Description

The English SQUISH Pad is a next-generation saddle pad that uses science to improve horse & rider comfort. To sum it up in one sentence, it’s one of those pieces of tack you have to try to understand how profound of a difference it makes. The soft feeling is so distinct, you will notice the ride improvement in the first minute.

The WOW comes from the dampening gel foam and soft felt padding used to make the inner “squish” panels. Think of it like a “squish sandwich”, where a soft layer of felt is held between two pieces of squishy gel foam. We arrived at this material composition by testing many viable materials with a BodiTrak pressure sensing mat, ultimately settling on this material make-up because it produces the lowest peak and average pressure readings compared to every other saddle pad we tested.

OK… that sounds neat, but how does it actually work?

When you place a saddle on the squishy panels, it sinks into the pad deeper at the highest pressure points. This characteristic of the squish panels works to fill in the gaps under the saddle to even out the pressure. In addition to the gel foam, the inner felt panels act as a diffuser to further even out saddle pressure.

This might sound a little crazy, but the “impact” to a horse’s back while riding is actually quite low… we know this because we measured it. Many brands attempt to solve impact absorption with dense impact foams and plastics, but they are solving the wrong problem. This is because the PSI exerted over a horse’s back is typically only in the 2-4 PSI range (which is low). For perspective, an adult will exert over 10 PSI on the ground while walking.

The data shows that the way to make a horse comfortable and protect against soreness is to dampen all the small movements under the saddle, similar to the shocks in your car that soak up all the imperfections in the road to make a smooth ride. 

This is what the gel foam panels do. They dampen the movements to make for a more comfortable ride for horse and rider. This softening is very obvious for horses or riders with sensitive backs.

For a deeper dive on this checkout the YouTube video HERE.

Spine & Wither Protection: Every saddle fitter will agree that there should not be any pressure on a horse’s spine or withers. The SQUISH Pad has two features that make sure your horse is safe.

First, the entire spine channel is elevated and open to keep the spine completely free and ventilated (pictured at the top of this description).

Second, the front of the pad is built with an adjustable wither system that enables it to be setup in three configurations: low wither, high wither and wither freedom. This ensures the pad contours perfectly to your horse’s unique topline.

Dial in the Fit:  The SQUISH Pad is compatible with shims, to allow for a more precise saddle fit – even if your saddle isn’t fit perfectly to your horse. The shim kit is sold separately.

• The pad compresses to approximately 3/8″ thick while under saddle, keeping the thickness similar to a traditional sheepskin pad.
• Included: both wither pieces to switch between a low and high wither setup.
• Compatible with a fitting shim kit.  Sold separately.