I’ve been eagerly waiting to get my hands on one of the new Total Saddle Fit Squish Pads since they discontinued their former range of English Wither Freedom half pads.
The previous pads were particularly good products for horses with super high “shark fin” withers who always have clearance issues. Not once did the pads let me down in creating clearance over the wither!! The saddle fitter in me was terrified with the discontinuation of these pads that I wouldn’t be able to solve the clearance problem in the future.
But, the design team at TSF think of everything, as you would expect from a company who continually reviews all their products on a regular basis.
The Technical Stuff and Testing (yep, a bit of a long read…🤓)
The Squish pad is made from TSF’s dampening squish foam. Inside the pad are two layers of foam either side of a felt panel. Inhouse testing revealed this configuration produced the lowest peak and average pressure readings compared to the other materials they tested.
Two inhouse tests have been published on the English pads comparing pressure on the horse’s back on the flat and landing over jumps between a saddle with no pad (just a saddle cloth) v’s a sheepskin pad v’s a Squish pad.
On the flat, testing showed a reduction in both peak and average pressure on the horses back from using no pad to using a sheepskin and a further reduction between using a sheepskin pad and the Squish pad.
Looking at the average pressure, testing revealed;
No pad to Sheepskin pad = 9% reduction in pressure
Sheepskin to Squish pad = 21% reduction in pressure
No pad to Squish Pad = 28% reduction in pressure
Testing over jumps using a pressure pad showed a much higher peak pressure being exerted into the horses back on landing, in fact the pressure was at least double if not more than the pressure exerted riding on the flat!! The pressure pad used maxed out at 10PSI; normal riding on the flat usually does not exceed 5PSI at any time, so true readings of exactly just how much pressure goes into the horses’ back landing over a jump could not be captured accurately. The image below shos the pressure on landing, the red squares are 10PSI or more.
When the overall force under the saddle was calculated (adding all the pressure readings captured) the testing revealed a reduction in force of about 30% when using the Squish pad compared to no pad.
No pad – 726 lbf (approx. 329 kgf)
Sheepskin - 642 lbf (approx. 291 kgf) approx. 11% reduction compared to no pad
Squish Pad – 506 lbf (approx. 229.5 kgf) approx. 30% reduction compared to no pad
An interesting side note, TSF have conducted extensive testing over time comparing ‘no pad’ versus ‘using pads’ under saddles proves adding ANY pad under a saddle will help reduce pressure on the horses back, disproving the old adage that a well fitted saddle doesn’t need a pad. To be fair, they don’t clarify if the saddles fit the horse well prior to testing but I hope, given the history and aim of the company the saddles would be well fitted for the testing.
While horses don’t always need pads under their saddles, anything we can do to improve our horses’ comfort and welfare is worth considering.
So, how does the Squish Pad actually work?
The thickness and squishiness of the pad is designed to allow the saddle to sink into the pad and the squish panel fill the slight differences in pressure created under the saddle as the horse and rider moves, evening out pressure across the entire panel of the saddle.
The squish pad works to keep horses more comfortable by dampening all the small movements and changes of pressure from the saddle as the horse is moving.
Design
The Squish pad is very cleverly designed with an adjustable wither configuration to suit any shape and height wither. The pad comes with 2 wither attachments (included) allowing for 3 configurations – low wither (which is still very generous in height), high wither and wither freedom. A fantastic idea allowing adjustability for any wither conformation and to improve comfort around horses’ sensitive wither area.
Horses with those super high withers should be very comfortable in the Squish pads and I’m pretty confident any wither clearance problems will be solved once again!
The channel of the pad is elevated and ventilated, preventing the pad placing any pressure on the spine under the saddle.
The inclusion of removable saddle attachments at the front of the pad means no pesky pieces of Velcro flapping around while you ride or that you have to cut off if you don’t attach pads to your saddle D’s.
The pad also had tri zone adjustability with the TSF Squish Shims (sold separately) making it suitable for conformationally challenged horses, horses still developing top line or for saddles with non-adjustable panels.
The pad comes in 2 sizes - Small (16-17inch saddles) and Medium (17.5 to 18 inch saddles) and in both dressage and jump style. The sizing is really good, I used the small dressage pad under a 16inch saddle and there was ample length to accommodate a 17 inch saddle.
I particular liked the width across the rear panels. This may be the inner endurance rider / owner / saddle fitter in me but fitting endurance horses with pads can be tricky depending on the type of saddle they wear. Most pads are a little too narrow to accommodate the width of the rear panels of specialised endurance saddles. I’m keen to sit the Squish pad under one of our endurance horses saddle and give it a good test out on the training tracks.
Test ride
The all-important question… How did it feel to ride in? What did the horses think?
My horses are always ridden in and have their saddles adjusted to wear a 10mm thick shock absorbing pad, as much for them as for me with my slightly dodgy back. A little shock absorption goes a long way when you have a bi lateral Pars Defect, bulging discs and arthritis in your back…
The pad looks super thick compared to some other pads. My initial thoughts were that it was going to make my saddle unstable and roll around on Holly, who has a fairly low wither and wide, well-built back, and sit well on Harry who has a higher wither, broad shoulders and a less developed back at the moment as he’s not been having much serious work.
Well, I was wrong, completely wrong!! The saddle felt incredibly stable on both horses the entire ride, at all paces and in all movements. The saddle settled into the pad well, I did feel a little further off their backs than normal but still had a good connection to the horses with my seat aids.
Both horses worked the same as they would in their normal saddle cloth / pad set up. Whilst there may not have been an improvement in their work it certainly did not have a detrimental effect either. The pad felt supportive under the saddle, soft but not spongey, bouncy or wobbly, just a really nice cushioning, stable feel.
I had the high wither configuration over an anatomically shaped saddle cloth which always sits well clear of my horses’ withers. The Squish pad had HEAPS of clearance above the saddle cloth and didn’t pull down at all during the ride. While neither of my horses have a particularly high wither, it does look like the Squish pad will be the new saviour for the super high shark fin withered horses!
The pad did not overly alter the balance of my saddles on either horse despite looking much thicker than my normal pad.
One down side… my back. Yes, it has some injuries and is super sensitive to change and saddle balance but with my normal pad I can ride 3-4 horses in succession and not have an issue. After riding the first horse, I had a few niggles in my back and after the second horse a few more. Nothing major but I could feel my back tightening up so I swapped to my normal pad for the third horse and didn’t have any more twinges.
I wouldn’t consider this a major con of the Squish Pad. It is was super comfy to ride with but according to my body, there are better pads for shock absorption out there.
So, all in all as a saddle fitter and rider the TSF Squish Pad gets a thumbs up from me!
If you want to decide for yourself if the Squish Pad is what you and your horse need, it’ll be available in my Try Before You Buy range of products very soon and as always, if you’re a saddle fit client it will be available to test out during your saddle fitting appointment.
But… If you want to jump right in a purchase one, pre orders are now being taken.
Happy riding,
Mel