Saddles in Motion

Ryan calls it snow camo. I call it rainbow fish. Either way it’s gorgeous. Mixed grays with oyster for the border.

This one is available 30x30 $380 1.5” thick. Will compress to 3/4 thick with use.

Out with the old, in with the new.

There’s something so satisfying about replacing old compressed flock with fresh flock.

Wool has a lot of benefits that artificial or synthetic filler doesn’t.

This picture shows two types of wool. Jacob’s and white wool. Both are a natural fiber that is easily adjusted and replaced with excellent shock absorption properties.

Jacobs wool has longer fibers which make it easier to use, decreases lumps and seems to hold up to compression quite well. White wool is often the softest and is just as good for flocking.

When you pull old flock out, sometimes you see different types of wool that have been used to make adjustments. As long as the fibers match in texture this usually isn’t a problem. However, if they don’t this can lead to lumpy feeling wool saddles or inconsistent compression.

Why Do Horses Walk The Same Paths Around Their Fields❓

Have you ever noticed that horses rarely wander randomly around a field❓

Instead, they often create well-worn tracks that loop around the boundaries, curve through gateways, connect favourite grazing spots, water sources and shelter areas. What’s particularly interesting is that these routes are almost never straight lines.

This behaviour isn’t laziness or habit in the way we might think of it. It’s actually rooted deep within the horse’s natural instincts.

As prey animals, horses evolved to constantly monitor their environment while conserving energy. Rather than repeatedly assessing every possible route across a landscape, they establish familiar travel corridors that they know are safe. Once a route has been used successfully, it becomes part of their mental map of the environment.

In the wild, horses often travel significant distances each day between grazing, water and resting areas. They naturally follow routes of least resistance, avoiding obstacles, steep ground, boggy areas and anything that might restrict a quick escape if danger appears.

This is one reason their paths rarely form straight lines. Horses don’t think like humans. We tend to look at a destination and choose the shortest route. Horses tend to choose the safest, easiest and most familiar route. Their tracks often follow contours of the land, skirt around exposed areas, pass close to herd mates or maintain good visibility of their surroundings.

There is also a biomechanical reason. Horses are large animals designed for forward movement, but they naturally travel in gentle arcs rather than perfectly straight lines. Curved movement allows them to maintain balance more easily, make subtle adjustments to their direction and continue scanning their environment without constantly changing course. A winding route is often more comfortable and efficient than repeatedly travelling in rigid straight lines with sharper turns.

The tracks themselves can also become self-reinforcing. Once a horse uses a route, the ground becomes slightly firmer. The next horse follows it because it’s easier. Over time, an entire network of equine highways develops throughout the field.

Interestingly, these pathways can tell us a lot about our horses. They often reveal where horses feel safest, where they prefer to socialise, where resources are located and even how herd dynamics operate. A dominant horse may control access to certain routes, while lower-ranking horses may develop alternative pathways to avoid confrontation.

So next time you’re looking at those winding tracks around your field, you’re not just looking at worn grass.

You’re looking at a map of horse behaviour, decision-making, movement patterns, social structure and thousands of years of evolutionary survival instincts written directly onto the landscape.

Do your horses have obvious “motorways” around their fields? We’d love to see photos of the pathways they’ve created.

Sweat marks and dry spots. What can we decipher from them.

Here are two pictures comparing saddle fit. Picture on the left indicates the saddle is too narrow and perching on the back which is why the dry spinal channel is so wide. The bars were not angled wide enough for this back which means there was less contact.

Picture on the right shows a better fitting saddle. Spinal channel is still dryer but shows better bar contact.

Now are sweat marks and dry spots always an indication of good or bad fit?

They are a tool. A tool to guide us where there could be too much or no pressure. Or Maybe the saddle sat quiet there. Or maybe that horse has damage to nerves and may never sweat there again.

Sweat occurs where there is friction first. Typically occurring under the pad where it moves. Then we see it appear on the back, usually the last to sweat. The spinal channel is usually dry but depending on the pad can also be sweated up.

Sometimes the pad does an excellent job and wicks moisture. Sometimes the pad makes sweat worse (neoprene).

Sometimes the way we ride might give a great sweat pattern one day and a funky dry spot pattern the next.

So really, they help assess fit and are worth looking into, especially if they are new, and double checking but in the end it’s always the horse that determines if it’s a good fit.

I was asked about adding designs or lettering to the pulled wool pad corners!

You bet I can 🖤 I’ve got a cool one in the works.

So why pulled wool for your saddle pad?

The dense loops compress under the saddle protecting the horse’s spine and back muscles

Wool wicks moisture away from the skin and can absorb up to 30% of their weight in moisture before feeling wet

The loop design allows a horse to stay cooler longer.

The wool conforms easily to the back creating clean sweat patterns to id saddle fit issues

The more you ride, the better the pad gets. Natural fibers interlock with each other creating a durable pad that can last for years.

I love when you can bring the vision together for the client.

Sometimes looking at the trees on the horse is hard to visualize the final product. That’s when I break out the portable skirts 🖤

Price sheet for pulled wool pads

I’m making pulled wool pads!

A lot of people have questions on the pads. Made from wool, these pads can be made any thickness you’d like but initially start out thicker and compress to 1/2 the original thickness from 1” to about 5/8 - 3/4". They weigh just about 3.5-9 lbs depending on size and thickness and enhances the ability to feel movement of the horse pending saddle quality.

They can be made any shape, size or design for English or western saddles, customized to your saddle. Usually a pad needs 1-2” beyond your saddle tree to fully distribute the weight of the saddle.

The pads are less processed than felt but time consuming to make so typically not manufactured. The loops allow for better thermoregulation, increases airflow, circulation and are antimicrobial. Each pad undergoes a mild felting process after initial use, and takes on the contour of the horses back. After a few rides they have formed to the horse’s back and hold that shape.

Pulled wool pads can last years with proper care.

They also make great dog beds and human blankets 🖤 yes they can be made that large.