Interested in buying an E A Mattes Equestrian product and want to know why you should buy? Well here are 5 great reasons for you to choose Mattes over other Brand Names:-
- Each E A Mattes item is handmade
- Mattes use only the very best quality natural materials
- Each item is bespoke and manufactured according to your designs and colour combinations
- Each item has been thoroughly tested and is technically proficient
- Mattes stand the test of time having been in business over 150 years
Who are E. A Mattes?
It’s good to know E.A Mattes have been in business for over 150 years. Founded in 1867, they specialize in leather tanning, specifically sheepskins, sheep and goat leather.
E. A. Mattes are the go to company for their sheepskin and lambskin covers? They have been supplying companies like Bentley and Boeing for years and are an exclusive supplier to Mercedes-Benz. E. A. Mattes have been one of the leading manufacturers of car seat covers for several decades and are ISO certified. Mattes source all their skins from Australia, but have very strict selection and quality control, which means that only the top 5% of skins make the grade and are used in the manufacturing process.
In the 1980’s there was a necessity for quality equestrian products and Mattes saw an opportunity to fill a much needed gap in the market. They have been manufacturing high quality equestrian products ever since. The companies ethos is to produce the highest quality equestrian products possible. Mattes work closely with professional riders, saddle makers, veterinaries and osteopaths, to ensure that the products are not only stylish, but completely functional, providing supreme comfort for the horse and assistance for the rider.
How do you pronounce Mattes?
What products do E A Mattes sell?
Their equestrian products range from English and Western saddle pads, contoured saddle pads (Numnah’s) and half pads, to seat savers, sheepskin and leather girths, fly veils, horse boots and even horse rugs. The attention to detail and product quality, combined with a personalized shopping experience and bespoke manufacture, match our high standards and fit seamlessly with our own bespoke range of horse tack. The Mattes wide range of colours and styles can be coordinated with our own bridle work, enabling you to create a complete matching collection for your horse.
What Saddle Pad Styles do E A Mattes Equestrian make?
Mattes saddle pads are available in a variety of styles and sizes. The Square and Eurofit saddle pad, the Numnah and Half pad, are all available in All Purpose, Dressage, or Jumping versions and Pony, Cob, Full and Extra Full sizes. The Icelandic, Endurance and Treeless Pads are available in Medium, and the Western Styles are available in different Depths to suit the horse.
What makes E A Mattes Saddle Pads unique?
Whilst Mattes are renown for the bespoke nature of their saddle pads, what makes Mattes unique is their functional saddle pad design. Saddle pads are made with a quilt, manufactured using a superior cotton twill fabric, the kind used in heavy duty work clothing. Inside the quilt where flexibility and durability are important is a double layer of POLYFLEX®. POLYFLEX® is a polyester non-woven felt fabric that is created through a more technical felting process. The felt is punched with a specially designed felting needle, one that has small barbs on the end. The barbs catch the polyester fibres pulling them through on themselves and inter-tangling the fibres together to create the felt fabric.
Polyester felt, is far superior to other materials such as memory foam, neoprene, or gel, because it retains it’s shape under continuous pressure. The result is a naturally breathable quilt material, firm enough to keep it’s shape over time and one that does not create pressure points for the horse.
All versions of Mattes saddle pad are available in Cotton, Cotton Sheen or Luxurious Velvet quilts. The cotton quilt is 180g/m2 and the cotton sheen and velvet are 400g/m2. Both cotton twill and velvet fabrics are blended to ensure that the colour does not fade, even after the pad has been washed or cleaned many times.
Mattes saddle pads are famous for their wide range of colours, rope trims and bindings.available. Choose from 39 different shades in the cotton and cotton sheen quilts and 16 colours in the velvet. You can choose up to 3 rows of rope trims with a choice of over 40 different colours and over 50 different colours of binding.
The shape of each saddle pad is also anatomically correct, with a high wither cut, so that there is no pressure on the wither area.
Whilst available without, we highly recommend sheepskin on your Mattes saddle pad. Choose from the front only, or front and rear, with the option of semi-lined, or as a stripe on the underside seat. The sheepskin is available in a choice of 33 different colours.
What Mattes Sheepskin choices are available?
Merino Lambskins are generally recognised as the most superior material used in horse products. Merino wool is renown for it’s fine fibres that are extremely dense and resilient.
Mattes have strict criteria and only the best skins are selected by special pickers who have been trained in house. Unlike synthetic sheepskin on cheaper saddle pads, natural wool has a very open composition, which means that air can flow easily between the fibres and regulate the temperature evenly over the skin, making it ideal in both summer and winter.
The wool can absorb up to eight times it’s own weight in moisture, before it feels at all wet and the resilient nature of the fibre is perfect for pressure distribution.
Mattes also produce specialist saddle pads for Western and Endurance riders, Treeless saddle pads for Treeless saddles and also Baroque Saddle Pads and Trekking Saddle Pads.
E A Mattes have put a great deal of thought into their saddle pad composition, allowing customers to choose from several clever systems that have been designed to assist the horse and rider, such as “Saddle Fix”, “SPINE-FREE®”, “Mattes MER system”, “EWWA Spine”, “PM System” and the notable “Mattes CORRECTION® system”
What is Mattes saddle fix?
The Mattes saddle fix system is an original safe and quick fastener system, attaching the saddle pad to the gullet of the saddle. This allows your saddle to remain perfectly straight and secure at all times.
The front clip fastens to the pommel, whilst the rear clip fastens to the cantle. This keeps the pad securely in place and leaves no marks on the saddle. The center of the saddle pad lodges high in the gullet to allow complete freedom of the spine.
The system itself runs underneath the pad emerging through two slits in the spine. Hooks at both ends grip the saddle and hold the pad in place. The saddle fix system is adjustable for all saddle sizes and allows accurate fastening of combinations of half pad with either an under-pad or a top-pad. When using the saddle fix, make sure that it is checked and tightened before riding. Saddle Fix can be used with the Mattes CORRECTION® system and SPINE-FREE®.
What is SPINE-FREE®?
Mattes combine an understanding of how materials interact with each other and an expertise of equine anatomy. The result are saddle pads that specifically follow the contours of the horse’s back, ensuring a perfect fit underneath the saddle.
The patented SPINE-FREE® design plus the use of a single hide removes the possibility of seams or fabric coming into contact with the horse’s back. The spine free channel prevents any pressure or tension in the wither area, or along the horse’s spine. This combination prevents rubbing, sore spots or pressure.
What is the Mattes MER system?
The MER system is a set of special fixing points front and back on your Mattes saddle pad, allowing you to attach a front bib, a quarter sheet or both.
The front and rear sheets are made from a high quality fleece and can be colour matched to your saddle pad with a choice of trims, piping and embroidery, perfect for exercising your horse in colder weather, easily removable.
The horse sheets are available in a variety of lengths and allow the horse and rider full freedom of movement.
What is mattes EWWA spine?
If your horse has wide withers, Mattes saddle pad’s have an extra wide wither option with a larger cut out where the sheepskin has been removed to ensure there is no additional pressure on the spine or withers, this does mean that on half pads the pad itself is finished a little deeper than the regular spine free option.
What is Mattes PM system?
The PM System was developed in conjunction with Peter Menet, designer of Amerigo and Vega Saddles, for riders who use a combination of half pad and saddle pad. The billet straps on the saddle pad have been replaced with slits on either side. The billet straps on the half pad can now be fed through the button hole slits in the saddle pad, securing the two pads together.
What is the Mattes CORRECTION® System?
The Mattes CORRECTION® System is a set of single or multi pockets built into your saddle pad, which enables the insertion of shims to assist with maintaining balance and straightness for horses that may change their shape throughout the year. Both single and multi pocket systems can be integrated into all Mattes pads.
The system has been used to aid changes in the shape of young horses due of their rapid development during training, also for fully trained horses, who are naturally prone to change shape, and to correct problems in a horses build, for example unequal sides, as well as back issues caused by age.
E A Mattes CORRECTION® System consists of a single or double pocket on either side of the pad (on western saddles there is a choice of one or three pockets). Each pocket comes with a choice of a single or double bag of shims and each bag contains 3x 5mm thick POLY-FLEX ® felt inserts (known as shims). The construction of the shim closely matches the padding of a new wool and horsehair saddle and is designed to be layered. The shims are easily trimmed with scissors to taper the end, creating a pressure free fit. This enables the rider to adjust the saddle position by up to 30mm on each side. As the horse’s shape changes shims can be added or removed as required.
The Single pocket is suited to correct the issue of bridging saddles, which is a common problem in not only Western saddles but English ones as well.
The quality, shape and fit of Mattes saddle pads is undeniable and if cared for, will last for years, making them an extremely cost effective purchase.
What are the consequences of a poorly fitting horse girth?
A tailor made saddle and saddle pad are pointless if they are let down by a poorly fitting girth. In long term studies, Mattes have discovered that many girths on the market today (especially many of the cheaper ones) are not fit for purpose and in some cases can make the situation even worse. Many girths look as if they have been correctly designed, but suffer from a common problem where the distribution of pressure on a horse’s sternum (The hard bump sticking forward on a horse’s chest between the legs) was inefficient and uneven.
How are E.A Mattes Girths designed?
The actual pressure is concentrated along the centre line of the sternum, normally about 2 – 3 cm wide. Mattes girths have been designed to distribute the pressure evenly over the sternum, with a system of internal straps working against a plastic center piece. This structure provides good flexibility despite the relatively rigid construction. The addition of a lambskin cover with “SOFT-EDGE” makes an already top rated girth even better.
Mattes make four styles of girth in long or short (dressage girth) versions, they are asymmetrical, anatomical, athletico and crescent, all designed to deal with specific shapes of horse and conformation problems. The girths are covered in a quilt fabric and available in a wide range of colours. Each girth has stainless spring loaded steel buckles and D-rings for draw reins, with elastic buckle straps on both ends. Spreader plates at each end of the girth prevent the buckles from hurting the horse. Mattes long girths are available from 105cm – 160cm in 5cm increments. Mattes short girths from 50cm – 100cm in 5cm increments. Length is always specified from buckle-end to buckle-end.
What horse shape suits the Mattes Anatomic Girth?
The anatomic girth suits horses that have a well defined girth which sits far enough away from the horse’s elbow. The strap is in the front and back in the elbow area and has been trimmed
What horse shape suits the Mattes Asymmetrical girth?
The Asymmetrical girth is helpful to horses that have a less well defined girth, close coupled horses that have less pronounced rib cages and are slightly closer to the elbow. The Asymmetric girth is severely cut back in front of the elbow area to rectify this issue. Remember that the curved neck always points to the front.
What horse shape suits the Mattes Crescent Girth?
For barrel shaped horses, or those with short backs and wide legs where standard girths tend to slip forward and cause chafing issues in the elbow area. The Crescent girth is heavily cut back in the elbow area allowing greater elbow movement without the possibility of chafing.
The rear part of the girth is wider than the front and this stops the girth from slipping forward. Each girth is supplied with an attached directional label, to make sure
the girth is fitted correctly.
What horse shape suits the Mattes Athletico Girth?
As the name suggest, suitable for horses with an athletic wedge shaped build. The way the belt is shaped prevents the saddle from slipping backwards, which can be an issue on this type of horse. The Athletico girth is supplied with an attached directional label to make sure the girth is fitted correctly.
What is the Mattes Slimline Girth?
Mattes have recently extended their range of girths by adding a new range called SLIM-LINE. The overriding principles have not changed, but the construction has been improved by making the girth flatter and slimmer (approximately 1.5cm thinner than the quilt girth), with the visible surfaces now made from leather (a choice of black, brown and champagne coloured leather) with a detachable lambskin cover for ease of washing (the plastic insert can easily be removed for washing). Slim line girths look elegant whilst providing added elbow space for the horse.
Mattes also produce a range of western girths or cinches. Manufactured in the same way as English girths and with the same anatomical designs.
What is the difference between an English girth and a Western Girth?
Finally, after interest by several Eventing riders, Mattes have produced a new leather (SLIM LINE) close contact stud girth, designed to protect a horses belly when jumping. The stud guard is covered in leather with a shock absorbing inner core and has the same construction as the standard SLIM LINE range of girths. The martingale clasp consists of a leather strap and buckles, a favourite among top riders. The girths are available in long or short versions and three styles.
What are E A Mattes Equestrian Ear Bonnets like?
E A Mattes sell a range of luxury ear bonnets. Hand crocheted from the finest Egyptian cotton and a choice of over 40 different colours with the option to add a different colour bindings, up to three rope trips, with or without the Mattes logo. Available in Medium Large or Extra Large sizes.
Why Buy your Mattes products through Pink Equine?
There are a number of reasons why you should buy your Mattes products through Pink Equine.
- You cannot purchase Mattes products direct. Mattes will only sell their products via retailers in the UK.
- We are the only UK retailer that has built it’s own online design software, you can design, view and purchase your item directly on our website.
- When you are spending money on a bespoke product, we believe that not only is it important the fit and look is 100% correct, but that you are able to see what the final product will look like before purchase.
- Although we are based in the UK, we sell Mattes products all over the world.
- Mattes products match our own bridle work, allowing you to create a complete colour matched collection.
- We are happy to discuss your requirements, answer any technical/design queries that you may have over the phone, via email, text or Facebook messaging.