About Fleeceworks half-pads
Fleeceworks sheepskin
The core of Fleeceworks' success is their use of Australian Merino sheepskin, taken from older, wool producing sheep. Unlike lambskin, whose wool and hides are very thick and tend to be coarser, the sheepskins they select from older sheep are dense, strong and very soft. Fleeceworks carefully selects its pelts for density, softness, and flexibility of the hide. This allows them to shear the wool to about 1” in length, ideal to protect against concussion and pressure points while providing a secure fit and performance contact with the saddle.
As well as a their choice of sheepskin, Fleeceworks also takes great care in the way the pelts are processed: harsh chemicals are avoided to ensure the fleece stays soft and fluffy, the natural oils that repel dirt are retained, and the sheepskin provides a long working life.
Unlike many producers of sheepskin pads, Fleeceworks does NOT sew together several smaller pieces of sheepskin to make a piece big enough for the pad - whole pelts are used for every section of the pad. While more expensive, this approach avoids pressure points and rubbing at the seams.
Therawool™
Having built a reputation for top-quality sheepskin products, Fleeceworks launched their wool range only after long development and testing enabled them to produce an equally high-quality wool product. Therawool™ takes equally soft wool fibres and weaves them on to a breathable poly-acrylic backing. Because a new backing has been substituted for the original hide, Therawool™ pads are practical to wash regularly, as well as lower in cost than sheepskin products.
Therawool™ pads will not felt up after washing as with other wool pads currently on the market. Soft and plush after washing, at most a quick brushing is needed to return the pad to its original appearance.
What makes them special
The special qualities of Fleeceworks sheepskin and Therawool™ combine with exclusive innovations to set Fleeceworks pads apart:
- Longevity: We’re constantly amazed by how readily customers have come to accept a sheepskin or wool pad lasting no more than a season or two, based on experience with other brands. Fleeceworks pads will give many years of use if treated correctly (see our Fleeceworks Product Care guide)
- Breathability: A key requirement for any saddle pad is its ability to breathe and draw heat away from the horse’s back. If excess heat can’t be pulled away, or gets blocked by non-breathable materials (such as gel, some no-slip pads, rubber backed grip pads and some closed-cell foam), this heat will radiate back into the already overheated muscle. Muscle wasting from trapped heat can begin within 20 minutes. Fleeceworks pads, with their relatively short fleece and breathable quilting, excel in this. Moreover the wool fibres are hydrophilic, absorbing up to 30% of their weight in moisture
- FXK technology: On FXK pads an innovative cross-elastic strip (elastic that stretches vertically rather than horizontally) is built into the sides of the pad, which stretches with the horse’s shoulder movement and reduces downward pressure on the wither. This rotational movement can pull a normal pad down so that with each stride it becomes quite taut over the withers and spine
- Perfect Balance technology: On Perfect Balance pads, internal pockets are built into the pad that allow the insertion of foam risers at the font or back of the pad to deal with saddle balance problems, or full-length inserts that can, for example, help with very sway-backed horses
The range
Fleeceworks half-pad range covers all disciplines, comes in classic or Perfect Balance shimmable versions, and in merino sheepskin or Therawool. A range of Perfect Balance pad inserts is also available.
Beyond its half-pads, Fleeceworks offers a very wide range of other products made from their superb merino sheepskin, plus an excellent range of saddlecloths.
See our full Fleeceworks range here
See Fleeceworks pads reviews here (sheepskin pads) and here (Therawool pads)