These pads are available to buy.
Please contact us. We
will then email you with a price and delivery rate. |
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The BALANCE Saddling System combines well designed and horse friendly saddles together with a specially designed padding system
in order to create a comfortable, adjustable and flexible interface between the horse and his rider. Information on the full
range of BALANCE saddles that you and your horse can choose from can be found on the SADDLES pages. Here we will show you how
we use our pad system to fine-tune and modify the balance and the comfort of the saddle for the individual horse's fluctuating
needs.
Remember that we are supplying the horse with a saddle tree width that is a little wider than his current static back profile.
This is important because when the horse is working in an engaged and healthy way under the weight of his rider, his back will
become wider and flatter in the saddle area. In other words, if the tree or saddle fits the horse's back when he is standing
still in a dis-engaged state, it will not allow him sufficient room or comfort to lift his back into the correct
(bio-mechanical) organisation in movement.
In order to use a saddle that is wider than the horse, it is essential to use some form of pad system that creates stability,
balance and flexibility when they are used together. BALANCE has tried many different types of material over the years and
pad manufacturers have asked BALANCE to try various innovative designs with the saddles over the years. Whilst one
cannot and should not create fixed 'rules' about what is appropriate and what is not, the pad system that BALANCE currently
uses is the most consistently reliable and effective combination of design and materials so far. However, BALANCE encourages
its clients to stay open to looking at other options once they are familiar and confident with the standard pad System.
The standard pad system as supplied with a BALANCE saddle consists of the following components:
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The regular BALANCE wool lined pad.
This is the pad, which goes directly against the horse's back. It is seen here in the form of a Square but is
also available as a Saddle Shaped pad (Numnah).
It is made of a cotton quilted fabric and lined with pure wool fleece
in all areas where the saddle panels lie against the horse, including the shoulder area. The pad is shaped along
its top line in such a way to make it easy to pull up into the gullet of the saddle and keep pressures off the skin
and spineous processes. Even the fixing straps are attached in such a way as to maximise horse comfort.
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The BALANCE Pro-Complete base pad.
This photo shows the next pad that is usually used under a BALANCE saddle. This is called a BALANCE Pro-Complete
base pad. We have used a contrasting colour to show you the two pads layered. The Pro-Complete pads are made from
a half inch layer of gel-foam, with an additional quarter inch of the same material bonded onto the front of the
pad. The pad has a cotton cover. This pad is also shaped in such a way as to avoid pulling down onto the wither
area. In some cases, these two pads are all that the horse needs in order for the saddle to be balanced and
comfortable and provide the rider with a balanced and central place to sit.
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The Pro-Complete JB (Junction Box) pads.
Here we have placed a quarter inch JB pad which is made of the same gel-foam material on top of the base pad. Again
we have used the contrasting colour so that you can see how they all sit together. This additional 'shim' is used
on horses who have some muscle wastage or lack of development. It is not unusual for a horse who has been compressed
and compromised by conventional saddle fitting, to need this additional pad temporarily and then, once the muscle is
recovered, it can be removed.
The JB pad also comes in a half-inch thickness (for horses with more muscle wastage) which is placed in the same
way as in this photograph.
The extra padding and lift that the JB pad creates is sometimes necessary to use when jumping, because it
counter-balances the way the rider's weight gets concentrated towards the front of the saddle.
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Here you can see what the pads and saddle look like when used together.
The wool lined saddle pad, the Pro-Complete base pad, and the two thicknesses of JB pad form the standard BALANCE
Saddling System pads package. A combination of these pads are used under the BALANCE saddles to
accommodate the needs of the individual horse.
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However the following pads are also available and used when appropriate:
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The extra thick BALANCE wool lined pad
This is a thicker version of the wool lined saddle pad. Also available as a square in addition to this saddle
shaped pad (numnah). This thicker pad is sometimes used initially with the Pro-Complete pads for horses who have
a lot of muscle wastage. For horses who have really well developed backs, the 12oz wool pad can be used with the
JB pads, eliminating the need for the Pro-Complete base pad.
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The Pro-Complete Remedial A pad
This little pad is sometimes used temporarily under the centre of a BALANCE saddle. It attaches to either the top
of a Pro-Complete base pad or a 12oz wool lined saddle pad. Used on a horse with a dropped (sway) back posture,
it can even out pressures under the saddle, and thus avoid bridging of the panels. Often, with the proper support
and encouragement, a horse with this posture can remember how to lift and engage again. At this point, the
Remedial A pad may no longer be necessary.
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The Pro-Complete Remedial B pad
This pad is used under the back of a BALANCE saddle for various reasons.
- On horses who have a big discrepancy between the height and length of their wither to that of their back. In other words, where a saddle that is wide enough to allow room for the shoulders to rotate and the back to lift, sits low at the back and high at the front.
- On some horses who have a dropped back posture (see Remedial A pad above) the larger pad can be positioned to have a similar effect, if the lowest part of their back is further back.
- Used under the back of the Soft Option saddles they can help certain riders avoid slumping into the back of the very comfortable seats, thus feeling unbalanced to the horse.
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 Please note that you can buy the majority of these pads from BALANCE. The wool lined pads are well designed and well
made from excellent materials. They are really appreciated by most horses and will not affect the front to back
balance of the saddle. However, please remember that the Pro-Complete pad System is only appropriate and helpful
under saddles that are deliberately 'fitted' wider than the horse's current shape, which is the principle used in
the BALANCE Saddling System, or under bareback pads and treeless saddles. If you contact us to buy these pads and
you don't already own a BALANCE saddle, we may ask you for information about the saddle you intend to use the pads
with, before being willing to supply you. The availability of all of the pads is reliant on stock levels so
BALANCE clients will always have priority. Please contact us to get more details of availability,
prices and shipping charges.
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