Saddle pad repair

This is the saddle pad that I fixed last week. The top quilted layer that you can see is made of a top quality cotton twill, with built in pockets to put memory foam shims in to make the saddle fit better to my horses back.
The bottom layer that you can see rolled up along the edges is sheepskin. This is machine washable as long as you use special leather wash to keep the sheepskin from becoming brittle. The sheepskin goes against the horses back and molds to his shape and helps to regulate hot spots and rubbing against his skin.

At the front of the pad there are 2 pockets for the shims and these pockets are held closed by velcro. Over the past 4 plus years the velcro has started to wear out and was no longer holding.

So this project was to replace the velcro pieces. Both from the quilted side and the sheepskin side. I was a little nervous when sewing on the sheepskin side because I was worried about the fluff being sewed down and looking funny. All I needed to do after I sewed the velcro on was to take a pin and pull the fibers gently out from under the sewn threads and you can not even tell that it was sewn.

A 30 minute project and just about 4$ worth of materials and I saved myself about 200$ for a new saddle pad. Yeah!

Saddle pad with open front pockets.

Close up of the pocket closure, the darker area is the actual sheepskin.

Pocket closed with velcro, giving it a proper look when under the saddle.