I love my 7 year old
Skito Pad. It is now on horse #3 and going strong. What do I like about it?
- It really cushions the horse's back and gives spinal clearance.
- It doesn't build heat like some of the neoprene, snythetic pads.
- I can gently machine was it and it comes out looking almost new.
- My Skito is 7 years old, and going strong. Since I purchased it I have dabbled in other pads, a few I liked, but guess what I always come back to? Yeah--the Skito.
- You can get a blended synthetic fleece bottom or a real wool bottom, both are great!
- You are going to spend a couple of hundred on it, or if you get lucky like I did, pick it up on ebay for $80.00
- If only...mine were in RED.
Sounds like a keeper. It's so hard to find good products like that.
ReplyDeleteI have the opportunity to get a Skito half pad for $40 or a full one with 2 sets of inserts for $190. Worth it? I've toyed with getting one before. Would the half pad work as well?
ReplyDeleteMaybe its a bit silly but your love affair with your Skito pad is actually what got me to look at them in the first place. Now I own one and its rapidly replaced the others I had. It truly is amazing.
ReplyDeleteI've never used the half pad. I have the barrel shaped pad, and then an oversized english shaped pad. Really love them both. I have thick pads on the barrel shaped, and thin on the other one. I've found they really make my saddle "stick" well, and make saddle fit kind of forgiving. My secondary pads are Toklat Cool Back pads, which I like but aren't as forgiving concerning pressure points under the saddle.
ReplyDeleteThe price of saddle pads has gone crazy over the past few years. A new Skito seven years ago was about $120...now about $220. Most of the pads I look at these days are over $200. If I pay that for a pad it better last!
Some of the high end pads just look to me like they would build heat. I was using a synthetic neoprene of Phebes over the winter and come spring and higher temps we starting getting heat bumps. Back to the Skito and problem solved. ~E.G.
amen. a few years ago i had to do a blog entry about my wonderful skito pad. my last one lasted as long as yours, and i have a new one now - same thing - cordura top, wool underside. no heat bumps for me with wool. wool is not the easiest thing to keep clean, but the horses' backs seem to prefer it.
ReplyDeletei love how you tell them your saddle and they custom make it for you - exactly to fit.
my only other pad is a toklat woolback (for wash days) and it actually got a hole in it under the withers!
i had no idea the pricing was shooting up like that.
i think their motto is "if your horse could talk, he'd ask for a skito" (?) but i always thought if i were a horse, i'd want one under my saddle.
Skito worth the price? In my mind, yes. Even if I had to save for one....or two.
ReplyDeleteJust had some body work done on Doc by April Battles and she is recommending that I get a Skito pad. She thinks some of his back dropping problems are either saddle fit or from using a non-slip pad which doesn't let the skin move freely under the saddle and therefore affects the muscles. I think his saddle fits pretty well, so I might look into the pad as a starting point. Especially since I'm hearing some good things about them. But I might also just try a thin wool pad under my existing pad.
ReplyDeleteShe is also the first to recommend a treeless saddle for Doc. I really like the looks of the Freeform saddles that she is recommending especially since they have cut back models, but I'll have to sell some tack before I can go down that road.