Seems like a lot of people covet these from afar but don't actually want to shell out for one. That's understandable, $150~ is pretty steep to pay for a bareback pad, something most riders presumably won't bother with more than a few times a month.
I've used a saddle I think twice in the past five weeks. The first couple bareback rides I used this bareback pad:
This is the
Comfort Plus Bareback pad, which you can get pretty much anywhere from $70-90. It's a nice pad. I think if you had a horse that didn't
need that much help in the padding area on the back (re: you ride a sausage) or you weren't doing it that often you'd be more than fine with this pad. It's very squishy, but the foam compresses a fair bit until you really are just sitting on the horse's back. I could still very much feel Spicy's spine and had to sit farther back to avoid his gi-huge-ic withers.
Once I got the Thinline pad, I worried I had wasted money not buying the above pad. The Thinline is extremely nice quality but doesn't feel anywhere near as squishy as the Comfort Plus. When you get on though, you can feel the difference. The foam doesn't bottom out at all so my ass didn't sink down until my tailbone met his spine. Both sides are non slip so the pad doesn't budge, and I've lunged in it a couple times (with a neck stretcher attached to a make-shift baling twin girth loop) and it doesn't move. It fits nicely even over Spicy's withers.
I think the Thinline material makes a difference in shock absorption. He doesn't palpate sore almost anywhere on his back anymore, and he's much softer and more relaxed through his back. This is probably a combination of the pad absorbing my seatbones and not using a saddle at all anymore, but it's still been a great outcome. The one 'downside' (in quotes because it's not) is this has also led to him moving MUCH bigger with the pad on. Instead of taking mincing little steps he wants to stride out and gets super bouncy which is uncomfortable bareback. I can't
promise you'll get six-pack abs with the Thinline pad but you'll definitely feel like you did 40 crunches!
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| Spicy only likes Rudy when they're off the farm. |
If you don't ride bareback very often, and are limited mostly to walking, I think the Comfort Plus pad would be fine for your needs. But if you plan on riding bareback a lot at all gaits, your horse is VERY narrow with a prominent spine, or has back sensitivity issues, I would definitely more than recommend the Thinline pad!
For some reason I thought these pads were way more money from past research...really glad I've skewed that because it's kind of a relief to hear the $150!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the review. I've always wondered about how these were to ride in. I do love bareback (jumping especially!) and maybe one day will invest in one of these now that I've read this. Sounds pretty legit.
i've really liked every single thinline product i've looked at, esp half pads and reins. but.... the price tag is always just a littttttle too high for me, so i've never pulled the trigger. glad to hear that you like the product so much tho!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have done it unless I was going without a saddle for a long time, but now that I have it i feel like it's going to be a big part of my riding!
DeleteI want this pad so bad!
ReplyDeleteI would say its the most covetable riding item :P
DeleteI'm in saddle fitting limbo with my girl - this is a timely review for me! Thank You! I'm currently using the Best Friends one and it's great for the price point, but has really minimal padding. The thin line sounds like it's worth it!
ReplyDeleteyeah my tailbone has written me many thank you notes!
DeleteI love bareback rides! So I have a thinline one but it's a few years old and looks a little different (the thinline part has ridges/seams for one). Can you tell me if you have an issue with the girth sliding back at all? For me the under piece sticks out behind once my horse is moving. I'm also having an issue with Maestro where the pad is slipping to the side - but I did not have that issue with Phoenix. Both horses have decent size withers (I wish it was cut for more room really - maybe it is now?) but Maestro has a flatter back. Anyways, I would totally spend the money for a new one if it had some updates to fix my issues.
ReplyDeleteI know what you're talking about, I saw the same thing in reviews when I was looking it up. I have not found the girth to slip on mine in the way you're mentioning though. And I've like made a makeshift girth loop to attach a neck stretcher so I've definitely done some off-label uses.
DeleteThanks for the review! Everyone at the barn that has a bareback pad has the Comfort Plus one, so I was going to get that (once I start riding him bareback again- definitely not riding a horse who is inside 23.5 hrs/day), but think I'll go for the TL one now since it seems to be TB approved . Hope your saddle gets here soon!
ReplyDeleteAfter riding Dante in one of these I really, really, want one!
ReplyDeleteAfter everyone saying how fantastic these are, I got all sorts of FOMO. I'm hoping Rio will be sound enough for some bareback shenanigans this spring, so I decided to see if I could find me one on sale somewhere. By some magic, Riding Warehouse had last year's model (1 available no less!) marked down, and I snagged it for just over a $100. I just got it and can't wait to try it out!
ReplyDeleteThanks for comparing the two, because I was really thinking maybe the comfort plus was about the same.