JENT Comfort Pads

COMING SOON…

JENT Comfort Pads™ provide practical solutions to common difficulties riders and saddle fitters encounter when saddle fitting horses. They have been designed by Dianne Jenkins founder of JENT® in collaboration with riders, trainers, saddle fitters and equine therapists in Australia and USA. The Comfort pad system design leaves the spine free from pressure. It supports the weight bearing areas of the horse’s back and allows for changing musculature as horses strengthen and develop.

 

JENT Comfort Pads™ provide therapeutic assistance as well as comfort for both horse and rider:

• Even up asymmetrically shaped horses and provide a comfortable and supportive base for a straight well-fitting saddle and rider
• Provide a supportive and flexible interface between the saddle and horse for cold backed horses and those with muscle atrophy or chronic back issues
• Learners – Excellent for riding schools where horses have many different riders and riders are still learning to maintain a balanced seat
• Dressage – the foam warms and expands with the back muscles allowing optimal lateral bending, improving the horse’s confidence to lift and use its back and promoting easier collection
• Eventing and Show-jumping – the pad as an interface assists in distributing pressure absorbing sudden jarring and rider impact without effecting performance
• Endurance racing and trail riding –cushions constant pressure on the horse’s back over long periods of time and assists the rider’s backaches, stiffness, numbness, aches and cramping during extended periods in the saddle.
• Racing – alleviate back pain and strain in training. The specially designed shim shapes reduce pinching of the wither spinous processes and provide improved jockey balance. Horses lift their shoulders and stretch the back and neck more freely which increases stride length.
• Polo, polocrosse, campdrafting and mounted games – the JENT Comfort Pad™ simultaneously provides durability and comfort with a high performance capability for long-lasting support and impact/shock absorption during sudden changes of speed and direction.
• Western riding – The JENT Comfort Pad™ provides pressure relief from the restrictive and less flexible trees of the western saddle.

 

JENT Comfort pad™ Components

Covers

Pad covers are our own design, made in Australia from white ripstop polyester cotton (material manufactured in Australia) to ensure quality standards. They are smart enough to show in and very hardwearing for home use.  The covers are available in 3 shapes at present, full size dressage wide panel, a more forward cut for all-purpose and jumping saddles with a narrower panel also in full size, and a general purpose pony size.

The covers are well shaped to stay lifted in front with Velcro fastening along the centre seam allowing easy access to place and change foams inside. The covers have strong stitching and cotton webbing along the centre underside to ensure they sit up into the channel space.

Foam inserts can be placed in any position required without the risk of slipping. Comfort pad covers are machine washable.

 

Foam inserts

The foam used in JENT Comfort Pads™ is unique. We take pride in recommending this foam for equine activities. After 5 years of testing most types of foam on the international market this one stands out simply as the best for its excellent impact absorption capabilities, weight/pressure redistributing properties, durability and comfort for both horse and rider. The product is made in the USA and is a viscoelastic polyurethane (memory) open cell foam. It is resizable, versatile, easy to position and designed to absorb tremendous amounts of impact shock and vibrational energy. It is used and recommended by NASA, AAI (American Aviation Inc) & AFE (Airplane Flight Equipment UK) and has many applications outside the equine industry such as ejection seating, equine prosthetics, wheelchairs, motor bike and miners seating. (The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) performed a study to find a cushion material that would minimize disturbing impacts and vibrations on mining seats. This foam was nominated above all others) It is the same foam that is used in Skito products.

The choice of foam base pads and shims is critical to provide a supportive base for saddle and rider. The correct selection will comfortably conform to the individual horse’s contours without causing a reduction of room in the gullet and channel of the saddle.

The foam used in JENT Compad Pad™ is available in Medium & Firm densities providing a range of support for any body weight or special weight-distribution need:

• Medium provides comfort and support for a wide range of body weights up to 100kg.
• Firm supports rider weights over 100kgs and when horses have little top line and an exposed spine.

JENT Comfort Pad™ base foams and shims are available in 2 thicknesses:

• .25”/ ¼ ” – suitable bases for light weight riders and horses that horses carrying a lot of condition. This depth is very popular when horses are building up to more even symmetry yet there is still a necessity to provide saddle and rider support
• .25”/ ½ ” – the most popular and effective thickness for horse and rider comfort and for cold backed horses. Wither shims in this thickness are ideal to balance saddles when horses are young (lower in front than behind), underdeveloped in the wither pockets or the saddle sits down at the back.

Base Foams are packaged in pairs and are the shape of the cover to fit easily inside via the velcro opening along the spine. Bases are easy to place with a stamped outer side and dots to denote the lower edge. The foams are tapered on the upper and front edges to prevent excess bulk and pressure ridges.

Foam Shims are packaged in pairs and provide saddle balance and also even up asymmetry in the horse’s musculature.

Wither Shims are placed inside the front sides of a cover if a saddle sits down at the front when the girth is tightened and space can be seen under the rear of the panels. Care must be taken to place the shims in the wither pockets, not across the shoulders as this would make the gullet plate narrower.

Long wither shims are recommended to lift the front and the waist of a saddle when a young horse is still growing or for temporary use when a saddle is down at the front.

Rear Shims are placed in the rear end of the cover when a saddle sits down at the very back or the tree of the saddle is more of a U shape than the horse’s back.  *Note – Attention must be paid to first ensure the gullet at the front of the saddle is wide enough for the contours of the horse’s scapulae and lateral muscles either side of the wither. (To be avoided – A saddle too narrow at the front will often sit down at the back. Raising the back does NOT solve this problem.  If rear shims are used to raise the back of the saddle in this case, the gullet plate will dig in even more creating excruciating pressure at the front of the saddle)

Foam Shims are packaged in pairs and provide saddle balance and also even up asymmetry in the horse’s musculature.

In cold temperatures, the foams become slightly firmer whilst retaining flexibility.  The pads will feel stiffer to begin with and 5 mins on the warmth of a horse’s back will soften and allow contouring. In hot temperatures, they soften slightly and still retain good resilience and strength.

 

Use & Care

To maintain the many years life expectancy of a JENT Comfort Pad™:

1. Place your pad between the saddle and a clean saddle blanket
2. Just before tightening the girth, ensure the saddle is the right position, then lift the saddle blanket and the JENT Comfort Pad™ up into the gullet of the saddle to prevent the horse’s natural movement causing it to slip down tightly
3. Once tacked up allow 3-5 minutes or longer in cold weather before snugging the girth
4. Check the girth tension again after warming up exercise, prior to extended activity as the foam compresses when you sit on it!
5. Store the pad over or separate from the saddle to enhance drying and to preserve tensegrity and life of the foam. The memory foam will then repeatedly return to its natural shape
6. Avoid leaving out in the sun
7. Absorbed horse sweat can shorten the life of the foam. As the JENT comfort pad is placed over a saddle blanket, wash foams as below more frequently if the horse sweats a lot
8. Washing – covers are machine washable, foams are not
9. Remove foams from the cover and secure the velcro strips before washing in cold or warm water
10. Covers can be dried on the line
11. Periodically rinse foams in a bath tub or trough in a solution of 1 cup of vinegar to 3 gal/11 ltrs of water solution. This will remove body salts absorbed from horses sweat and maintain the integrity of the foam for many years.
12. Press foams flat and soak for 15 mins. Walking on them in a bath tub works well! Rinse in fresh water
13. Lay foams between 2 towels and press water out. Place on a flat surface to air dry out of direct sunlight. DO NOT WRING

 

Testimonials

My horse is ‘hot’ and tightens up into trot forcing me to collect him to maintain pace and control. He immediately changed on introducing the JENT Comfort Pad™ preferring a longer rein, lowered his head in the transition and I felt the softness of swing through his lifting back. Without the pad he reverts back to tension.
James R

My horse is older and cannot be worked hard so is not well muscled over the top line. I decided to try a JENT Comfort Pad™ to just provide him with a nice comfortable saddle fit. The horse decided on the benefits of the pad. He lets me know it’s now not negotiable to ride without it!
Natalie F

We operate a riding school with many beginner students. In order to protect our horse’s backs and ensure we have optimum saddle fit, we use JENT Comfort Pads™. Our horses well and truly let us know that they are not happy without them.
Eleatha Beare JENT1                                                                                      Sterling Estate Equestrian Centre WA

As a JENT and horse owner I prefer and recommend the JENT Comfort Pad™ for my horse and my client’s horses because of its superior cushioning and shock absorbing abilities and it’s dynamic ability to move with the horse’s musculature. Both the covers and the foam pads are hand crafted with attention to detail and designed to fit the curvature and anatomy of the horse for maximum comfort and durability.

Lelia Canter, LMBT, EBW, JENT1
Equestrian Program Supervisor
Biltmore Estate Equestrian Center, Asheville, NC.