Dressage Pads and Ponies

If you ride a large warmblood, feel fee to head back over to Facebook or the next blog on your list. This post is for the riders of the smaller dressage horses out there; horses like Speedy G. At 15'1, he's on the larger size for an Arabian, and he's also well-boned. While he's well-proportioned for his breed, he's not sized like most of his competitors. I know we owners of petite dressage horses are few, but we face the same problem: tack that doesn't fit.

I've finally sorted out the bridle issue. My last bridle from SmartPak fit well, but the Micklem fits even better. I have a well fitting saddle and my halter, the Tekna, also fits well and performs great. A well proportioned saddle pad still eluded me.

A few years ago, I bought a rather pricey pad that fits great, but at $100 it was too expensive for daily schooling so I use it for shows only.

Nice pad, but pricey

Fits great!

Since I started riding dressage, I've searched high and low for a dressage pad that would fit Speedy's smaller stature; most are simply too large. Like this one.

Love this pad from Ventura CDS, but does it come in a small?

It covers him withers to hip and almost wraps around his tummy. Sydney gets to use this one.

Not being able to find a pad that fit, I resorted to all purpose pads. They're shorter along the top line and don't have such a long drop. Unfortunately, they aren't shaped quite right though.

Awkward ,,,

I even just decided to give up on a smaller pad and ordered this one. It works well for Sydney, but at 26" by 44", it simply dwarfed Speedy G. I had hoped it might work since Dressage Extensions has a coupon in its latest catalog for a "Buy Two Tuffrider Dressage Pads Get One Free," which is a steal as the pads are only $19.95 each. Alas, no.

Tuffrider "Lanyard" pad in chocolate

I just knew there had to be a pad that would fit my smaller horse so I started combing the catalogs, noting the dimensions of every pad I found. And then I found it; the perfect sized pad: the Rider's International Contoured Box Quilt Dressage Pad! It measures 23 ½" X 40". Most dressage pads are 26" long with a 44" or 46" drop.

My find got better and better though; they were on SALE at Dover! They're normally $33.99, but I was able to get them for $20.99 each. And since the pads were so cheap, I even sprang for monogramming. I am more than pleased with the pads. The monogramming is beautiful, the pads are of excellent quality, and best of all, they FIT!  I am tempted to order half a dozen of them and store them until needed.

Swoon …

The black pad has silver thread while the white pad has black thread. The "S" stands for my last name and Speedy's name. I love the monogram!

Nice, huh?!

And even though Speedy isn't sound yet, more on that in the days to come, he still got to try on his new clothes.

So much better, and I love how nicely contoured it is!

How cute is that?

Finally, an actual dressage pad.