My Anky Pad

What Is An Anky Pad?

In short, a numnah. This pad is a bit like a polypad but better!!! I got mine for just under £50 from a local tack shop, I had been searching for a blue pad for a while but nothing was coming up, then I found this one and had to have it. I bought the pad very much on impulse and probably wouldn't have if I had longer to contemplate spending £50 on a product i'd never seen or used before. There was a brief moment where I put the pad down, but they only had one in blue so I quickly picked it back up. There was a matching pair of Bridleway bell boots so I got those too, but more about my bell boot choices another time! For Gigi I chose the Baltic Sea Dressage Pad, I did not see any other shape options in the shop and I use this pad with my GP saddle, I believe you can get ones made for jumping saddles and the writing on these reads "ATC" there are also matching boots and bandages available in the Anky range. Personally I like the look of the dressage cut pad on Gigi as they remind me of polypads which are rectangular. 

First Thoughts

When I got the pad home I did think, wow it's big. It is a rather large and next to my other pads I was a bit concerned, there was only one size of pad from what I could see in the shop, so there wasn't much choice on that aspect. I put the pad on Gigi and still thought it was big but once the saddle was on it looked fine. Gigi is about 15hh and her saddle is 17 inches long for reference to the size of the pad. The pad has the word "ANKY" written in clear glitter jelly on each side, this is where the saddle sits so cannot be seen when you are riding. The glitter jelly is non-slip, this means the pad has no straps or extra bits but the saddle stays in place without slipping. I love this design, I have had absolutely no problems with it, at first I was concerned that hair may stick to the jelly but this has not happened, there have been no marks left on my saddle either. It doesn't stick onto the saddle when you un-tack, I have known some jelly pads to do this and they leave a sticky residue on the leather however this does not happen with the Anky pad. The pad is lovely and thick, this means I can use it without my half pad, making it ideal for summer when I want less on Gigi. My saddle has been fitted and flocked to be used with my half pad, this means I can use the pad for it's looks and comfort but it doesn't make my saddle pinch or tight. 

I was concerned about the pads thickness as it may affect drying time when Gigi gets sweaty or if it rains, typically living in England it can be very damp. 

After using the pad I found the under layer which is made of a black fabric is really breathable, in the worst case (downpour of rain) the pad has taken 2 days to dry when hung on my rug rail outside of my stable. Most often the pad dries within an hour or so, I leave it overnight (same with all my pads/numnahs) as I keep them in a box with other items that i'd rather keep moisture free! The quick drying of the materials is amazing, some of my pads take what feels like a lifetime to dry off whereas this one doesn't! Gigi doesn't sweat up as badly as I first thought she would too! I thought the overall thickness may cause her to sweat more but it's the opposite, I like this as i'd hate to think she was getting too hot whilst working. 

Washing?

I have washed this pad a few times now, it washes really really nicely, the jelly isn't affected by the wash, it hasn't shrunk, or lost colour and best of all, every single saddle stain washed away! The pad has a velvet feel and look to it, I always find these pads wash up the best, but this one had blown me away. The blue is fairly light and bright so I did expect there to be some staining or colour loss, but no! I haven't tumble dried the pad due to the jelly writing, however I have hung it up in the house and it dries so fast you don't need to tumble dry it. It was a bit creased from the lack of drying but once on Gigi you couldn't notice! 

I definitely recommend buying this pad!

Thanks for reading ~ Hayley