking what I'd like to add to it.
What I'm looking for:
- Tacky seat: something that will "stick" to my butt and help keep me in place
- Real billets and girth: needs to stay in place
- Well padded
- Well made: I want it to last
- D-rings for breast collar attachment
- No neoprene on the underside: horse appears to be allergic
I view my Natural Ride pad as a "western" type pad. It has latigos and a cinch, and the handle is kind of like a horn. The rawlide fork is ridged (like a western saddle), and very "there", if you know what I mean. You're always aware of it's presence and it kind of holds you in (at least in front). I wish it had a tacky seat, though. That's one big thing it's missing.
What I'd now like to acquire is an "English" bareback pad. One with dressage billets and no stiff parts. I'd like something secure, but doesn't interfere with my position at all. The NR kind of limits my forward options as the rawlide fork is quite unyielding.
So far, I've found two pads that look like they would suit my purpose. Well, three pads, but I'm leaning away from one of them. They all cost about the same, so my decision would not be based on price. I'm willing to pay up to $250 for something good (when I have the funds to do so, of course). Anything more than that seems excessive for a bareback pad.
Option 1: El Companero bareback pad
(image from El Companero website)
This is the one I'm hesitant about. It looks funny.
I've heard good things about them, and not just from their website. It appears that the suede leather is incredibly "sticky", a big plus in my book. I'm tired of sliding when I lose my seat for an instant.
The cinch is a regular western latigo rigging, and they say you should use a western saddle pad underneath it. They do come in normal colors, and if I bought it I'd get a black one.
Apparently you can attach a breast collar, but it looks like it's the western style. Cherry does not like the Y-collars very much, so I don't see her liking this set up with a breast collar too much. That puts me off this pad a bit, as I really want good d-rings.
The thing that really puts me off of this pad is the look. It looks "native" and rather strange. I already get enough weird looks, I don't need to be using any more crazy looking tack than I already have. The full hide seems a bit much, I only need something under my seat and thighs. It doesn't need to cover the whole horse. Cherry is not very big, so I can see the hide on this pad covering quite a bit of her rump.
Option #2: Skito Bum Buddy bareback pad
(image from Skito)
I really like the looks of this pad. It's got a tacky pigskin seat, dressage billets, d-rings for both breast collar and crupper, and skito foam inserts. The foam inserts create a channel for the spine, something I really like.
They come in a ton of colors, one of which is teal! This, however, creates a problem. Teal doesn't go with every horse, and all teal does not go together. I'm not sure I want a main item of tack to be brilliant teal. If my teal accesories didn't match, I'd have to get them in black. It makes much more sense to get the pad in black, which of course would match all my teal and black accesories.
Moving on to more important aspects, this pad really appeals to me. It appears to be well made, it's contoured to the horse's back (a rare trait!), and the underside is good quality fleece. Skito has an excellent reputation with the endurance crowd, and I look to their preferences to find out what's comfy and hard wearing and what isn't.
A couple things about this pad bother me, and I'd have to try it out to see. One is the fact that the billets appear to tip back from the pad. I don't know if this is merely a photo issue or not, but there is a distinct "back" look to the billet placement. Cherry's girth spot is very close to her elbows, and I don't want the natural girth placement to be fighting with the billet alignment.
Another thing that might bother me is the foam inserts. They create a channel over the horse's spine, but I'm afraid they might create a channel under my ass too. I don't want to feel like one butt cheek is resting on one pad while the other cheek is resting on a separate pad. My butt is large, and needs full support to be comfortable. I don't know if the foam inserts would provide that.
They claim that this is the first "theraputic" bareback pad, and that this is actually good for the horse's back. From what I've heard of Skito, I'm inclined to believe that. Though I think the main reason for this claim is the spine channel. There's debate whether or not the bareback horse benefits from a spine cleance channel or not. Some say the rider's weight is on the spine and this ultimately hurts the horse, others say the rider's own ass cheeks provide adequate clearance. You sit on your butt, not your tail bone, and the horse's spine runns in between the two sides of your butt. Personally, I'm not sure what to believe, I only know that some good padding can only be beneficial.
Option #3: Little Joe bareback pad
(image from Better Horse Tack website)
This pad has dressage billets, a "sticky" suede top layer, d-rings, several layers of padding, and comes with a free saddle pad. It comes in a variety of colors, including the lovely brown in the photo as well as black. It does have big d-rings for stirrup attachment, but I wouldn't be using stirrups.
They claim that it is safe to use with stirrups, though the lack of anything solid or ridged on the pad makes me skeptical. I'm a heavier rider, so for me to safely use stirrups, the tack needs to be totally secure on the horse's back with no chance of slipping to one side or the other, as well as a decent area to distribute the weight I put in the stirrups. I do kind of like the idea that if/when I do lose a bit of weight and get my riding legs back, using stirrups would be an option. It seems that others use the pad as sort of a saddle and really, really love it.
In fact, the reviews of this pad are almost wholly positive. Nobody seems to hate it, and the worst opinion I've found so far is "meh, I like it but I can get something I like too for cheaper". Everybody else raves about it and says something on the order of "I LOVE IT!" and "I ride in this all the time, I hardly ever use my saddle anymore". This is encouraging, needless to say.
The customer service seems to be good. I got a reply from my inquiry email (no measurements could be found on the website) almost right away. They say they replace billets and make repairs on the pad for a small fee. The pad is also guarenteed for life, and each one is handmade by the person who sells them. You can get custom options becuase they are made to order. I like this idea very much.
Of course, there are a few things about this pad that might bother me. It seems that some people have issues with the stirrup d-rings poking their legs. I don't know if the ring is rubbing them or simply "there", which bothers some people. I could just order one with no stirrup d-ring. Though I wouldn't use stirrups right now, I'd want the option in the future.
The other thing that might not work is the lack of spine clearance. Reading about the Skito pad put this in my mind. I don't do hard riding at the moment, but I'm trying to slowly work Cherry and me back to longer rides. Eventually I'd like to get back on the trail, and I don't want something that will make my horse sore.
One option to remedy the spine issue is to buy a Skito pad to put under the Little Joe. This means an extra $150, though, and I'm loath to spend that much. However, it will be awhile before my riding intenstiy would require such an addition. Right now the (free!) pad the LJ comes with would likely suit us just fine. Skito makes a pad specifically for the LJ, so this might be a future option. And I could get the pad in teal! Oh dear, I better not start down this train of thought.
.......
Those are the options I'm considering, though I won't be getting anything for awhile. The holidays rather depleted my bank account, what with buying presents and taking time off. I'm saving my savings for emergencies (human and animal), so I must resist the temptation of dipping into them.
There's also another reason I want another good, awesome bareback pad instead of a saddle. My horse is old, and I honestly have no idea how much longer she's going to be ridable. Cherry is going strong, but it's hard to say how many months or years she has left as a regualr riding horse.
I want to spend my money on something I KNOW will fit other horses, not just Cherry. I want something I can use on anything and everything. My NR pad has a "fit range", and anything narrower or wider than that will not be comfortable. I want something universal, that will be comfrotable and usable for any horse I decide to get on.
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