Barefoot Ride On

I bought this pad recently to try after deciding to sell on the Best Friend Comfort.

The points I like so far.

You can use your own short girth. I already have a few that the pony likes, so I can swap around to see which works best for us. I didn’t get along thst well with the Comfort girth we used on the last pad.

It is already high withered in shape. So this should give us the clearance.

I opted for the smaller pony size, I thought this would prevent the excess pad you often end up with behind your bottom.

However a few rides in this it became clear that due to the high wither aspect of it, I actually did need the bigger size. It was too padded for a wide cob.

So reluctantly this was sold and I will keep my eyes open for a cob/full size to play around with.

Barefoot Ride On

Barefoot Treeless Saddle Pads

This is a well-loved physio pad. It was black but I like the fading as it gives me an idea of what they look like brown. 🙂

This shape is the cheyenne and you can now purchase the physio pad in the following models – Cherokee, Barrydale, Arizona/Atlanta, Madrid/Nevada and London.

The cushion in the photo below comes with the physio pad as standard but it’s being sold individually as well. It’s sold as M or L and I haven’t a clue how you would determine this.

Barefoot now offer The Special pads. These come with a wool base as standard and offer you the option of adding inserts if required. A good step in the right direction. They are anatomically shaped, cut to fit that model of saddle, and have a split at the front to avoid pressure on the wither.

These pads can be used with the following models Size 0 Cheyenne black only.  Size 1&2 Lexington, Cheyenne, Cherokee, Atlanta/Arizona, Nevada/Madrid, London (black) and Barrydale.

It looks like the non insert older pad style is no longer being produced.

Treeless Saddle Pad. Inserts / Shims.

These are Barefoot Shims- the pale colour.  I actually bought two and cut one in half. The thinking behind that, I was only needing to support the front and I didn’t need the lift the whole saddle. If that idea failed I had a spare set! It worked.

Now I am not suggesting everyone goes and cuts these in half. However the cost of buying an insert specifically for the front or back can cost the same as the whole pad, it was just an idea. Up to you if you trial and error that idea.

The black is rubber and I do not recall who this is by, it could be the Barefoot rubber but it arrived that short so it might even be a rear lift. ( if you turn them over they fit the front, a temporary solution)

What do you guys use let me know. Do you make your own, if yes where from. I could add to the links for others.