Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Misty Ride a review on the THINLINE bareback pad



 I arrived to the stable on a cold and misty day over the weekend. Maddy mare, taking her morning siesta~


Since I have not been able to use a saddle, bareback riding pads are the way I ride the mare, at present.
I was looking forward to our solo ride this day, as I was going to ride some new paths in the myriad of pathways, in the oasis acres, next door.
Firstly, I was pleased as punch* that I really felt secure *on this new pad...it has a nice wither relief area that helps to keep it in place. Along with the Anti microbial material, that is non-slip.


I chose to use my Sheepskin "Half Pad" under the bareback pad,  as
my mare is ULTRA SENSITIVE and the stitching of the bareback pad- right on her spine- may bother her.
 I normally use wither relief pads only on her + Sheepskin. Anything else-leaves marks, patterns and sometimes pressure bumps!

 This half pad is a "correction pad" I bought...wayyy back when...I first got the mare and the saddle almost fit her!
It has neat pockets that I shimmed with the "Ultra Thinline", pieces.
I used the two perfectly placed RINGS- at the front of the bareback pad- to secure the sheepskin pad. 
 I also added my mock grab strap( a lunging device) so -I may have something to grab, AND hang an  essential piece of equipment off of...my camera!



The seat area is nicely designed out of the "ThinLine"developed material. At the back of the pad, the 2 rings are placed perfectly for a saddle bag to sit. It is not in the way of you sitting there and-it stays off the horse too!


Tacked up, away we rode!

We came to a hill, I was excited to find a hill,  in my new "Valley Riding" places.
AND WOW....a nice HUGE-O-plowed field at the top, with a cool sawdust track around the edge.



We looked left and we looked right...to spy, oou la la, a nice fresh pile of Apples!
I INSTANTLY thought of Juliette's horses, Pie and Sovey and how they routinely go get treats, on the trail rides at specific places!


We went straight on over to investigate the inviting pile of sweet smelling apples...


....to find that many BEES also thought them sweet smelling, so we moved on rather quickly.

We  saw a blind nearby...ouu, it's a TRAP!
THAT is why the apples are places there...but, no one home today for this ride..good thing!


 Onward and forward we went discovering some new areas and back on home.
We had a really nice time out and about , the mare and I. Only having one or two problematic areas, that were somewhat slick and closed in. She is so claustrophobic and also hates to slide..it hurts when one gets off balance.
She IS NOT the perfect trail horse with how she has difficulty staying upright!
For her, to do so, means to MOVE THE FEET FASTER...haha, how Typical-of a Thoroughbred!


Sooo, my findings with this bareback pad, made by "THINLINE" are:
I like the design, the materials, the girth is also made of Anti microbial-nonslip material,and seems wide enough at 4  inches.

 It is placed nicely on the pad -though- of course, I'd rather have and English billet.
This one has nice stretch to it, ON BOTH SIDES. So you may EVENLY raise it to be the same on both sides. That was smart designing.
  I find  this important for a bareback pad because, with no tree...using a latigo  type  cinch, makes the girthing on side, uncomfortable for the horse plus- it makes a bareback pad move to the side you cinch up...every time, creating shifting pads.
And I really disagree with moving any saddle , by hand-shoving/pulling it over to straighten it!
Ouch, that hurts, plus makes hairs bend over..and that pisses my mare off, making the saddling experience -distasteful!

Here is the view, after we rode out. Notice the sleight shift of the girth
 (I bought a Black Sheepskin too, so I may let one dry out in between uses)


It did not move any farther than this, but for me, I will try to remedy it, either with  my sheepskin girth cover,
 to make sure the buckle has no-contact with my mare's skin.


OR-
I may take the girth to my favorite Upholstry shop, near my home,and for $5-10, I will have a keeper made, like this below~


So...the other thing I LOVE about the Thinline material being what I sit upon on this pad ...
You may decide how "sticky" you wish to be on it, verses a cloth /suede covered bareback pad.

Both my sister and I have a pair of full seat riding breeches.
(above you can see the seat of the pant on bareback pad's top material) 
When she came to ride with me last week, and  used the "Thinline" bareback riding pad, she had her deer skin seat,  F.I.T.S. breeches on.
If she were bothered by the mix of the Thinline material and the Fits combo...I would have heard about it!!

In stead, she got me to trade horses with her, to see how nice it felt.
As I watched her slip around and have a small boat looking pad under her, riding the "Cashel Soft Saddle" I realised,  how hard it has been to ride the "Soft Saddle", all these years...like learning to ride a warm blood, with big lofty gates! It really has a cushy, soft ride but -With Spring- plus, slippery!

I have ridden in the ThinLine bareback pad twice now, on my mare. The day I  went out last Misty weekend, wearing my full seat breeches...sticking to the mare nicely,
(no need for loose legs and such, without stirrups)
and finding that I could actually post easier,with the neat grip on my inner thigh.
And the second time I rode, last Monday, with normal cloth breeches. A little less grip- security but still, not as slick as the Soft saddle.

So there ya have it...my review.
 I really love it, I hose it off afterwards and it is non porus. Should be with me a long time as an essential piece of my riding gear!


Hope you are having a lovely Autumn day all!


FOR ANOTHER FABULOUS REVIEW On The ThinLine pad- written concisely, and detailed VISIT=
CALM, FORWARD, STRAIGHT blog!

21 comments:

  1. Thats great! Did you get my e-mail about the saddle and stuff? I'll make ya a deal if you want it. Proceeds from it go to me buying tools for school :P
    My natural ride is also still for sale on e-bay. http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200540892948&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

    I think I am gonna get a thinline too. I mean I have used the pads before they are great. Indigo's back is nice and round so it's very comfy to ride bareback. I would rather keep my seat cleaner and her back more comfortable from my bony butt. I see what you mean about the girth, you could use any regular western cinch with it though.

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  2. Thanks for sharing. I'm not familiar with this pad. Good idea to put something under it.

    How is your sister's horse doing without Wa? Do you think she will move over to your place?

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  3. I've sat on the Thinline pad, and liked it fair enough. I went with the Baretek dressage bareback pad instead, and LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I especially love that it uses a dressage girth and has "knee rolls." I tend to adopt a chair seat with a lot of bareback riding. :)

    http://www.baretek.com/

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  4. Jenn, thanks, I was on the wait list for 6 months...got the cashel instead...have made due...thought about that"Baretek" again..think they went out business. That is an awesome bareback SADDLE! Please do a post on that sometime.

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  5. I usually don't use a bareback pad, but have been interested in this one since you first posted about it. One of the reasons I don't like to ride with a pad is because I don't like the slipping feeling - I'd rather it just be me and my mare. Maybe it'll end up on my Christmas wish list.

    Have you had a chance to ride on it in jeans? Yeah, I don't own any riding breeches, so being comfortalbe in jeans is important.

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  6. Thanx for posting further about it. I will definately look into one!

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  7. You would laugh at me reading your posts - I am actually learning a lot without even riding! I read and then backtrack to stare at the photos to try and understand what you mean. Are your full breeches padded like bike pants? Or is the material at the seat just something special to make it stick more. I, myself, could go for a little padding! I meant to tell you before that I love the Header photo.

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  8. Yea...
    The jean test was today....
    jeans are compy on it..no sliding!

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  9. Haha, Barb..you crack me up !
    I've seen underware with padding in it...and I have something called "a tush cush" on the saddle seat..and a sheepskin fleece.
    The full seat breeches I like, are made from deer skin, and are segmented, one on each cheek, and upper thigh. It is for grip..some don't like it...but with this bareback salddle pad...its really secure feeling, as there are no stirrups, for balance, should the horse veer quickly.

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  10. Kacy - Thanks for the thorough review. You covered all the questions I had. Sounds like it is a winner - especially when you have the fleece cover or extra casing made for the girth - no metal against Ms. Wa!!! Those apples looked too good to be true - Pie and Sovey would definitely got caught in that trap! Of course, they would have left the scene immediately when they saw that scary blind thing. It looks like the "golf tent" that gives Sovey so much trouble.
    That last photo of leaves and (?) your adorable bungalow is gorgeous.

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  11. You both look so comfortable! With that and the bitless bridle, I don't know how your horse could feel any more natural with a bridle and saddle on.

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  12. Sounds a great pad KK. Lovely autumn colours in that photo, same her but with driving rain it's been hard to appreciate these last few days.

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  13. Jules,
    I'm really loving that pad. The violins also has a camera nearby...didn't notice the first time...it records what time the animals come by...cheaters! I waved at it!

    Allison,
    Yea, keeping the mare happy, keeps me happy!

    Trudi,
    We are getting s m a l l ~semi nice days...in between what you are getting....hang in, I'll send you a reprieve!

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  14. Hi Kac,
    Not sure I can answer your question to me about "background" - if you meant the header, I put together a mosaic on Picasa. The other pics on the sidebar I installed from a photo widget. Could not find your E-mail so am answering here.

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  15. Ha! Great minds...

    I bought a thinline bareback pad a couple of days ago and tried it out this morning. We L-O-V-E-D it! Will be reviewing in my next post - too funny :)

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  16. Well it sounds great! Thanks for the review. I may have to try one of these soon for Dusty. Glad you liked it and had a comfy no slip ride.

    By the way I think it's not very sporting or fair of the hunter to set out apples like that to trap the deer. What a creep.

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  17. Valentino~ I need to come and read of your clinic...
    Yea, love riding bareback...takes me right back to the days( in a much bigger way!)

    GHM~ I know...I really got upset with it too! The camera- is what made me mad

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  18. Naloma would have loved the apples. Probably would not get her past those. She'd have snorted at the weird tent, I'm sure. I'm glad you're happy with the bareback pad. You have the same girth (the original soft touch one) as I do. Love it. So soft and easy to clean. Although I'm of course quite attached to my dressage sadle, and so is the girth ;-)

    Love the autumn leaves. Gorgeous colours!

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  19. It is time to pull out and wear the orange, KK! Be safe on your rides!

    That was good to know about the difference between a thinline and the cashel. I had a cashel on my wishlist, but I will take it off in favor of a thinline now! Thanks for the info!

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  20. Carolina,
    I too love that"Soft touch"girth...another great find.I've had mine for 4 years now..REALLY well made. And I misssssss, my dressage saddle, Wa does NOT, it does not fit.

    Oregon sun shine,
    Yea, I'm wearing of the ORANGE ~ FLASHING LIGHTS ~
    BAREBELL~& STRIPED QUARTER SHEET.....even though, the actress we ride are private, non-hunting. U never know!

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