Importance of saddle pad fit with kids saddles

When our oldest girls started riding, we used the saddle pads that had hung in the horse trailer for probably 10 years.  Never really thought about it and figured that the kids were so dang light it didn’t matter anyway.  We would double up pads and make it work.  Like a lot of folks, the horses that our kids were starting out on were older and as you can probably imagine, their toplines weren’t the strongest or flattest.  Again, we would just add an extra pad to fill the gap and send them on their way.

About a year later, the girls both won Best Ever Saddle Pads – GAME CHANGER!  You know how sometimes you don’t really realize that something is wrong until it is fixed?  Well, that was us with the saddle pads.  We didn’t realize how terribly the pads were fitting until we saw what the correct fit looked like.

With kids saddles, yes they are light and the kids are too, but they are small.  They are shorter on the back of the horse and that puts the pressure in a different area. Compound that with a horse that may have high withers or a sway back and you’re asking for issues.

During the first use with their new Best Ever pads, we noticed a few things.  Firstly, when we went to put it on, it had shape, it didn’t just flop.  My first thought was that this wasn’t going to work because it wouldn’t make contact with the lower portions of the back, but we went with it.   Then, putting their saddles on, it seemed to allow their saddle to sit better on the horses back – awesome and they were pretty too so off the girls went!

They had a great ride and didn’t think much of their new pads except that they were fun and looked great during the ride.  We went to unsaddle and I lifter off the pad, and what do you know…a solid sweat mark was revealed.  No dry spots, no obvious pressure rubs, nada.  I honestly didn’t know that was how it was supposed to look, previously, sweat marks would be splotched around the back where I assumed the saddle was putting pressure.  Not this time, all we saw was just a happy looking, sweaty horse back.

As the girls started being more competitive and putting in long days, our happiness with Best Ever Pads continued.  We never purchased any other pad again and Best Ever is all we use.  Our tack room is now stocked with them and regardless of the horse or saddle, we know we will have a great fit.

Even though it may not seem like it with a light kids saddle, pad choice matters.  A lot of smaller kids saddles have smaller sized bars and Best Ever Pads help distribute that weight and pressure, preventing problems for horse and rider.  We all want what’s best for our kids, so select the best.