# Homemade Harness Pads???



## poniesrule (Apr 10, 2014)

Hey all, I have a quick question about harness pads. I made my own fun bright pad cover, & cut out a wool felt pad that's about 1/2'' thick. I measured the one that I had bought along with the horse, but it's been used a bit, so I guesstimated "new" thickness. It's a little wider than the pads you would buy, but for a rough draft, I feel it's pretty decent. My question is how thick of a pad would you go with? Is 1/2" too thick? I know that after a few uses it will flatten a bit, but I don't want to have too much padding just lifting the back saddle too much and not really helping. I haven't used it yet, my harnesses are in for spring cleaning and in about a million pieces in my garage. Makes for a fun rainy-spring-day puzzle!

Once again this is where I throw out the "new mini driver" disclaimer. For all I know I don't need one, but we always had pads when riding so I assume since they make pads for harnesses you should use them?! Attached are pictures of my saddles (maybe this is opening a can of worms harness critique?). We basically are planning to drive just for fun. We live in town, and there isn't a hill to be found, so easy pulling. Yep, we are careful about the paved roads. Ok... again, thanks for all of your input!


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## Jenny (Apr 10, 2014)

I am very new to driving, but this is just my opinion based on information I have learned from my driving instructor.

I would personally be quite concerned with those saddles. There is very little padding, but the thing I would be more concerned about is the water hook in the first picture. On the underside of the saddle, beneath the water hook, there is a bump. That bump will be sitting right on top of the spine which will cause a lot of pain and discomfort for your horse.

I don't know a lot about harness pads, so hopefully someone else will chime in with more information. I think you would need one quite thick to prevent that bump from hitting his spine.

I've attached a picture of what the saddle on my harness looks like. You can see it has a lot of padding and lots of spine clearance. Now, obviously it isn't perfect. I have to make alterations to it such as widen the spine channel quite a bit, but hopefully it gives you an idea of how much padding is necessary.

If my judgement of the harness is incorrect at all, please somebody correct me, I'm still learning.






PS: Sorry, I know I didn't really answer your question. I just wanted you to be aware how much padding you may need. I really commend you for making your own harness pads, though. Again, this is just my two cents, I'm really new to this driving thing too.


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## diamond c (Apr 11, 2014)

I have always used pads when training or "fun" driving but not when showing. Ithink that it will be more comfortable on your horse and will also save wear and tear on your harness. As for thickness I would think 1/2 inch will prolly be ok but just keep an eye on it like you would on a ridding horse saddle padand add to it if needed


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## MiniNHF (Apr 14, 2014)

Ive used horse saddle pads and the "no-slip" pads that came from my riding horse days for when I use a surcingle for training. I like using the no slip pad especially because it holds the surcingle in place very well and doesnt allow it to shift all directions.


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## poniesrule (Apr 14, 2014)

I will try to get some pictures this week, I have torn my "first draft" apart so I can add some more features. I drove with it this weekend, and it did slip a bit, so will be modifying it. I think once I get the basic "pattern" figured out I'll be able to whip up quite a few of them in no time at all!


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## Margo_C-T (Apr 14, 2014)

Just a comment or two....poniesrule, it should be noted that there is considerable WEIGHT atop a ridden horse(saddle, rider)...this isn't the case with a driven hors. In my observation, some degree of padding may be desirable when using a harness saddle w/o a 'tree', or lesser quality, not as well designed, harness, or under certain specific circumstances.Too, I've never seen anyone use wool felt as a padding for a harness saddle. Not saying no one does, but in many years of driving, I've not seen it. Harness saddles are not to be 'cinched down' nearly as snugly as a riding saddle, either...so the dynamics should be somewhat different.

Jenny....what size horse is the harness saddle you pictured,for? You are right; the 'spine relief' channel IS very narrow, and I'd be curious as to how you plan to alter it yourself. Does it have a 'tree'? Unless it is treeless, seems to me it would be hard to 'cinch down' to fit the contours of an average mini's barrel, as it looks to be for a VERY rotund animal...or a much larger one. How much padding it has won't remove issues of it simply being too 'big'...not criticizing, just commenting based on my years of driving.


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## Jenny (Apr 14, 2014)

Margo,

The saddle is for a "B" size mini. It was custom made for a more robust mare. My driving instructor is coming out soon to do a fitting on my 36" gelding to see how well it fits. I won't be altering it myself, my instructor's finding a place to fix it. I'm not exactly sure if it has a tree, it doesn't bend, though. I think it will be a little large on my gelding, but I'll see what my instructor thinks and I'm sure there will be several alterations that have to be made. I really appreciate your opinion!





Here's another picture:


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## Margo_C-T (Apr 17, 2014)

The tree in treed harness saddles is of a spring steel; rigid, but should have a bit of 'flex'; if it is treeless, even w/ the padding, it should flex much more freely.Because the 'channel' in that one is so narrow, it appears that it might not allow much flex, due to padding 'meeting' padding. The narrowness of that 'spine-relier' channel might make it a challenge to fit to a 'less robust' horse. Just throwing out thoughts based on the photos; best of luck in adjusting to fit!  !


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