Shimming is one of those things riders either do confidently or avoid entirely because they are afraid of making the fit worse. The fear is understandable — put a shim in the wrong place and you have created a new pressure point instead of solving the old one. But the mechanics are not complicated once you understand what each pocket position actually does, and Ogilvy’s shimmable system is one of the most straightforward on the market to work with. This post covers the pads, the inserts, and the logic you need to shim correctly the first time.
This post contains affiliate links. If you shop through them I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — and you’ll get my reader discount. I only feature gear I’d actually put on my own horses or wear for a full day in the saddle.
Quick Reference: The Shimmable System at a Glance
| Product | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Classic Jump Shimmable Half Pad | $240 | Jump riders correcting uneven fit, asymmetrical backs |
| Classic Dressage Shimmable Half Pad | $240 | Dressage riders, longer panels, same correction logic |
| Classic Jump Sheepskin Shimmable Half Pad | $319 | Riders who want shimmability plus premium sheepskin comfort |
| Memory Foam Inserts / Gummy Inserts | from $75 | Required add-on — the actual shims that go into the pockets |
One thing I want to be clear about upfront: the Shimmable Half Pad is a saddle fit management tool, not a saddle fit replacement. It will not fix a saddle that is fundamentally wrong for your horse. What it does — and does well — is address the gap between a saddle that fits 80% and a saddle that sits level, distributes pressure evenly, and does not shift under load. That 20% is where most horses are living, and it is a meaningful difference in how they move and how comfortable they are over time.
The Shimmable Half Pad: What You Are Actually Buying
The Classic Jump Shimmable Half Pad ($240) and the Classic Dressage Shimmable Half Pad ($240) are structurally the same pad in different cuts. The jump version suits shorter panels and close-contact work. The dressage version runs longer to cover the panel length of a dressage saddle. Pick based on your discipline first.
Both have shim pockets in three locations: front (shoulder area), middle (under the panels), and rear (behind the panels near the flank). Each pocket holds an insert independently, so you can shim one side and not the other, front only, rear only, or any combination. That flexibility is the entire point.
The base pad is cotton-quilted — not memory foam, not sheepskin. It has enough substance to add minor cushion but the main job is structural: carrying and positioning the inserts correctly. If your horse needs significant cushion independent of fit correction, pair it with a good baby pad underneath. The Classic Jump Baby Pad ($65) is the obvious pairing — thin, wicks well, replaceable when it gets worn.
The Classic Jump Sheepskin Shimmable Half Pad ($319) adds genuine sheepskin to the equation. If your horse is friction-sensitive or has a back that shows signs of soreness easily, the sheepskin version is worth the premium. The shim logic is identical — same pockets, same positions, same inserts. You are just adding a layer of breathable, pressure-dispersing sheepskin to the contact surface.
The Inserts: What They Do and How to Think About Placement
The Memory Foam Inserts / Gummy Inserts (from $75) are not included with the pad. That surprises some people. You need to purchase them separately, and they are not optional — without inserts, the pockets are empty and you have a quilted half pad at a premium price point. Order them at the same time as the pad.
Here is the placement logic broken down simply:
Front pockets (shoulder area): Use these when the saddle sits low in front, tips the rider forward, or bridges across the withers leaving a gap at the front of the panels. A front shim lifts the front of the saddle and can also help a horse that is built slightly downhill in the shoulder area. One insert on one side only addresses a horse whose left and right shoulder are developed asymmetrically — common in horses with a history of one-sided work, post-injury rebuilding, or natural asymmetry.
Rear pockets (behind the panels): Use these when the saddle tips backward, sits low behind, or when the horse has a back that drops off toward the hindquarters. Horses that are weak through the lumbar area or still building topline often benefit from rear shimming as their muscling develops and changes the saddle’s resting position. Again, one side only is completely valid if the asymmetry is lateral rather than front-to-back.
Middle pockets (under the panels): These are the ones most people use least and understand least. Middle shimming addresses a horse that has significant lateral asymmetry through the broadest part of the back — one side of the thoracic spine is more developed, the other is hollower. A middle shim on the underdeveloped side lifts that panel off the hollow spot and creates even contact across the back. This is where horses with asymmetrical thoracic development — a topic I have talked about on the podcast — tend to benefit most.
The key rule: shim the low side, not the high side. You are building up the gap, not pressing down on the contact. If you are unsure which side is low, have someone watch your saddle from behind at the walk while you are mounted. The side the cantle drops toward is the side that needs the shim.
Ready to try the Ogilvy Shimmable Half Pad? Use my link with code SAMANTHABAER10 for 10% at Ogilvy Equestrian → https://ogilvyequestrian.com/samanthabaer
Who This Pad Is and Is Not For
This is worth being direct about, because the Shimmable Half Pad is specific enough that recommending it broadly does not make sense.
It is a strong fit for:
- Horses with documented one-sided muscular asymmetry, whether from handedness, injury history, or conformation.
- Horses whose backs are changing — young horses building muscle, horses returning from time off, horses with a fitness cycle that noticeably shifts their topline over a season.
- Riders using a saddle that was fitted to a different horse and is approximately but not perfectly correct for the current horse.
- Riders bridging between saddle fitter visits who need a functional interim solution.
- Horses that are base-narrow or have conformation that makes saddle leveling consistently difficult.
It is not the right pick for:
- Horses that need cushion as the primary goal. The quilted base of the standard shimmable pads is not the softest option in the Ogilvy lineup. For pressure distribution without correction, the Classic Jump Memory Foam Half Pad ($125) is a better fit.
- Horses with a saddle that is genuinely the wrong tree width. Shimming cannot change tree angle or gullet width. If the tree is sitting on the horse’s spine or pinching at the shoulder, the pads cannot fix that.
- Riders who just want a half pad for everyday cushion and have no specific fit issues to correct. The Classic Jump Quilted Half Pad ($200) is more appropriate and slightly less expensive.
Practical Notes Before You Order
Start with one insert, not four. The most common mistake first-time shimmers make is loading every pocket at once to “really fix” the problem. One targeted insert in the correct pocket will tell you more than four inserts in all pockets. Add from there based on what you observe.
Check your billet alignment after shimming. Adding a shim changes the saddle’s resting position and that can affect where the billets hang relative to the girth point. Recheck after your first ride.
Reassess every 4-6 weeks. If you are shimming a horse that is actively building muscle, what you needed in week one may not be what you need in week six. The pads make it easy to pull an insert rather than calling the fitter for an adjustment every month, but you do need to stay observant.
The pad runs true to standard half-pad sizing. Match it to your saddle size as you would any other Ogilvy pad.
The Bottom Line
Shimming done right is not a patch — it is a precision fit tool. The Ogilvy Shimmable Half Pad ($240) plus the Memory Foam Inserts (from $75) give you the ability to make targeted, reversible corrections to a saddle’s position without waiting for a fitter visit every time your horse’s back changes. For horses in active work, that kind of responsiveness matters.
Start with one pocket, one side, and watch what changes. The horses that benefit most are the ones everyone already suspected had a fit issue but could never quite solve with a standard pad.
Ready to try the Ogilvy Shimmable Half Pad? Use my link with code SAMANTHABAER10 for 10% at Ogilvy Equestrian → https://ogilvyequestrian.com/samanthabaer
