Sheepskin, again. New ideas!

[Tanga]

So, I'm onto this again. You helped me a lot with understanding using sheepskin as a pad, so hope you can again. I bought nice dressage pads with sheepskin underneath to do better for them. The one I used every day was just getting too gross and patches of skin fell off, so I went away from that. I do use the white one for showing and put a clean pad on top of it. I haven't washed it yet because they barely get sweaty at shows and it's OK.

For home I use an old pad underneath and have been using a sheepskin pad on top of that to hopefully make the saddle fit better. It's a cheap older one I got from the used shop that looks rather battleworn, but does the job. Someone at the barn suggested she found pieces of good wool for cheap, and that got me thinking.

I SHOULD use the sheepskin against the horse for the best for them, right? The low level instructor at the barn is from NZ and mentioned that, of course, they aways did that there, but it was cheap. So I'm working on a way of trying to put the wool against the horse, but have something that doesn't turn into a complete mess from two rides a day. If I do any arena work, the pad is usually always pretty wet from two horses and I hose it off, and even trail riding leaves it wet.

I found this on Amazon and was thinking of buying pieces to piece a pad together, or maybe a girth cover. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017C ... VQ8K&psc=1

So, off I went. This site has the nice quality pad I bought for $140 for $115. https://www.sheepskintown.com/sheepskin ... p-916.html But, ooh, look. They have a throw rug 2 by 3.5 feet for only $60. Why can't I get that and cut it down for an every day pad? Also on Amazon for $60. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OCU7I04/re ... UTF8&psc=1

Oooooooh. OR I could buy a twin medical grade mattress pad, which is basically 3 by 6 feet for $190, so basically 3 pads? Why is medical grade better?

What do you think? For $60 I could get a pretty cheap pad and actually put it on the horse. I'm sure it would be better for them, which is what I am looking for. How do I manage to keep it clean and dry, though? I can do what I do with all of my other pads and hang them to dry every day, and maybe hose it off once in awhile?

Has anyone every actually managed to use a sheepskin pad against the horse's back daily and have it last and not get completely disgusting?

[StraightForward]

I don't think that $60 throw rug is going to have the pile that you want to make a nice pad, and it looks like a longer hair that would bunch up and get matted. I had a medical grade pelt a while back and it was amazing. I lined the backs of a couple saddle pads with it as well as using it for things like replacing the insoles in my slippers. This year I bought some Eddie Bauer sheepskin slippers, and the wool is wearing down under my feet in a fraction of the time that the medical grade wool lasted.

Right now I'm not using sheepskin pads, but do use sheepskin girth covers. I don't think there is a way around laundering them frequently, but I launder my regular pads every few rides as well. In between I just use a horse brush on the dried sweat to fluff them back up and remove some of the salt. When I was using the sheepskin lined LeMieux pads during the summer, I would store them wool side up, and wash on delicate cycle and hang dry every 2-3 rides, while in the winter they could go longer between washes.

[Chisamba]

the medical grade cut works very well

[silk]

You probably want one still on the hide - rather than stitched onto a backing (more like the faux fur).

You also probably want two, so you can use one on each horse, and they have a chance to dry out. Or four... LOL.

But to be honest for longevity, get felted wool. I have no idea what kind of places will do them on your side of the world but Waione Woolies is our local one. They are pricey but worth it.

[Tanga]

So, the rugs probably aren't going to work because the hair is too long. Longer is not better and won't last as long?

I was reading up on the medical grade, and it seems the main idea behind it is that it is washable and stands up. And they are all green. I don't know if there are any that are not green, but I suppose a green wool on the horse's back isn't the worse thing.

Silk--Felted wool like western pads? in my reading I was reading about replacing that on western saddles. All of the bottom of them are wool. And those pads are nice and expensive. But they are hard and that doesn't seem to do what I want it to do, which is cushion and make sure there are no pressure points on the back.

Chisamba--I know you said you've used the medical grade before. Did it have to be the green ones? Did you just rinse them off every day or wash them regularly?

[Chisamba]

I had a half queen medical grade sheepskin pad in natural color. sortof cream colored. . one of my medical clients had it for bedsores. when he passed they were discarded so I wanted them and cut them for saddle pads. they were already well used and lasted another few years. I hosed them off then gentle cycle in the machine, light spin, dry flat

[piedmontfields]

Like Chisamba says. You can wash them (gently) and it will help.

[Tanga]

Cool! Thank you. I will start looking. I guess any medical grade will be OK. I do't need a super duper green one. Hmm. I wonder where to find used ones . . .

[lorilu]

The smaller rugs from IKEA might work for you. They seem to have a fairly dense and shorter pile. Youd need two as they are not really big enough. Id suggest going to the store and picking the ones you want. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/sejling-sh ... -50393081/
they also have white oens

[silk]

The problem is with getting them wet through and letting them dry. If they are constantly wet, they will rot. If you can have a simple rotation of multiple pads, you will be better off. The leather is fragile when wet so also be careful how you handle it when you rinse it.

Woolen underlay (either a large one cut down, or cot size) would work but wouldn't but a hide with wool still attached, it would be a backing fabric that has wool "stitched into" it.

Personally, I don't usually ride enough to get the sheepskins very "sweaty" so I let them air dry (turn the wool side up over a rack) then brush off the skurf with a plastic curry comb before the next ride (to be honest, this only happens every 10-20 rides as I only use my pads on one horse).