The thing with faux wool is that it is thick and so likely to be heating - real sheepskin is of course thick but it also wicks away moisture and is breathable - its a natural product, and as such doesn't heat in the same way. Heat build up can become dangerous if too much as it makes soft tissue such as muscle and/or ligaments etc more likely to become damaged, or break down.
The other thing with any thick numnah is that unless you have a treeless saddle, your saddle needs to be fitted to a width appropriate to allow for the thickness of the pad - else you in effect narrow the tree on a saddle which is the correct fit with only a thin or no cloth, which will do more harm than good.
By all means use a faux sheepskin pad, but make sure you saddle fits with it, and just keep an eye on rubbing and/or excessive heat build up - if it occurs, stop using the faux sheepskin =]
I'm thinking of buying Tess a new numnah, as her current one is rubbing, and i have always wanted to get a sheepskin numnaH. I cant afford a real sheepwool one and as i was looking for faux ones, when i came across something that said that they can be harmful/bad for horses, and only lambs wool should be worn! Is this true?
