Saddle Pad Technology

BioFit, Xylafoam and Zoombang: Classic Equine

Information courtesy Brad Vance, Vice President of Sales

At Classic Equine, we design our pads from an idea, to prototype, to feedback from a focus group, to improved prototype, to feedback from a second focus group.  That way, we truly come to market with a product that fits well, functions well, and really benefits the horse and the horse owner.  We want the product to solve a problem, fill a niche, and perform at a higher level. We source the best quality raw material that will hold up and perform well—including breathability in the new technologies. Zoombang material is perforated so it breathes; the BioFit pads are felt and Merino wool, so they breathe, and the ESP pad series has recently been upgraded to a material called Xylafoam which is also breathable. Overall, we wouldn’t make or sell anything that wasn’t tested before going to the consumer. Current technologies include:

BioFit: Memory Foam or Closed Cell Foam is featured in our BioFit/BioFit Shim pads, which were designed to help with saddle fit. They put extra padding in areas where it is needed; as an example, they can help horses with muscle atrophy. Our CountourFlex and CountourPedic pads also use closed cell foam and 100 percent wool/felt combinations. 

Xylafoam: The ESP Pad series for 2018 has recently been upgraded to a material called Xylafoam; it is more breathable and lighter weight than our previous Poron foam. It is conforming and impact resistant.  Moving forward, all pads from our ESP line feature this new foam component. 

Zoombang: This technology is featured in our Zone line of pads. Zoombang is an advanced polymer that reacts to and reduces impact and pressure. It is soft and pliable at rest, but firms up on impact and disperses the energy. Whether you are roping or turning a barrel, when the impact energy increases, the pad sensitivity increases and absorbs energy.  It is like a semi-solid liquid, for easy comparison.

Wool Felt and Fleece: Our Sensor Flex pad is constructed with a high-grade Merino wool fleece bottom, and the inside contains a heavy wool felt center that is shock absorbent and moldable, and disperses energy at impact. This is a simpler, more traditional pad.

Gel: Relentless Gel Pads, Cactus Saddlery

Information courtesy Amanda Love, Sales/Customer Service

Our Relentless Gel Pads are handmade in Greenville, Texas. Cactus features a team of cowboys and cowgirls who love horses and want to offer top-notch products for horse and rider. We personally use the products ourselves for ranching, rodeo, team roping, barrel racing and other events.

These pads have a contoured spine to ensure good fit, and it wraps completely around the cutout to reduce stress on the pad. They are also unique in construction because each pad is one single piece, which equals more durability and less pressure points.

We use a high impact absorbing gel that is positioned where the bars of the saddle will be. The gel evenly disperses energy and stress created by pressure. Each pad is lined with 100-percent Merino wool that offers comfort, wicks moisture and allows heat to escape.

People sometimes ask about gel and breathability. Often, when they ask about a pad being “breathable” they are worried that the gel, or material, will trap heat and cause soreness. Actually, the gel simply eliminates pressure and compensates for strenuous activity. Fleece or orthopedic felt allows the pad to breathe and allows the horse to sweat front to back. Sweat is good; trapped heat is not.

The difference between our Extreme Gel and Orthopedic Gel Pads is the bottom lining. The Extreme Gel features a Merino wool bottom; Orthopedic Gel features an orthopedic felt-lined bottom. The felt is high-quality and soft compressed. Both pads are very comfortable, and choice comes down to personal preference; they both do the same job. The Perfect Fit pad does not have gel, but features breathable antifungal felt which is very easy to keep clean. This pad is popular with trainers, because they ride multiple horses a day.

Our goal is to make a great-fitting, top-quality pad that will protect your horse from impact and hold up under everyday use.

SMx Air Ride: Professional’s Choice

Information courtesy Jake Gibbs, Brand Manager

SMx Air Ride Pads are breathable, contoured to the horse’s back, extremely light weight, and don’t bottom out. Unlike a liquid product, Air Ride technology allows air to travel through the pad, so, it doesn’t dissipate from pressure. In contrast, a liquid product is like a water balloon. When you squeeze it, the water dissipates, so you have nothing left where the pressure is applied. Many types of pads react the same way due to movement and pressure. Air Ride does not, so you always have protection for your horse.

Also, our technology runs stitch to stich through the entire pad. A lot of pads only feature technology where the pressure is most likely to be, like under the bars of the saddle. We don’t construct our pads that way, because every horse is different and every saddle is different. When you buy Air Ride, you are buying the technology through the entire pad not just a single area.

The undersides are constructed of either fleece or felt, and the tops are either felt or hand-woven Navajo. The felt pads come in either 3/8” for closer contact saddle to horse, or 5/8” for more protection. The Cowboy Felt Air Ride pads are great for ropers and everyday cowboys. A single pad is enough, you don’t need two, and they are made with a longer drop (on the sides) to prevent roll. We also make the hole in the top a lot smaller, to assure good protection. With many pads, if you saddle slightly off center, then the pad doesn’t provide good bar protection.

We have been in the industry for twenty years, and the lights are still on! We stand behind our product, and offer a 60-day money back guarantee.

Wool Felt and Fleece: Iconoclast Saddle Pad

Information courtesy Ward Heid, Owner

I keep it simple, like me. I am not a proponent of synthetics on a horse’s back. In my opinion, they produce heat, and are unforgiving. Our Iconoclast Saddle Pad is different from others on the market by the amount of Merino wool that is incorporated for the price. To keep a pad in a range that is healthy for the horse and affordable for the horseperson, I use an 80/20 wool pad, but on the bottom side we have 100 percent Merino wool fleece—and it is also the longest wool fleece available.

Construction wise, you usually see fleece sewn to a layer of thin felt, then that is sewn or attached to thicker felt for three total layers. This makes a pad stiff because the layers fight against each other, and the pad doesn’t give the best support because it rotates and slides. In contrast, our fleece is glued directly to the felt and stitched. It is two layers—no materials arguing with each other. There’s no break-in period, and the pad will feel and work the same a year later. Your horse will be very, very comfortable. Most felt/fleece combos will roll or slide on a horse after a year; our Iconoclast Pad will not, under the same conditions, for the same length of time.

When a felt-only pad gets dirty and sweaty, it will glass over and create hard spots on the pad. Those hard spots will heat your horse’s back and cause sore areas. Consequently, fleece under felt is a great combination that prevents glassy spots because fleece is porous, allows air flow and wicks sweat. Also interesting, since using Iconoclast Pads, I have not needed chiropractic care for my horses’ backs. I believe that relates to absorption and that longest fleece component that we incorporate (versus short fleece).