Finding the perfect saddle pad seems to be ridiculously more difficult than it should be. The right shape, the right thickness, the right colors, the right features, the right materials… it seems like most of them fall short somewhere.
I’ve had a lot of baby pads over the years, and while I’ve had a lot of luck with the very thin BobbiGees baby pads for schooling, I want something a little more substantial, a little sturdier, and a little more beautiful for showing or lessons. Since I’ve been a long-time fan of my Ogilvy half pads I decided to give their baby pads a try, too.
I’ve had the dressage pad for quite a while, about a year and a half (with heavy use), and the jump pad for about 6 months. While they were originally purchased for showing, I find myself reaching for them pretty regularly. The construction is exactly what you’d expect from a brand like Ogilvy – very high quality. The materials are top notch, with a soft anti-fungal, quick dry bottom layer and a sturdy, stain-resistant polycotton top layer. They aren’t as thin as a traditional baby pad, but not as thick as a normal saddle pad, more like right in the middle. For me it’s the perfect thickness. It holds it’s shape, but it doesn’t add a lot of bulk under the saddle.
My favorite feature of the pads is the very high cut wither profile. Biggest pet peeve ever is a saddle pad that binds down on the withers, and these offer several inches of clearance. I’ve also managed to keep these pads pretty stain-free, considering how much I use them and the fact that they’re white. It’s definitely easier to keep them clean than my other white pads, they seem to not absorb so much dirt.
My only suggestion would be to add girth loops (you can do that!) when ordering. My dressage pad has them and it never moves an inch, but my jump pad can sometimes bunch up a little bit, especially on XC. Girth loops definitely would solve that problem, and make everything just a little more stable in general.
Considering the quality of materials and the fact that you can customize them (so many colors), the starting prices of $37 for the jump pad and $47 for the dressage pad seem more than fair. I’m seeing almost no wear on either of my pads at all, despite heavy use. I’ll definitely be purchasing more of these! Pretty sure I need the eventing profile pad. And a new color coordinating cover for my dressage half pad. And then a new dressage baby pad to match it. And, and, and…
breedrideevent.com 
ahem…i had no idea that was how low they started. Wow. I am a bit of a saddle pad collector (cough cough) but might need to try a couple of those. Especially if they wear well and wash well (I have several in my garage that did not wash well at all, cat loves to sleep on them LOL)….
and Henry is so stinking cute in all his photos. He should be a poster child!
When does he come home so the unicorn can come out to play??
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They’re pretty cheap for a custom pad! Henry comes home Sunday.
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Following your blog is so hard on my bank account 😂 I guess I know where my next saddle pads are coming from….haha. I’ve been eyeballing them for a while (I feel like someone else I follow wrote about them recently?) so clearly the consensus is that these are awesome.
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I really like them. They’re about the same thickness as the TuffRider pads but about a million times better materials and construction.
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she really is bad on our pocketbook isnt she?? 🙂
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Whenever my husband finds packages on the porch now he just sighs and asks me what new “must-have” item did I read about on someone’s blog? 😂😂😂 Hahaha
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I really love my Ogilvy saddle pads. If I could replace my entire collection with them, I would. While they’re thicker than I thought I would like, they’re not that much thicker and they don’t make my horse sweat underneath the pads anymore than my ultra-thin baby pads.
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i so so so want these, they hit exactly everything i want in a saddle pad. but i HAVE about 15 already and i do not need ANY MORE saddle pads.
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Sounds like someone needs to sell a dozen or so to justify a few new ones. 😉
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Yeah see these are the best so I just took everything else I own to consignment and then justified ordering more. 😀
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^ spoken like a true expert.
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I loff them. They are basically perfect, and I don’t use other baby pads anymore. I probably have enough, but I still want a couple more because options.
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Agreed on all counts.
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I love my Ogilvy baby pads. Over the years I’ve gotten to where I really don’t have many other pads. Bad for my Wallet… That said my pads all look great and have been holding up so well. I might have 2 show pads with my dolor details and a dressage half pad cover on order. Whoops.
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I need so many more.
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The only pad I use that isn’t an Ogilvy is my beloved EcoGold non-slip XC pad. Everything else is now an Ogilvy. I’ve got one of every pad (dressage, jump and eventing) in the same grey,white and black color scheme. And a couple of white ones. And I’ve got a new dressage one on order. Add in my two half pads and I think I have a problem.
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I’ve been meaning to get one for ages now, this post just reminded me! Thanks 😀
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Love love love ogilvy pads, but the jump baby pads are too small for my saddle 😦 I have the most forward flap devoucoux offers, along with a 17.5-18″ seat to accommodate my 5’10” legs… so if you have really forward flaps and a large-ish seat, be warned that the baby pads might be too small for your saddle! Otherwise, everything about their pads is perfect
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All the matchy awesomeness 😍😍
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I want to love the Ogivy baby pads so badly! Pretty well everyone in my barn uses them, and I definitely agree with all of your points regarding construction, quality and options. However, my horse is a giant elephant, and the baby pads look ridiculous on him. He is so wide across the back that the drop isn’t nearly long enough on the jumper baby pad. Whomp whomp. The only saddle pad I have found with the perfect shape and thickness that fits him perfectly is the Back On Track AP pad. I have 2 black, a white and a brown and that is all I use with a thinline trifecta over top. (Mr. McFatty Pants is too fat and at the max width for french saddles so my pretty Ogilvy sits unused). Even with the crap $CDN, the 2-packs of BoT pads from the US actually end up being reasonable, if you can nab them on one of the 20% off sales, they end up being ~$50CDN per pad.
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Have you tried the Ogilvy Profile pad?
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I am glad that they get a good review. I asked for one for my birthday, but my well-meaning but last minute family member ordered it the day before my birthday, not thinking that custom things take more than a day lol. That was a month ago, so I’m hoping it comes soon!
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I’m so glad you did a review on these! I’ve been wanting to go to customized Oglivy baby pad heaven, but I wasn’t sure exactly how awesome they were. Thanks for the tip on the loops.
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Best. Pads. Ever.
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So, I’m one of those people who likes a product and then sticks with it and has no idea what all the hype is about another product, becuase how could it be better than what I like and have?? (I’m super fun to be around..) I’ve been anti Olgivy half pads (duh) becuase they are pretty and functional but they aren’t Mattes and I like Mattes. BUT, I think these baby pads could be the first step for me!! At that price I could totally get one and slowly admit there are products out there better than what I have….
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I looooove mine. I have the xc profile pad, and it is also my favorite. You really can’t go wrong. I just need a dressage one and possibly a black jump baby pad. Or maybe two dressage pads. All the colors.
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I need another saddle pad like I need another blanket ha!! Buuuut I might have to try one 😜
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Please excuse the Antipodean ignorance, but why do you need a half pad? I would have guessed for different levels of muscling, but it kind of sounds like you use them all the time? I use a half pad and saddle pad for the first 6-8 weeks back in work, then just a saddle pad once he’s back to proper shape. So, I’m just confused as why one would be wanted longer term?.
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I love the Ogilvy half pads. I have one that I got two years ago that I swear it still looks brand new. The quality is top notch, and for the price, a custom pad like that really can’t be beat.
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I have been thinking about ordering the half pad, I just got the profile pad but I am kind of disappointed that it bunched up a bit after a few sets of jumps… I ordered a custom half pad from Etsy that matches Ogilvy, and it is crap memory foam that gives no extra cushion. Can you guys tell me about the thickness (after squishing down) of the half pad?
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I accidentally bought two profile pads and now need to buy the baby pads
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