How to make felted wool saddle pads

Three years ago I ordered three yards of 60″ wide 1/2 inch felted wool (“eco-felt”) from The Felt Company. The bad news is that wool is not cheap. The good news is that 3 yds of 60″ wide wool makes a lot of saddle pads. You can’t order two yards, sadly, and I thought one wouldn’t be enough. Now that I know how to make felted wool saddle pads, I realize that one yard is enough for 2-3 pads.

Above: One of my early attempts was made for a Reactor Panel saddle. You can see how I tried to bring it down along the rigging. That worked. What didn’t work with this one was the slit I cut along the center. It warped. You could do this, with some reinforcement of the wool.

Why make my own pads?

Simple–I wanted not-too-thick felted wool precisely cut to fit my saddles! Of course, it’s easier said than done, and I made several not-so-great pads before I got the knack of it. This last pad was much easier.

I hadn’t made a pad in almost two years, because I had left my wool in storage. (It does take up quite a bit of room.) But River’s skin had gotten hot under the saddle at the Treasure of the Sierra Madre ride, and I wanted a wool pad. I had several homemade ones and many more bought ones, but many were getting old and I wanted something contoured to fit my saddle. (In fact, like most riders, I have many purchased pads, most of which cost more than 3 yards of felted wool! See below for a list of the pads I’ve bought).

I’m hardly an expert, and my pads are pretty basic, but I thought I’d share how I do it!

Jump to:

Choosing the wool
Other materials and tools
Making the pad

Above: My first attempt at a felted wool saddle pad was for the old Abetta Serenity I had. This is a simple design that I’ve used as a basic model. (This picture was actually taken for my Riding Tights blog post.)

Choosing the wool

When I set out to maked felted wool pads nearly four years ago, I spent hours looking for the right wool. I’ll save you time by telling you there is really only one option to order online: The Felt Company. They have the only decent collection of thick felted wool that I could find online. (They are the online presence of the industrial felt company, Sutherland Felt.) Yes, you can find some things on Etsy. And I’d imagine that if you went down to fabric stores near the docks in LA you might find more options…

But I couldn’t find anything better than the Felt Company. Please let me know if you’ve got another option.

What type of felted wool?

The Felt Company offers synthetic felted materials as well as pure wool felt. I want pure wool for saddle pads. There are two options, SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) pressed wool felt (products classified according to SAE standards) and eco-felt. The SAE products are mechanically pressed and heated, making them more durable and resistant to losing their shape. The lower (most expensive). The lower numbers, more “machinable” and viabration, etc resistant, are more expensive than eco-felt. The higher numbers are cheaper per yard, but you have to buy at least 3 yards.

Eco-felt is unprocessed, other than being needle-punched and prssed to the desired thickness. I chose eco-felt.

How thick?

I chose 1/2″ thickness three years ago because I had several thick wool pads, and I wanted thinner ones. If the saddle fits correctly, you don’t need or want an inch of wool in between it and your horse. However, money-wise it doesn’t make much difference. Right now a yard of 1/2″ felted wool costs $126.31, vs. $130.65 for 3/4″ and $138.55 for 1″. (For reasons beyond my understanding, thickness of less than 1/2″ costs more…) I am going to order a yard of 3/4″ soon, so I have some options.

Above: Heavy-duty angled scissors, a permanent marker, and the wool with pattern traced.

Other materials and tools

To make a pad, you’ll need to determine size and shape, mark that on the wool, and cut it. It’s easier said than done, but there are things that can make it much easier.

Tools

Scissors

Some people might think I am crazy, but I actually see the need for three types of scissors to complete this project. You could get by with two, if you aren’t picky about using your scissors for more than one purpose. (Bad idea.)

Heavy duty scissors

The most important took you need to make felted wool saddle pads is a pair of heavy-duty angled scissors. I bought these ones to cut rope, and they have proved to be one of the most useful tools I own. I made my first few felted wool pads using a utility knife. We have good utility knives… but they are terrible for cutting wool. You need to find something you don’t mind slicing up to put beneath the wool, and wool wears the blades out. The scissors make cutting effortless and precise.

Fabric scissors

My mom told me when I learned to sew years ago that you should always have one good pair of scissors dedicated to cutting fabric. I have some expensive ones from my sewing days, but these Singers are fine. It really is MUCH easier to be precise cutting fabric when you have good scissors, but for this job you can probably get away with any general purpose scissor.

Paper scissors

You’ll need general purpose scissors to cut patterns out of paper.

Markers

You’d also need something to mark the wool and any patterns you make with other material. Chalk works for the wool, if you want to remove it. Any sort of marking pen also works. Permanent markers tend to show better, but there’s the permanent part. I like to have lines down the middle so I can line the pad up in the center of the horse and saddle, so I use permanent Sharpies.

Straight edge

A yard stick is another must-have. Any straight edge will work to draw a line down the center, but I like to be able to measure the pad also.

Materials

You will need to have pattern for your pad that you will trace onto the wool. If you have an existing pad, that can help. I used white cotton muslin I had lying around from an aborted curtain project to make patterns. Unbleached is probably cheaper. You can also just use old sheets. Don’t use anything that stretches. Whatever you use, it needs to be ironed flat and hold its shape.

You’ll also want some thick paper (packing or craft) to make the pattern that you will use to trace onto the felted wool. You can buy a big roll (needs to be wide enough, at least 30″). Something like this.

Making the pad

I’ve made five pads so far. The first two were definitely “learners.” They are still usable, just not ideal for long distances, and not fitted well to a specific saddle. One probably needs refining to work well: it’s got a slot down the middle. With some reinforcing, it would probably be a good thing. Here I will describe my process for making a simple pad, with illustrations from the last pad I made.

Note that I had not made a pad for a couple of years. I made this one for my new(ish) McCall saddle. It’s a Western saddle, that I had custom-made for endurance.

There are three key elements to my felted wool saddle pad making process. First, work by halves. Create one side of your pattern or pad, fold it over, trace the second half based on the first. This makes symmetry more attainable. Second, always pay attention to the grain. Felted wool doesn’t have a true grain, because it’s pressed, not woven. It does have a better way to cut though. If you look closely, you can see marks indicating the way it’s been pressed and rolled (if you have a roll). Make sure that any marks reflecting a “long” side run parallel to the center of the saddle/back. You will want to fold along them. Third, cut generously. You cannot glue the wool back together, but you can cut more. I cut a pad that is on the large side, ride with it once, then trace and cut again if needed.

1. Creating the pattern

You can create a pattern for your new pad based on a known model (old pad) or with your horse, the saddle, and a piece of fabric.

Based on saddle pad that’s the right size and shape

If you have an existing pad that you love and want to use as a model, great. The best way is to trace half of it, if it folds neatly. If not, spread it as flat as you can on your paper. Trace the entire thing, cut it out, then fold it in half along the center lengthwise (along the center of the back/saddle). If the halves are not the same, figure out which is best.

You can skip and paper and trace directly on the wool if you want. See Step 2.

Using your horse and saddle

Cut out a large square of fabric; make sure you cut it so that the grain will align with the center of the horse’s back. (The best way is to make the selvedge one side). and lay it on the horse beneath the saddle. Place the saddle on top, and make sure the fabric is lying flat. Once you have it adjusted, trace the outline of your future pad on it. Leave at least an inch of margin.

Take the fabric and fold it over lengthwise. Make sure that the center follows the grain precisely. If the two halves are not equal (and they probably won’t be), decide which is best while you still have the horse and saddle handy.

Next, use the fabric to trace the pattern on paper. (You can skip this step and trace it directly on the wool, but that’s trickier. You would want to pin it to the wool.) Again, do it by halves. Trace, then cut, the half-pad pattern. That’s really all you need, but if you want a whole pattern, cut the half along the edges, fold it back over the paper, trace it, and cut the second half.

2. Tracing and cutting the wool

Above: Left/ top: I start by tracing and cutting half a pad. This time I used an old felted wool pad that I made several years ago. Right/bottom: Either before or after you cut out half he pad, use a straight edge to mark the middle. Notice how I am trying to follow what passed for “grain” in wool. This helps fold properly to mark the second half, and is useful for centering the saddle on the pad.

Start by tracing half a pad

Place the halved paper pattern (or old saddle pad, folded over) on the wool. Make sure the center lines up with your best guess at the “long side” (faux grain) of the wool. If your wool has been stored in a roll, it’s going to want to fold with the curve (opposite of woven fabric that has the grain in line with the selvedge).

Trace the half-pad. Use your prefrontal cortex. You will want to cut out this half (the edge should be near the edge of the piece of wool), fold it over uncut wool, trace it, and cut the second half (make sure you can do this without running out of wool).

Draw a line down what will be the center of the pad. I use a yard stick. This will serve as your guide when you fold it over. I also use it to line up the pad under my saddle.

You can do this after cutting the half pad (next step) if you want. That’s what I did this time. Either way works, just make sure you mark the center.

Cut the half pad. Carefully cut out the traced half. This is when you really want those heavy duty angled scissors.

Fold the cut out half pad over and trace the other side

The only thing to be careful of is folding very precisely along the midline. That’s why I use a straightedge and mark it.

Above: Left/top: I fold the cut first half of the felted wool pad over to trace the second half. Right/bottom: the resulting outline of the rest of the pad.

Cut out the entire pad

No secrets here, just don’t mess up! Thick felted wool costs too much 😉

Above: The rough draft pad is cut! (I’m standing on it.) Now I need to try it on under the saddle to finesse the outline.

3. Making final adjustments

Next you will want to try it on under the saddle. Make sure you line it up precisely. Ensure that it covers where the rigging lies without leaving possible rubbing places.

Above: Trying my latest felted wool saddle pad on River. I knew I would want to trim it in back of the cinch, but it looked good enough for trial run.

Unless you find a glaring miscalculation (e.g., you made it too small or crooked), go for a ride. Ride long enough that the pad settles into the horse and saddle, and you can see the marks from the rigging. (i.e., enough to break a sweat.)

Above: Trial ride with the newly cut saddle pad. Notice that I can use the center line to make sure the pad is aligned correctly. In the midle picture, I am pulling the pad up under the fork. Felted wool will stretch nicely to create air over the withers.

After the ride, while the saddle is still on, I use a marker to outline any further cuts I want to make (on one side). I forgot to take a picture of this step! If it’s perfect as is, you can stop here.

A few final cuts

If you want to tweak the pad further, cut along your new outline. This should be on a single side. Then fold the pad over (again, taking care to fold down the center line). Use the new cut to trace the outline on the other side.

Above: After tracing the modified line on the horse, I cut it, then fold the pad to outline the other side.

Once you cut the final edge, you have your pad! Unless of course you put it on the horse and decide to tweak it further.

The final product

Of course, if I had nore time and skill, I would add leather trim to the felted wool. That would keep it from getting mishapen under the rigging. I’d love to see someone else do a more professionally presented pad! But I’m more likely to try SAE wool first. It should hold its shape better. But it’s also more expensive and thus theoretically more worth spending the time to protect with trim.

I used this pad for our aborted Cache Creek Ridge ride. Given that River was lame at 25 miles, and we haven’t yet determined the source of her lameness, it is possible that the pad contributed. I received a lot of great feedback about that ride, and many suggested it could be a saddle issue. I don’t think the saddle or pad are causing issues, but several people suggested that I need to tighten my cinch. Given that I have a habit of leaving it on the loose side, and it was quite loose that day, I find this more likely. I plan to pay attention to this in the future!

Above: The latest of my felted wool saddle pads on River last week. You can see how my final adjustments make for less pad (and less heat). The second picture clearly shows how thin the 1/2″ wool is. I’m planning to get 3/4″ next, although it might be too much for this saddle.

Above: Another of my homemade fellted wool saddle pads that I use on Fantazia with the Stonewall saddle. You can tell how overtime the wool has stretched under the pommel. I make sure to pull it up every time I ride until it takes form.

A brief overview of the purchased pads in my tackroom

Above: I bought this Toklat Coolback to use with my old Western saddle. I wanted a fuzzy pad because that saddle lacks a back cinch and was moving around. The fuzzy stopped the friction. It also works fine with the McCall saddle, as long as it’s cold. In the heat, it gets too hot. It doesn’t help that it’s too big.

Above: A Skito pad under my Zaldi saddle. I bought it years ago and I love it for most things. It’s so used now though that I would need a new one for a long ride.

Above: You can barely see it here (I don’t have any good pictures, but I used this inexpensive Riding Warehouse felt pad to death (and then squirrels ate it), but it is a bit thicker than I want (3/4″) and not contoured. The picture is of Jazz at the Jackass Mail Run.

Above: If you can see it under the tack… I really want a smaller one of these Classic Equine Clinton Anderson pads, with a leather bottom. My boyfriend has several and he gave me one, but it’s simply too big. His have leather bottoms, which means you can rinse off the sweat. Super handy, but they don’t make them that way any more. And they don’t seem to make short ones.

I bought this Diamond wool shimmed pad for riding Fantazia with the McCall saddle. She needs a shim behind the withers. I haven’t used it yet. It’s far thick for River, even if I take the shims out.