Abstract: A saddle pad configured to provide a horse with pressure relief along its spine from a saddle and the saddle pad. The saddle pad may include a first side panel, a second side panel, and a central panel. The central panel may include a first end and a second end. The central panel may be wider at the first end than at the second end, and the central panel may be configured to extend into a gullet of the saddle and away from the horse's spine. In some embodiments, the central panel may be configured to stay off of the horse's withers. In some embodiments, the central panel may be configured to stay in the gullet of the saddle and away from the horse's spine for the entire length of the saddle.

Abstract: A protective covering for an animal (e.g., a horse, mule, human, dog or other skeletal mammal). In some embodiments, the protective covering may have one or more relief zone areas comprised of separate resilient sections that may be arranged in a grid or other pattern that are removably secured on their lower surfaces to an underlying flexible surface. The sections may be capable of being individually removed to provide localized pressure relief to selected areas, and the resilient sections may be directly adjacent to one another to form a grid, whereby one or a plurality of the adjacent sections may be removed at any desired area of the covering to provide relief corresponding to the afflicted zone of the animal's (e.g., horse's) body part (e.g., leg).