Hi all, I’ve recently started riding a very nice warmblood with huge shoulders. My saddle fits him well, and I’ll be taking him for a fitting next week, but when my saddle is placed in the proper spot on his back allowing for shoulder clearance, the billets are lined up considerably behind his girth area. I’ve tried other saddles on him, including his previous owner’s custom saddle and this appears to be a recurring problem. I think it’s just an athletic conformation issue, and was wondering if an anatomical girth might help in this situation. I’ve been looking at the Total Saddle Fit girths and was wondering what people thought of them. Other suggestions would be appreciated as well!
My horse has a similar build and I found the same trouble with my saddle. I bought an M. Toulouse girth from Smartpak and have been so happy with it.
My saddle fitter loves the total saddle fit girths. She said they have the biggest curve in them allowing for the shoulder to move freely without moving the saddle. I have one and really like it. But despite having elastic on both sides, it’s not as stretchy as a double elastic fuzzy girth. Make sure you get the fit correct. My horse gained a little winter weight and now I’m struggling every day.
Apparently some anatomical girths have interior webbing that is not curved but cut, which sort of defeats the purpose of the curve. It’s impossible to tell from the outside though and I’ve heard price doesn’t give you a clue either.
I previously had a County Logic girth for my big guy, but it stretched quite a bit. I now have an Antares Comfort girth that I really like. He’s a big horse (17.2+ with a 58" girth) with lots of shoulder. I also love the snap!
I love my CWD anatomical girths. Have 3!
I have liked the Pessoa and Dover versions in the past. I like the County girths when they are new, but I don’t feel that they wear well over time.
I’m intrigued by the Arc De Triomphe and EquiFit versions.
I’ve been very happy with my County girths. I bought a Total Saddle Fit and my normally very chill WB hated it so much I thought there was something seriously wrong with him. A friend had the short one for her monoflap and one of her TBs, who is admittedly very picky about everything, also hated it. I was really sad about this because it is a lovely girth.
My own TB goes best in a County, but the leather quality is variable. I have two that are nice and one that looks plastic. Right now on my WB I am actually using something a little different, although it isn’t set quite as far back the way an anatomical girth is, so it might not work for you. It has a really flexible, wide center piece and he loves it. I used one years ago on a very picky TB, who went well in anatomic girths but definitely preferred the le Tixerant, and decided to try it again on my current guy. https://www.mikmar.com/products-tixerant.html
I love my County Logic girths.
I have a Total Saddle Fit girth and I hate it. It’s really wide and the leather is not as nice quality as the County. My horses seem to be perfectly happy in either, though, so it’s not a matter of them not liking the TSF, I just don’t care for it. But the price was great and given the fact that my horses seem to react the same in the TSF versus County I’m not sure it’s worth the big price difference if you don’t have a preference yourself.
I also have a Jaguar and a couple of the anatomical-type girths with elastic on either side of the middle section (Le Tixerant and I can’t remember what the newer one I bought is - though I don’t like either of them as my saddle has slipped back more than usual on every horse I’ve tried them on).
I still come back to my Counties every time. Best quality leather, best shape, and last forever. Although, like foursocks said, the quality isn’t totally consistent. The lighter color girths that I’ve purchased are beautiful quality. The really dark brown one that I bought is much less supple and I would put it maybe a step above the TSF girth, maybe on a par leather-wise. Definitely not totally impressed with that one (though I have 5 or 6 other Logics in the lighter 2 colors of brown that are all really nice).
I’ve seen some beautiful versions in other brands (Antares, Voltaire, CWD), but I haven’t tried them, so can’t speak to what they’re like.
Both my horses have their own cwd anatomical girth, love them!
I have the Tekna shoulder relief girth and I’ve been really pleased with it. It really gives my horse shoulder room and keeps the saddle in place. It’s cheaper, it’s pleather, but the elastic is great (almost a year later and many rides, in the summer multiple horses), and you can’t tell it’s not real leather from a distance. I have a county logic for show and don’t like it nearly as much. I did size up with the Tekna since I assume leather girths will stretch but pleather does not. I also just got one for my moms horse. Highly recommend!
