Your Saddle Panels: An Often Overlooked Cause of Back Soreness and Lameness. Learn How to Check Your Saddle Panels Out

Did you know you can prevent your saddle panels from causing back soreness and lameness?  Click here to watch our video to learn how.

There are many ways a saddle can cause back soreness and lameness for both the horse and the rider in addition to poor fit.  One often overlooked cause are saddle panels that need reflocking or refoaming.

What is a Saddle Panel and Where is it?
In an English saddle, the panels are the part of the saddle that is underneath the seat and knee block area.  They keep the tree (the "frame" of the saddle) off your horse's back and help absorb concussion.  If you flip your saddle over, the panels are the part of the saddle that have "stuffing" it them.  The "stuffing" can be natural or synthetic wool flocking or foam, or in a small number of saddles, a combination of both.  I have also seen unscrupulous saddle makers put matches, old carpet fibers and even tampons inside the panels!

The panels are light brown in this picture.

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Click here to watch our short video tutorial. The video walks you through how to check your saddle panels to see if they are in need of reflocking or refoaming.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! 

Check out our saddle reflocking page for more information about saddle reflocking and refoaming.

Does your saddle need to reflocked or refoamed?  Tell us what you discovered when you checked out your saddle.  Share your saddle reflocking stories!