Half Pads, The Proverbial Dead Horse

Trust me, I know this topic has been hashed out numerous times in this field, but, this is my little corner to speak on things. Thus, I will speak.

Only photo I have of the set up: Moritz CC Saddle, Padded Ponies Correction Pad,
& whatever square pad is mostly likely to piss my trainer off.

One of the things that struck me when I tried Lucie is how well my saddle fit her on the first go. I genuinely took it as a sign that she was the one. Plus, I injured my knee merely days after meeting her and was too crippled to try other horses. Nevertheless, we're here now. As time progressed, her sweat marks were not coming out quite how I want. When I bought my saddle, I also purchased a correction pad from Padded Ponies. Initially, my saddle sat fine with the foam shim plus a Mattes shim in the front. My guess is that whatever body changes have happened over the past couple of months have grown a need for a change. I won't even begin to say that I'm an expert on saddle fitting. For now, I'm trying something out to see if I can get my saddle sitting more balanced. If things don't pan out like I'm hoping, we'll go on from there.

All shims in, front sitting a tad low

Fun fact about me when it comes to shopping: I'm extremely picky. When I first started looking at pads with a front lift, I came across the Acavallo Fleece Lined Gel Pad. Can you say hubba hubba! Streamlined, non slip, therapeutic fleece, and only the cost of my gas for the entire month . . . pre-quarantine prices . . . yeah, it wasn't happening. I liked this one for the real fleece, which does much more than gel and the trim makes it possible to show in the pad, either alone or with a shaped pad underneath.

With these qualities in mind, the search continued. The goal was to find something nearly the same but within budget. I checked Le Mieux, Gem Equitation, TuffRider, and even Etsy shops again trying to find something. I also may or may not have gotten distracted on the way . . .

Equine Couture Joy Pad, which I would have bought
if my car didn't require another $500 in repairs . . .

Eventually, I found the Horze Gel Half Pad for $80. Still a little pricey, so I looked to see if I could buy it used. Lo and behold, my humble, hometown tack store all the way back in Maryland had a limited number, brand new, for $33. Immediate buy, and cheap enough that if it doesn't work, I didn't beak the bank too much. The front lift is moderate, but so long as the dang thing holds its shape, it'll work a lot better than what I have now. It's not the most attractive, but it is lined and can pass at shows. Can't wait to try this one out!