Pad a pack saddle with a folded wool blanket at least 4 layers thick that extends at least 5 cm beyond the saddle edges on all sides, smooth every wrinkle before loading because a single fold creates a pressure point, and check the animal’s back every evening: a dry spot where sweat has not reached marks a pressure point that needs the padding adjusted.
Part of Pack Animal Management
The layer between saddle and animal: blankets and felt, how to fold and lay them, and how to read the back for pressure points.
The Padding Is The Most Important Part Of The Saddle
The source puts it bluntly: no padding, no pack animal, because you will have a crippled animal with open sores within two days. A frame can be crude; a pad cannot.
What You Need
- A wool blanket — folded to at least 4 layers. Felt is an alternative; see Wet Felting.
- A saddle — see Sawbuck Pack Saddle or Improvised Pack Saddles.
- Spare pads — a wet or damaged one can end the day.
- Time each evening — for the back check.
Method: Lay The Pad And Read The Back
Step 1: Fold to 4 layers or more. Minimum 4 layers thick.
Step 2: Size it. It must extend at least 5 cm beyond the saddle edges on all sides.
Step 3: Smooth. Remove all wrinkles before loading. A single fold under load creates a pressure point.
Step 4: Load and walk. Recheck for wrinkles after the first few hundred metres, when the pad settles.
Step 5: Check the back each evening. After removing the saddle, look at the animal’s back. Any dry spot, where sweat has not reached, indicates a pressure point that needs the padding adjusted.
Step 6: Adjust. Add padding or reshape around the spot; do not simply thicken the whole pad.
Worked Example
Pad size from the rules above, for a saddle footprint of 50 x 40 cm (an assumed figure):
- Pad size with 5 cm margin on each side: (50 + 5 + 5) x (40 + 5 + 5) = 60 x 50 cm.
- A pad 4 layers thick made by folding a single blanket twice needs a flat blanket of 4 x (60 x 50) = 12,000 cm^2 = 1.2 m^2, for instance 120 x 100 cm folded in half twice.
Pressure principle: pressure is force divided by area. A wrinkle lifts part of the pad off the skin so the same load rests on a smaller area; the dry spot the source describes is where that happened.
Common Mistakes
- Folding the blanket unevenly — it makes a ridge.
- Pad edge flush with the saddle — the saddle edge digs in; keep the 5 cm margin.
- Reusing a damp, sweaty pad — it hardens and abrades.
- Skipping the evening check — dry spots appear before sores.
Safety
A sore back ends the trip
An animal with open back sores cannot carry weight and cannot be left on a trail. Check the back at every stop on the first day, and reduce the load at the first sign of a pressure spot. Approach a sore-backed animal from the side; it may kick.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Pannier Design & Construction — what rests on the saddle
- Combine with: Weight Distribution Rules — loads that do not rock