This purchase didn't feel necessary until the CWD got repaneled, and until I got called out about marks on my panels by saddle fitters - turns out stacking saddle pads and bareback pads under my saddles on the racks wasn't enough to prevent the bars of our saddle racks from leaving imprints on my panels.
It's a bigger problem for the CWD than it is will be for the wool-flocked Patrick, since foam-flocked saddles can only be repaneled a few times over their lifetimes, although both will benefit from it. And as hard as this saddle search has been, I'm going to do whatever I can to protect that investment.
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| Dingo photobomb |
I first reached out to Saddle Mattress in June, and didn't hear back from them for months. I was about to give up on them when the owner replied and apologized for some health issues she'd been having that had prevented her from responding, and she was nothing but great to work with from that point forward. In fact, she even gave me a discount on my order in the end to apologize, which I didn't ask for.
There are two different kinds of Saddle Mattresses depending on what kind of saddle rack you have. My barn has freestanding Easy Ups from SStack, and Lisa recommended the Saddle Mattress Vertex for them. If you have any questions about what type of Saddle Mattress is right for your saddle rack, you can email Lisa with a picture of your saddle rack, and she'll help you out.
You can get anything you want on the front of it, from monograms to logos to stock options to nothing, if that's what you want. Amanda was kind enough to share the embroidery file she used to make my Welsh dragon saddle cover, and it turned out SO well! I love having a matched saddle cover/Saddle Mattress set.
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| My locker at CGP's - if I was here permanently, I would have gotten the other style of SaddleMattress, but this one works - it's just not as secure on this type of rack. |
I did briefly look into making one myself, but foam is expensive right now, y'all! Looking at materials and how long it would take my non-existent sewing skills to figure this out, it was absolutely worth it to buy the professionally made one. Before my discount, these came out to $109 each, fully customized.
So far, I've used them at the barn, on the shaped saddle rack in my locker at CGP's, and on my rolling show cart and been happy with it everywhere. Basically, wherever my saddles go, the Saddle Mattresses will go with them.
Bottom line: This is a pretty cheap insurance policy to protect my sizable investment in saddles, and it's not cheap to DIY it given the cost of foam right now. Two thumbs up for a great product and great customer service!
What: Saddle Mattress Vertex
Price: $109 as shown here
Where: www.saddlemattress.com
Disclaimer: I bought these with my own hard-earned money and am not being sponsored or compensated in any way for this review.
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