ShimPossible™ Super Saddle Pad
Stop Padding The Problem. Start Solving It.
The horse industry has spent decades teaching riders to focus on pressure points.
Bar angles.
Gullet widths.
Hand-under-the-saddle tests.
Static measurements.
And while those things matter, a horse doesn't rope or run barrels standing still.
The real question is:
Can your horse still move smoothly underneath it?
Because your horse isn't just competing with a saddle.
Your horse is competing with a rider.
And riders move.
They shift.
They brace.
They lose balance.
They create force within impact every time their butt hits the bottom of the saddle.
That's why ShimPossible™ wasn't designed around pressure points.
It was designed around movement.
Shoulder movement.
Spinal movement.
Rider movement.
Horse movement.
Because movement is where performance lives.
The Revelation That Started It All
Have you ever had a bunion?
Did a thicker sock solve it?
Of course not.
It usually made the pressure worse.
Yet that's exactly how most saddle pads are designed.
More padding.
More bulk.
More layers.
More material.
More pressure.
When Kendra Dickson was fighting to stay in the Top 15 WPRA standings, she discovered something most riders never consider:
The shoulder doesn't need more pressure.
The shoulder needs more freedom.
Nearly 15 years ago, she began modifying her own saddle pads to help her horses’ scapular move more freely underneath the saddle.
Not to cushion the problem.
To solve it.
ShimPossible™ strategically creates space where your horse's shoulder rotates and glides underneath the saddle.
More freedom.
Less restriction.
Longer strides.
Smoother leads.
Bigger stops.
A calmer, more willing horse to train..
The Saddle Fitting Question Nobody Is Asking
Modern saddle fitting has become obsessed with pressure points.
Can you slide your hand underneath the bars?
Does the tree match the shoulder angle?
Is there enough clearance?
Important questions.
But incomplete ones.
Because fitting a horse standing still is relatively easy.
The challenge is creating a system that still works when horse and rider begin moving together.
Think about it. What have you gained if a saddle fits the horse perfectly while standing still...
...but creates instability, poor timing, restriction, and excess force once the rider climbs aboard?
Nothing.
One problem simply replaces another.
The horse pays for both.
ShimPossible™ asks a different question:
Can the horse still move underneath it?
Because movement—not static fit—is where performance happens.
Your Horse’s Head Was Never The Problem. The Spine Was.
When a horse lifts its head, most riders start looking at the bit.
The tie-down.
The martingale.
The headset.
But what if the head isn't the problem?
What if it's the symptom?
Almost nobody talks about the spine.
Yet the spine influences everything.
Your horse's spinal column must be able to flex, extend, rotate, and move freely with every stride.
That's why ShimPossible™ features an extra-wide spinal channel between the two panels.
Because your horse's back is designed to move.
Not be trapped.
Not be compressed.
Not be restricted.
When the spine has freedom to move, horses can lift their backs underneath the rider.
Strengthen their topline.
Carry themselves more efficiently.
And naturally lower their heads.
Not because they're forced to.
Because they're comfortable enough to.
The industry often treats a raised head as a head-and-neck problem.
The head is usually the symptom.
The spine is often the story.
Free the spine. Free the mind. Because the head follows.
Protection Or Performance?
This may be the most overlooked part of saddle pads.
Your horse's nervous system asks one question all day long:
Am I safe enough to perform?
Your nervous system asks the exact same question.
That's why stability matters.
The industry has convinced riders that thinner is better.
Softer is better.
More flexible is better.
But when a saddle pad becomes too thin, too soft, too limber, or too slippery, it allows excessive movement between horse, saddle, and rider.
Tiny movements.
Micro movements.
Thousands of them during every ride.
Most riders never consciously notice them.
But the nervous system does.
Every unnecessary movement creates noise.
Every noise creates uncertainty.
And uncertainty causes the body to shift resources toward protection instead of performance.
Protection instead of performance.
Bracing instead of breathing.
Guarding instead of moving.
Surviving instead of thriving.
Many riders think they have a confidence problem.
Many horses appear to have a behavior problem.
Both are often stability problems.
That's why ShimPossible™ was intentionally designed to provide a more stable platform between horse and rider.
Less noise.
Less unnecessary movement.
Clearer communication.
Better timing.
Greater confidence.
Because confidence isn't created by forcing it.
Confidence is what happens when the nervous system finally feels supported.
The 100% Wool Experiment
Before you buy any saddle pad, try this.
Pick up a premium 100% wool pad.
Twist it.
Fold it.
Bend it.
Watch how easily it moves.
Now ask yourself:
If the pad moves that easily in your hands, what is it doing underneath your saddle?
Most riders have been taught that premium wool automatically equals premium performance.
But softness and performance are not the same thing.
Even thick wool remains naturally limber.
Naturally flexible.
Naturally mobile.
And every unnecessary movement underneath the saddle creates noise.
Your horse feels it.
Your nervous system feels it.
Because your vestibular system—the part of your body responsible for balance and orientation—is constantly asking:
Am I stable?
Am I safe?
When the answer becomes uncertain, your body shifts resources toward protection instead of performance.
Not because you're weak.
Not because you're lacking confidence.
Because your nervous system is responding exactly as it was designed to.
You think you're lacking confidence.
Your nervous system thinks you're lacking support.
That's a completely different problem.
And a completely different solution.
Why Shimplants™ Matter
Most saddle pads eventually fail in the exact same place.
Right where the saddle bars create the greatest pressure near the shoulder.
When it breaks down, compresses, or loses support, you're forced to replace the entire saddle pad.
ShimPossible™ was designed differently.
Our proprietary replaceable Shimplants™ allow you to replace the component that actually wears out instead of throwing away the entire pad.
Why replace an entire saddle pad when only one section needs attention?
The premium leather border surrounding each Shimplant™ isn't there just because it looks cool.
It serves an important purpose.
The leather helps keep the bars of your saddle lifted on top of the pad while encapsulating the memory foam insert, preventing it from dispersing, shifting, or migrating over time.
The leather protects the insert.
The insert protects the horse.
And your wallet doesn't have to keep replacing entire saddle pads.
Built smarter.
Built longer.
Built for horses that work.
Thick For A Reason
ShimPossible™ isn't just thick because bigger is better.
It's thick because support matters.
A saddle pad that's too thin becomes unstable.
A saddle pad that's too soft becomes unstable.
A saddle pad that's too slippery becomes unstable.
ShimPossible™ was designed to create both support and freedom.
Support for the rider.
Freedom for the horse.
A more stable connection.
A freer-moving shoulder.
A spine with room to work the way nature intended.
Because support and freedom are not opposites.
They're partners.
The Truth?
Many horses aren't as difficult as their trainers think.
They're adapting.
Adapting to pressure.
Adapting to restriction.
Adapting to instability.
Adapting to discomfort.
The horse that tosses its head.
The horse that's heavy in your hands.
The horse that's short-strided.
The horse that struggles with leads.
The horse that's hot, tense, or anxious.
Maybe they're not trying to be difficult.
Maybe they're trying to tell you something.
That's why riders are shocked when they feel the difference.
Not because ShimPossible™ adds more.
Because it finally takes something away.
Pressure.
And when pressure leaves...
Movement returns.
Confidence returns.
Performance returns.
ShiimPossible™. The Super Saddle Pad.
Stop Padding The Problem. Start Solving It.