Sheepskin Numnahs

They are a miracle! I picked up a Christ Horsedream half-lined general purpose saddle pad today at Equito in Bratislava. It was 114 euro. I have read all the reviews of sheepskin pads on the Hunters forums (COTH and Horse and Hound) and had read about the benefits. But no-one can prepare you for the shock of pulling a saddle and numnah from a sweaty horse and seeing......nothing. not dampness, just cool, perfectly dry, hair. not even hot. not even warm. We were AMAZED. Natural materials, as I always say, are best.

I will say, however, that this bare channel on some pads is weird to me. It is obvious hat the bare spot will touch the horses back when the saddle is compressed with your weight. We tested it today and we couldn't get a finger in between Sementa's back and the saddle. I got the numnah without the so-called  "spine relief" channel. It is said to promote air flow and to keep weight off the spine so I was very tempted. But it seemed obvious that the bare spot, and three brands I saw had seams running along that channel, where a length of twill imprinted with the company name was sewn, would grind along the horse's spine during riding. I had wanted a LeMieux numnah, after reading forums, but the Christ brand was the only one I found without this bare spot. Mattes had it also. Does anyone else have expereince with these channels?