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Upcoming Shows

We'll be exhibiting at the following shows. Drop by and say hello, we're adding new products all the time.

Dates in 2011
Show / Event
Location
28th - 30th April
Sydney CDI 3*
SIEC
6th - 8th May
Weekend of World Cups CIC 3* -W
SIEC
21st - 22nd May
Eventing Equestriad Australia
Bicentennial Park, Camden

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NEWS / ARTICLES

Call for prices or go to : www.equine.net.au



A Master Saddler Reflects on Saddle Fit and ThinLine

Cordia Pearson
Society of Master Saddlers Qualified Saddle Fitter


ThinLine Pads are a gift to horses, riders and saddle fitters!  When ThinLine asked me to test their product, I did so with no preconceived notions.

For three weeks, I rode two of our Morgan stallions, both with correctly fitted saddles.  One day with the ThinLine, the next without.  Every time the ThinLine was on board, my boys’ gaits swung more, their backs were consistently up and my aids were more thoughts than actions.

These are some of the conditions you too should turn to ThinLine to solve:

Young horses:  With their growth so unpredictable, we protect a developing back while keeping the young horse’s saddle balanced with the Cotton Comfort and Sheepskin Comfort pads (using the appropriate shims.)   No more changing the flocking of the saddle every few months.  No more unbalanced saddles (low in front) driving the points into the growing horse’s back.  And it saves money!

Rehab horses:  here is one of my favorite 2008 rehab storys, an Eventing Thoroughbred.  When I first me Navarre, he was in a gorgeous saddle sadly two tree sizes too small.  He had severe muscle wastage under the saddle points and his back was very sore to palpation.  We got him fitted with the correct width of saddle and added the ThinLine Sheepskin Half Pad.  Two days later, he was at Trott Brook, our largest Event in MN.  He placed fifth in a large field with Sieren Peterson on board.  But even more gratifying, a month later when I rechecked him and his new saddle, Navarre’s back was not only healed, but turning into a gorgeous field of new muscle.

New riders or riders in the process of losing weight:  In both cases, with the use of the ThinLine pad, 95% of recoil is diverted from the horse’s back.  I try to get all my school horses outfitted with the 202 ThinLine pad for just this reason.

Riders with back problems:  The Ultra ThinLine offers the rider same recoil removing qualities as the ThinLine does for the horse.

Saddles on round horses:  Lateral stability is everything in the horse’s back growth and the rider’s security.  Even with appropriately shaped trees, give the round backed horses and ThinLine pad and girth and the saddle stops rolling.



THE CONTENDER II

Top Manufacturers Join to Develop the "Ultimate Saddle Pad"

Wellington, FL-Two of the leading manufacturers of equine back care products joined forces to develop what is now being touted as the "ultimate saddle pad." 

A joint effort of ThinLine® and Back on Track® has resulted in the Contender II Saddle Pad which is undeniably the most technically advanced saddle pad available in the world. The new saddle pad delivers therapeutic thermal heat from the  Back on Track fabric combined with the renowned shock absorbing properties made famous by ThinLine.The technologically advanced Contender II Saddle Pad from ThinLine and Back On Track is available for Dressage and Jumping.

Top jumper and dressage riders who tested the Contender II Saddle Pad were overwhelmed by the pad's performance. "I love the fit and stability that ThinLine brings to this pad," said former US Team rider, Betsy Steiner. "The rider's impact is diffused across the horse's back while the Back on Track fabric increases the blood flow and reduces inflammation during the ride. It is a powerful combination. I also notice that my horses supple more quickly and  they show improved freedom of movement in the back and shoulders with this perfect marriage of technology," she added.

Four-time Olympic jumper rider, Ann Kursinski also gave the saddle pad high praise. "The combination is simple and eliminates fitting challenges," said Kursinski, "Incorporating the Back on Track fabric with the ThinLine shock absorber in a single pad is better for horse and rider. The Back on Track fabric keeps my horses back soft and relaxed and the ThinLine pad is great for concussion," Kursinski added.  She went on to praise the pad's fit and stability on the horse and summed up it saying, "This pad allows my horses to use their backs properly and be more elastic because it makes the horses more comfortable."

Olympic medalist Michelle Gibson agrees, "I've started using this saddle pad on 95% of my horses. I like it because the ThinLine pad is thinner than a fleece pad, allowing you to be closer to the horse. Combined with the benefits of Back on Track, this saddle pad is excellent."

ThinLine is very well known for their lightweight shock absorbing saddle pads. The Ultra ThinLine is a popular item and the same technology is utilized in the Contender II saddle pad. Many top riders have ridden in the traditional Ultra ThinLine for years to absorb shock, distribute weight and stabilize the saddle by using a wonderful no-slip impact technology. The shock absorption is designed to help horses and riders reduce back pain.

In addition top riders in a number of disciplines depend on Back on Track products to maintain their horses in the best condition possible. Back on Track products are made from a one-of-a-kind fabric that blends ceramic powder into polyester threads. The result is the horse's body heat is reflected back in the form of a soothing thermal infrared ray that increases circulation. For horses, Back on Track manufactures a number of products including stable blankets, hock boots, saddle pads, and leg wraps. Each product has the ability to help reduce muscle soreness, inflammation, and stiffness. Back on Track products are recommended for both the treatment and prevention of stress related injuries.

Elaine Lockhead, President of ThinLine, has been using a ThinLine pad over her Back on Track saddle pad for sometime with her own horses. That's what inspired her to develop the Contender II , which combines these two products in one pad. Lockhead commented, "With both products in place, my horses have the best of everything I can provide them with. Now, I can have a single pad where my ThinLine is always in the right place on my favorite Back on Track pad. In conjunction, the two products provide the perfect amount of heat, stability and shock absorbsion under the saddle. The ThinLine will ventilate the excess heat trapped by the saddle and leave only the best therapeutic warming."

"Word has spread quickly and the demand for the Contender II  pad in Europe has been exciting," says Lockhead. " We are even offering a reduced international shipping fee on this pad, so more horses and riders can take advantage of all this pad has to offer," she added.


For riders who want to put this technologically advanced pad to the test for both themselves and their horses, the Contender II  pad can be found here or online at www.backontrack.net.au

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This article is from : InfoHorse.com

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Saddle Pad Choice, The Saddle Pad Dilemma

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The consumer is inundated with complicated and often opposing messages. Riders try foam, neoprene, air, wool and synthetic fibers. Most riders have a barn full of pads, meaning they have not found the real McCoy by Thinline. Riders purchase saddle pads to attempt to solve several problems at once: moisture control (breath ability), saddle fit, and most importantly shock absorption resulting in a comfortable ride for both horse and rider.

Unfortunately saddle pad sales are made in a static environment. The sales information in the store often has little to nothing to do with what will actually happens when you are in motion.

Take for instance a runner. He wants to make contact with the track with just enough shock absorption to protect his joints and tendons but with not enough flex to cause him to sink into the footing or provide excessive rebound so he winds up higher in the air or feeling he is stuck in the mud instead of receiving forward propulsion that allows him even productive steps. Imagine the runner running on a track and instead of hurdles he has in front of him a series of saddle pads. First the memory foam. His weight takes a moment to compress the foam then he bottoms out onto the hard surface. Next a denser foam, he springs onto it and it in turn springs him into the air reducing his traction and balance. Next he steps on an air filled product where he feels the track not at all but is sent bounding up again loosing his footing and balance.

Now place these products in his shoes. Air works well for basketball players, they are trying to be air born. We as riders are trying to do the opposite; stay connected to our horses.

Now imagine adding 2 inches of foam to the bottom of your running shoes. The foam will give and pitch with every step. The runners’ foot will roll front, back and left, right giving him such an unstable feel he will most likely give up running in the search for safety. Unknowingly, this is what we do to our horses as we add thick layers of padding under our saddles. We create what is defined as pitch and yaw.

Now try a marathon running insole. It is designed for athletes in motion. It is thin, breathable and absorbs impact rapidly without any cush. It keeps the runners foot stable and he knows the feel of the next step will be just like the last. He can move forward with strength and confidence.

thinpaddressage.jpgNow consider saddle fit.  Just like shoe fit you need to order a shoe size large enough to accommodate an insole. The insole should distribute shock weight and heat. It should be no slip to eliminate blistering or chafing. It should relive pressure or high impact points. A very few insoles meet these requirements and only one saddle pad makes its way from the runner to the horse.

About a decade ago a worker in a shoe insole company took home a piece of marathon running material and gave it to his wife, a rider. The shoe insole company had developed a very low profile, breathable, shock absorbing, anti-fungal and anti-microbial insole. Oddly enough, the same features of an insole are also the same features sought by riders in a saddle pad.


In 2005 Elaine Lockhead, discovered a piece of ThinLine in a barn. Riding a Lipizzaner and fighting constant saddle slippage she tried it. Amazingly the saddle never budged, her horse grew daily in his back, worked more happily and those historically difficult trots were now possible to sit.  She became so committed to the product she sold her horses and put everything into ThinLine. thinpadjump.jpgDozens of Olympic and international riders agreed. Everywhere we sent the product, whether to Jumpers, Endurance Riders, Western Riders, Dressage, Polo… .every imaginable discipline they all replied with the same result: Our horses are happier, more comfortable and our riders sit better. All ThinLine endorsements are unpaid and the chat room logs read like advertisements.
In 2005 ThinLine began designing new products. The shoe insole material answered 90% of the desires of the equestrian, except that it did not whick moisture so ThinLine, always ridden over another thin pad, was coupled with cotton, sheepskin, and felt. Now there is a saddle pad that finally does what riders have been seeking for decades.

It solves every saddle pad requirement regardless of breed or discipline and has No drawbacks. thinpadwest.jpgWe are all searching for the same thing: a pad that augments saddle fit: (ThinLine is endorsed and vended by over 80% of the UK master saddlers), A Pad that breathes (ThinLine is ridden by the top endurance riders passing countless vet checks), a pad that STABALIZES the rider position: something no other product has ever achieved and is there for endorsed by spinal surgeons for riders with sore backs and endorsed by riding programs across the globe for helping riders to sit more quietly giving their horses the trust and confidence to work with their backs up. A pad that absorbs more shock than any other product on the market: it absorbs so much shock and equally distributes so much weight it is vended and endorsed by Veterinarians, equine chiropractors and equine massage therapists for horses with sore or sensitive backs. Even with unpaid endorsements from most of the Olympic show jumping and dressage teams the real testament to the product is the way it has remained on the market for more than a decade just by riders telling riders.

At the end of the day we are all just looking for one thing: a saddle pad that both the horse and rider can feel creates a great difference in comfort and contact. A saddle pads that maximizes the communication between us and them ands increases the comfort and confidence of both horse and rider.
Finally that product is here. Join the revolution!

ThinLine Australia
T/A Equine Laser Therapy & Acupuncture
20 Edward Street
CAMDEN NSW 2570
+61 2 4655 2490
+61 407 292 559