What's wrong with gel pads and air pads?

Both gel pads and airs pads attempt to address the shock absorption problem in the same way. They enclose an absorption medium in an enclosed bladder that can't breathe. The bladders are placed right under the bars of the saddle where air flow is most important. As a result, the horse gets extremely hot and sweats more!

The other problem with these pads is that the absorption medium is limited by the confines of the bladder. As more pressure is applied from your saddle or your weight, these mediums will compress until they become hard as a rock or they will squeeze out from under the saddle. At this point, they will actually hurt your horse!

The ConforPedic Impact Reduction Material™ used in our pads will spread beyond its original envelope as more pressure is applied and will continue to disperse the impact load laterally rather than downward. This provides superior impact and pressure relief than any other medium! Check out this video located at the EquiPedic U.S. website www.equipedic.com  Do you think you can do this with a gel pad or air pad? 


Why do I still see sweat marks?

All horses sweat when they run. The EquiPedic™ pad with the EquiKOOL™ Temperature Management System does not stop your horse from sweating. It moderates and manages the surface body temperature of your horse. By keeping the surface body temperature closer to the horse’s normal temperature, it helps the horse to feel more comfortable and cooler. It helps the horse to sweat less over extended periods of time, but it does not completely eliminate the sweat.


Why does your pad look thicker than others?

Looks can be deceiving. The EquiPedic™ pad uses either 3/4" or 1" of ConforPedic Impaction Reduction Material™ for our inserts, dependant on the pad. The pad itself is only 3/8" thick. However, with a saddle and rider in place, the pad and the inserts are designed to compress down in size, though never less than 3/4" in thickness underneath the saddle bars. The pad is actually a close contact pad. Where your legs make contact with your horse, you only have 3/8" of material.


Why don't you have a cutback?

The EquiPedic™ pad with EquiKOOL™ and EquiCharge™ was designed to fit a variety of horses. Some horses have flat withers while others have withers that resemble ski slopes. The four inch rise of the contour at the front of the pads and the one inch rise of the contour at the rear of the pads will accommodate both of these horses as well as any in between, including swaybacks. The EquiGripStrips™made from ToughTek^®ensure that the pad will not slip and will stay in place on any shape horse. Also, this design allows greater freedom of movement for the shoulders of the horse and allows them to perform better. The front ends of the pad will not slide down like cutback pads. The EquiGrip Strips™ and the EquiGrip Mesh Back™ are made from a material specifically designed to prevent slipping in wet conditions. The EquiGrip Strips™ and the EquiGrip Mesh Back™ lock the top of pad to the bottom of the bars of the saddle, preventing the pad from moving in relationship to the saddle. The pad won’t slide from front to back either.

Pads are wrapped in several layers of bubble wrap

The pad is then placed in a tough, weather resistant bag (thanks to coles!) and ready to be labelled.