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A saddle blanket is a woven blanket, usually made of wool, which
is folded and inserted under a Saddle in order to absorb sweat,
cushion the saddle, and protect the horse's back. While saddle
blankets have been used for millennia with all types of saddles,
today they are usually associated with the Western saddle
A Saddle pad, is thicker, usually with layers of felt, foam or other
modern material sandwiched between a tough outer cover on top and a
soft cover on the side in contact with the horse. The best designs
absorb shock and minimize fatigue for the horse's back muscles. A
pad or blanket cannot take the place of a properly fitted saddle,
but a pad with shims or a special design can partially compensate
for minor fitting problems. Saddle pads of various styles or shapes
are used with any type of saddle.
Designs for Stock saddles
Both blankets and pads are used with western saddles, the
Australian Stock Saddle and other saddle designs that feature a
solid tree and cover many square inches of a horse's back. The
standard stock pad is square or slightly rectangular, and is
designed to show under the saddle, providing both protection and
style. These pads come in many colors and designs, and at horse
shows may be color-coordinated to the rider's attire.
Designs for English riding
English saddles usually use a shaped pad, called a numnah in the
UK and Australia. The original purpose of the English saddle pad was
simply to protect the saddle from dirt and sweat, as the panels of
the English saddle provided the necessary padding and protection for
the horse. It was a simple pad, either a neutral shade designed to
be nearly invisible under the saddle, or, more recently, white, and
shaped to fit the outline of the saddle. Today, English style pads
are also used to alter the balance of a saddle and to compensate for
fit problems. In addition, square pads, called saddlecloths in the
UK and Australia, have become a popular style for eventing, show
jumping and dressage, in part because of the ability to add insignia
to the corners. They are also popular with children and casual
riders because they are available in a wide range of bright colors.
There are additional new types of English saddle pads such as the
"riser" pad, which is thicker in the back than the front. Other pads
are made with an opening to allow extra room for the withers of the
horse, some are shaped to compensate for swayback, and
many modern "space age" materials are used, such as gel or memory
foam to absorb shock, and modern synthetic materials with wicking
properties to absorb moisture.
Other designs
A hybrid design that is a cross between a saddle blanket and a
horse blanket, called a quarter sheet, is a larger blanket placed
under the saddle but which covers the horse from shoulder to hip
while riding. Quarter sheets are sometimes used in cold weather to
keep a horse's muscles loosened up when warming up for competition,
or on horses that may have to stand around when under saddle and run
the risk of stiffening up if their muscles get chilled.
History
When the horse was first domesticated, the saddle blanket was the
first and only piece of equipment placed on a horse's back, attached
with a strap or rope, used primarily to protect the rider. Over
time, the blanket developed into a pad, and later the pad or blanket
became a buffer and support for a saddle.
References
Wesley, Erica D., McCullough, Elizabeth, et.al. "Performance
Evaluation of Western Saddle Pads." Evaluation of modern saddle pads
by researchers at Kansas State University, published online at
TheHorse.com, accessed April 11, 2007
Copyright (c) 2007, A. S. Websales
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License,
Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software
Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no
Back-Cover Texts.
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