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Dixie Midnight Pads

JimHess
Silver Member

Nov 5, 2005, 12:20 AM

Post #1 of 12 (889 views)
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Dixie Midnight Pads	Can't Post

Has anyone out there had any experiance with Dixie Midnight saddle pads? Our riding buddy, who winters down around the Ocala horse country area of Florida, came home with a strange looking pad one year. It looked like an over-grown Brillo pad. He uses it all the time and thinks it's great. My wife got me one and I couldn't get past the strange look and feel of it. Now I've heard other people talking about them and am thinking of giving it a try. Apparantly it gives good air flow over the horse's back and keeps the saddle pad dry and clean. Any thoughts, pro or con?

-Jim

justmartha
Member

Nov 7, 2005, 10:42 AM

Post #2 of 12 (864 views)
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Re: [JimHess] Dixie Midnight Pads [In reply to]	Can't Post

Jim,

I have a friend who is a serious endurance rider, and she has one of these and really likes it.

Martha in NM
http://www.valverdemorgans.com

Mark4510
Silver Member

Nov 7, 2005, 2:27 PM

Post #3 of 12 (859 views)
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Re: [justmartha] Dixie Midnight Pads [In reply to]	Can't Post

Jim and Martha,
I looked at thier website but cant tell what its made of. Is it plastic?

Thanks,
Mark

JimHess
Silver Member

Nov 7, 2005, 9:17 PM

Post #4 of 12 (845 views)
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Re: [Mark4510] Dixie Midnight Pads [In reply to]	Can't Post

Mark, it's like a rubbery plastic. The top side is smooth, the underside that goes against the horse is coarse. That lets it breathe. I used it two times this weekend, so far so good. It keeps the wool fleece saddle pad dry, and he was soaked - winter coat + mild weather = a lot of sweat. I'm going to keep using it and see how it goes. It'll save a lot of wear and tear of washing on my saddle pad. You just hose it off to clean it.

-Jim

Mark4510
Silver Member

Nov 8, 2005, 1:19 PM

Post #5 of 12 (844 views)
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Re: [JimHess] Dixie Midnight Pads [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hey Jim,
That sounds a lot like a sample pad we got a while ago. It sure looks like the pad on the website with one side being slightly smoother than the other side but both sides are open for air flow.

We really liked it as it was thin, breathable and easy to disinfect. The only problem we had was that it was not contoured and we had a heck of a time getting it to fit well. The person that was hawking them said that it would get warm on the horses back and mold to it. It did but we never could seem to get it to fit well up by the withers.

Mark

JimHess
Silver Member

Nov 8, 2005, 2:23 PM

Post #6 of 12 (836 views)
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Re: [Mark4510] Dixie Midnight Pads [In reply to]	Can't Post

Mark, my wife says there are some other brands out there. Dixie Midnight came up with it first. I guess I'm lucky in that my horse has a pretty flat back. I just laid it on and centered my pad on it. In the case of high withers, maybe you could slice it a little in the center. Wouldn't want to ruin it, but you know how some pads are cutback? Mine seems to be quite flexible, though. The first one we saw is the one our friend got, and I guess it was a prototype. It is about 2 or 3 times as thick as the ones they sell now. Maybe they decided they weren't flexible enough.

-Jim

Mark4510
Silver Member

Nov 9, 2005, 1:59 PM

Post #7 of 12 (825 views)
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Re: [JimHess] Dixie Midnight Pads [In reply to]	Can't Post

Funny. thats exactly what we did. And I liked it but it never seemed to lay very well and it sure never took the shape the way other pads do. If they were made with some sort of shape to begin with I would sure consider using it again.

Regards,
Mark

JimHess
Silver Member

Nov 9, 2005, 2:45 PM

Post #8 of 12 (820 views)
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Re: [Mark4510] Dixie Midnight Pads [In reply to]	Can't Post

Mark, I wonder if your pad is a Dixie Midnight or another brand. Maybe there is a difference? Mine doesn't seem to offer any resistance when I put the pad and saddle on. it's rectangular, and it's just about the right length and width for my pad, which kind of looks like a barrel pad that extends down by the girth. It's made to match the saddle. I'm thinking I'd like to trim the Dixie Midnight pad to match, but I don't want to burn my bridges yet.

-Jim

Mark4510
Silver Member

Nov 9, 2005, 4:05 PM

Post #9 of 12 (818 views)
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Re: [JimHess] Dixie Midnight Pads [In reply to]	Can't Post

I am not sure. Ours came to us in a large rectangle and, as I recall, we were told it could be cut to shape. After trying it, we liked it but it did not seem to take shape very well and seemed to rub over thier withers. So we cut it out, as you mentioned earlier, but then it started to tear where we cut. Perhaps we did not pull it up off the withers when we set the saddle down.

We did not keep the papers that came with the pad and no one ever contacted us after that so I am not sure who made it.

I guess I came off a few too many times this year and the brain cells are starting to give up the fight.....

Mark

JimHess
Silver Member

Nov 9, 2005, 4:20 PM

Post #10 of 12 (814 views)
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Re: [Mark4510] Dixie Midnight Pads [In reply to]	Can't Post

Mark, what color is the pad you have? Our Dixie Midnight pads are blue. My wife says the other brand she saw was black.

-Jim

Mark4510
Silver Member

Nov 9, 2005, 4:29 PM

Post #11 of 12 (813 views)
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Re: [JimHess] Dixie Midnight Pads [In reply to]	Can't Post

That was a quick reply.
Ours is black so maybe its an off brand or copy.
Mark

JimHess
Silver Member

Nov 9, 2005, 4:32 PM

Post #12 of 12 (809 views)
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Re: [Mark4510] Dixie Midnight Pads [In reply to]	Can't Post

Mark- Bingo!

-Jim

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