My mare is round with a short back, forward girth groove and the saddle fitter recommends an anatomic girth. I have explained this to my mare and told her that the Shoulder Relief girth and the beautiful soft Schleese girth are MEANT for her comfort but she won’t listen. The saddle is much more secure with this type, but mare has begun to step around to avoid me doing the girth up v-e-r-y slowly, and she grunts and groans while we are working. She is happy in a fleecy padded Toklat shaped girth, but the saddle slides forward- saddle has short points and fits her well according to 3 different fitters.
What to DO? I must have at least 8 dressage girths of various shapes and materials in my trunk already. Is it worth trying another anatomic girth but with more padding and elastic on the ends? Ovation makes a synthetic one for under $100- maybe we’ll see how she likes that.
Commiserate with me, please.
It’s stupid expensive and really ugly but try the Prestige girth with the big round “donut” in the middle. It’s the only thing that worked for my horse with a super forward girth groove who hated every other made for his comfort anatomical girth on the market.
I really like the LeMieux Gel Tech girth, I’ve also heard good things about Fairfax/Prolite, and Mattes. Stubben makes a fancy anatomic one, too.
I feel your pain as I went through a ton of girths before finding one my sensitive gelding could tolerate (ironically, a synthetic Ovation gel girth).
Does your Shoulder Relief girth have the fleece cover on it? If not, would that be worth trying to see if the fuzzy makes her happy?
Thanks- yes, she has an expensive sheepskin cover to her girth. Still unhappy. I am VERY reluctant to shell out large bucks on another girth that she may not like. Oh for a tough, stoical pony!. I wish there was a girth bank where you could borrow girths to try.
Phantomhorse- which Ovation girth did you get? I was looking at an anatomical gel girth from Ovation.
I use this Ovation girth. A friend had one she let me borrow first, though at that price point it wouldn’t have been too bad to have bought it without the test. I still don’t understand why he likes it compared to the shoulder relief, but I was just thankful to have found something that he liked and kept my saddle where it belonged.
And I have to say, it’s held up to a LOT of miles and only shows mild wear. Go figure.
I was also going to suggest the Prestige donut (or as we call it, the life raft or UFO girth) girth.
Could it be saddle placement, not necessarily the girth? If the saddle wants to be more forward and the anatomical girth is holding it where she doesn’t like it.
Sometimes they just defy what the pros say. My mare always measures a MW tree when I have the saddle fitter out, but she makes it very clear that she prefers a Wide tree.
My last instructor insisted my saddle should sit about four inches back from where I put it, but my mare was VERY unhappy with the saddle sitting that far back.
i don’t girth very tight. My coach will tell me when it gets to swinging free down there and will tighten it up a couple notches. I like elastic on both ends. My mare doesn’t seem to notice what i ride her in…bridle, bit, girth, saddle…none of it seems to make any difference to her. The only thing she’s picky about is when another horse has pooped in the ring. For some reason that gets to her… she’ll sidewind like a snake to avoid it lol.
TSF was running a trade in program. If they’re still doing it I wonder if a Stretch Tec with a sheepskin liner would work.
Consider a crupper. I don’t think I really need one anymore, but I still use it on my short backed, forward girth groove horse. I cross the billets too (the point billet is in the rear girth buckle). I use a neoprene lined StretchTec. For a long time I used nonslip pads as well.
I have the LeMieux anatomic girth and it’s very nice, but unfortunately the recently changed their girth covers from real sheepskin to wool on a synthetic backing (I think that’s what it is, definitely no longer natural sheepskin). So if your horse sweats significantly, the wool turns into a brick after a ride or two and needs to be washed because it doesn’t brush out like the older sheepskin covers.
Because of this, I am changing over to Mattes girths and covers.
I know it’s old fashioned and cheap (although you can get very expensive fancy ones nowadays) but this would be my recommendation…. Great for the skin, and prevents the saddle from going forward. https://www.pferderevue.at/magazin/ausruestung/2018/2018/09/schnurgurt--warum-ihn-profis-empfehlen.html
I had the same problem with my now-retired mare. The only girth that really worked (didn’t rub her or make her move away during girthing and stopped my saddles sliding forward) was the H girth made by the same company that makes WOW saddles. I thought she’d hate the rear strap, but she was so much happier in that girth and all my saddles stopped sliding forward. Not cheap, but it worked!
Me too!! I finally found a Tapestry girth out of Canada. Not really anatomic but almost entirely made of elastic (three layers, top two crossed. Image is hard to see). really stretchy.
I covered the buckle ends with merino wool covers. They already have thick leather behind the buckle.
Tapestry girth https://marystack.com/tapestry-comfort-dressage-monoflap-girth/?sku=140581-001&gclid=CjwKCAjwm7mEBhBsEiwA_of-THpSbTEodHYvEccRcB9EwPttfiMzHa0x_3rfyQrTIu838gqlgkrFwRoCeswQAvD_BwE
Also, this Flex Rider girth is in rotation - very soft. https://www.statelinetack.com/item/flex-rider-anatomic-dressage-girth/E027834%2028/?srccode=GPSLT&gclid=CjwKCAjwm7mEBhBsEiwA_of-TIZCYPhwlmhoqjPo_AkEB5ZuVyRR7bJL5JyA5Ln7207qFI-Pvfy2_hoCET4QAvD_BwE
I also used a merino girth such as recommended above for a while but found the buckle ends were a issue for Bravo, even when covered with merino fleece covers.
Hi lorilu- Tapestry Equine is run by my friend Linda Hauck! I’ll ask her whether she thinks it might work to prevent the saddle shifting. The Flexrider girth looks good, and I won’t be out of pocket much if it doesn’t work. I am really unwilling to pay $400 for a new girth when I have no idea if mare will accept it.
The LeMieux is the same shape as my cheap-o fleece one that Mare likes, and saddle moves with it so don’t think that would work.
Re saddle position- mare has “well sprung ribs” and saddle moves forward onto her shoulder when she gets moving- and she has big movement. We use a no-slip Thinline pad but it doesn’t do much. A crupper is an interesting idea, I am not sure how well Miss Prissy would like it but I can borrow one to try.
We have tried a string girth, not acceptable. She really prefers some elastic.
Thanks for all your suggestions- I appreciate the ideas!
Thank you for that article. Most interesting.
Can you borrow from friends to see if anything makes a difference? I’m with you in that I don’t like to spend money just to experiment, so my solution is to buy used any buy something with resale value so I have a decent shot at getting my money back, ie. you might try the Prestige ugly girth knowing that if it doesn’t work, there’s someone else out there who probably needs it, or someone who’s tried it and now needs to get rid of the thing.
My guy is finally happy in the Prof Choice dressage girth with a sheepskin cover. I think its a good mix of shoulder relief/forward placement and straight design with no weird pressure points. I think the weird pressure points were what was turning him off of everything else.
I feel your pain. I purchased and had fitted a saddle for my short back very round but curvy with a forward girth groove welsh cob gelding. I purchased the recommended Prestige girth. I also have several of the anatomic girths including county, ovation etc. and string girths, etc. At first all was well with the new equipment and got thumbs up from all the experts. Then (2-3 months down the road) my otherwise very pleasant gelding started to grunt and kick at the girth when I tacked up which he never did before (I’ve owned him since birth). I switched back to the county logic which seemed to help for a couple of weeks. The behavior came back. His back did not/does not seem sore. I can saddle and ride him without issue in my western saddle/girth. However, while the timing seemed to line up with the new tack, I also started showing again. I decided to treat him for ulcers and sand colic (which in my area is very common). We’ve gone 3 weeks since the end of treatment and no problems. My point is to make sure you rule out the medical possibilities because while I know and am very familiar with the saddle fitting/girth fitting nightmares having been a former welsh cob breeder…sometimes the red herring is really the issue. I have a free ‘re-assessment’ and flocking of my new saddle; so, I also plan to send that back in after our next show (which I’ll have him on ulcer meds as a preventative) to make sure that isn’t contributing to things as well. Good luck with your saddle/tack dilemma.
I personally can’t use the TSF girths and others shaped like that. The very curved girths have always curved into my mare’s belly awkwardly as they are asymmetrical (the long way) in design with one edge longer than the other. As a result, they sit with one edge slightly digging in and the other edge gapping so the pressure distribution isn’t there. Below is a photo with slight gapping in the front with the back edge of the girth putting more pressure so there isn’t even pressure.
I’m not super great at explaining this but it has made a bunch of difference for my horse as she is a little tubby so it makes girth shopping a little harder than it already is.
I had the same issue. Bought a TSF for my guy because hey – anatomical, why not try it – and it just does not fit well. Even snug, it gaps about three inches and only the back part of the girth actually touches his belly.
I love my rope girth, I think it does fix the “comfort” issue most horses have with something too restrictive around their belly. I can’t find a rope girth in a short girth and black, though. Seems they’re all white or brown.
