Wool under the saddle.
Boiled wool, a core of wool felt — and with the Relief model, a withers with nothing resting on it.
Wool under the saddle
A saddle pad sits exactly where everything comes together when you ride: saddle, weight, warmth, movement. So we built it the same way as our rugs — from pure wool, without foam, with room for the withers.
The construction
Boiled wool outside, a core of wool felt inside, 0.5 cm thick — no foam, no polyester wadding. Wool felt is elastic: it gives under pressure and springs back. If your horse or your saddle needs more, we pad it to measure — with wool fleece, lambskin or reindeer fur, under the saddle or over the whole pad. Which filling suits best, we work out together with you.
The withers stay free — on every horse
The withers aren't padding — they're a row of long spinous processes with ligaments and muscles running over them. A pad that pulls tight across them while riding presses right there — not only on horses with high withers. That's why saddlers pull the pad up into the gullet before girthing up. In our Relief model this area is left generously clear: nothing rests on it, and nothing can pull tight.
“Pads that exert pressure on the spinous processes can impair performance.”
Dyson & Greve, The Veterinary Journal, 2016
What measurements show
Pressure under the saddle can be measured. In a study by the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (2010, 16 horses), only the reindeer-fur pad, of four pads tested, clearly reduced peak force under a well-fitting saddle. In a British study (2021, 12 horses), mean pressure in the rear saddle area during sitting trot was lowest with a wool pad; a gel pad increased pressure in the front area. And from saddle pressure measurements it's known: less peak pressure behind the withers goes together with freer movement of the forelegs. A pad is no substitute for a well-fitting saddle — but it shouldn't get in its way.
Sources: Kotschwar, Baltacis, Peham, Equine Veterinary Journal 2010 · MacKechnie-Guire, Fisher, Pfau, Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 2021 · Dyson & Greve, The Veterinary Journal 2016 · Murray et al., Comparative Exercise Physiology 2018.
The climate underneath
It gets warm and damp under the saddle. Wool absorbs moisture without feeling wet, and both the boiled wool and the felt are this fibre right through — there's no layer of foam in between. After riding, it's usually enough to knock the saddle pad clean and air it out.
Our saddle pads haven't been on the pressure mat — but they're in use every day:
What our customers say
Made to measure, in your colour
Our saddle pads are also made to order: in over 70 colours, to your saddle's measurements if you like, and with the padding that suits your horse. You can see the fabrics and colours beforehand at home with the Sample Box.
