A while ago, before I found a saddle for Crispin I got myself the Christ bareback pad "Iberica" so I would have something to ride him in. And even though the feeling of riding in a sheepskin pad is great, at that point in our training it wasn't a perfect choice for us. It was a very slippery and unballanced combination and after a few month I was really, really glad when I finally got my real saddle.
I kept the Christ bareback pad, rode in it now and then and used it mainly as a longing surcingle. The main problem I had with it was, that the placement of the girth straps and in consequence the placement of the stirrups was a bad fit for Crispin. I could not use it with stirrups and since I still did not sit his trot "real" riding without them was no option.
Since I liked the idea of riding in a sheepskin bareback pad but just wasn't happy with the Christ I decided to sell the Christ Iberica and give a similar sheepskin pad from another company a shot.
The bareback pad I choose is from a company called "Grandeur", the modell is called "Barock".
So far I really, really like it! I only rode in it about 3-4 times WITH stirrups and so far, all is good. At this point there is only one thing I liked better on the Christ and that is the pads bottom side. The Christ was a lovely sheepskin while the Grandeur ist only wool fleece. I'd never use a saddle pad with the Christ but I feel like I have to use one with the Grandeur. No big deal really.
Comparing both, I'd describe the Christ as being closer to a bareback pad and the Grandeur being closer to a treeless saddle. The grandeur is much stiffer and therefore much more stable on horseback. The placement of the girth staps on the Grandeur is better for Crispin (thought not perfect) and there are no rings attached to the Pad to fix the stirrups on. You need to buy a velcro attachement for that. Grandeur offers one but I decided to go with another option: I bough a stirrup attachment from Barefoot to use with the Grandeur.
For those of you who don't remember, this is the Christ bareback pad "Iberica":
Here you can it without the seat. You can see how the D-rings for the stirrups are attached to the girth:
The lovely sheepskin bottom side:
And now the Grandeur "Barock":
You can see that, while the Christ is basically one piece, the Grandeur is divided into two seperate parts allowing for some real spinal clearence:
The not quite as lovely bottom side of the Grandeur:
The Grandeur without the seat and the stirrup attachment from Barefoot. You can see there are no rings attached to the Grandeur itself, just some velcro to which you can either attach D-rings or velcro stirrup leathers (Grandeur sells both):
The Grandeur has three pockets for extra padding, each filled with a different kind of padding material. One is on the bottom the other two under the seat:
Great comparison! :)
AntwortenLöschenI'm choosing between the Christ and the Grandeur pad and the Grandeur seemed better. After reading this I'm sure! :)
Hello Frida,
AntwortenLöschenI'm glad this is helpfull to you. :)
There are a few minor things I could add to this blog entry after riding in the Grandeur a little more.
If you have a wide horse the Grandeur will make it feel even wider.
And you can actually attach knee rolls to the Grandeur (the velcro kind)!
It probably depends on how good a rider you are and how ballanced your horse is but in our case, at the canter, Crispin and I are neither. I didn't feel very safe cantering him (esp. without stirrups). A little more support in the knee area would have been nice (the Grandeur basically has none). So, since my "real" saddle has velcro knee rolls I just gave it a try and attached them to the strips of velcro that hold the saddle flaps in place and it works!
Where can you get one for pretty cheep?
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