I’m laughing over here because I’ve used the “mint method” on my mare forever and it works so well. Love that it’s an actual “thing”.
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i haven’t read everyone’s responses so apologize if i’m repeating and no advice on different types of girths to try, but -
side note - the donut girth comes in two different sizes of donuts, fyi. my mare is right around 17h and i use the “pony” on her because she is narrow. the regular one would be rubbing her elbows.
my mare can also have a good stink face when girthing - she gets a piece of carrot when she has a pleasant expression whenever i do something like even buckle the girth at the lowest hole. whenever she makes a stink face, she gets a squirt on the shoulder with the water pistol.
Lol the water pistol, that is a good idea! But my guy is just so fat already, after so many months of stall rest. And he’s so food oriented and grabby with treats. I am a little reluctant to shove so many carrots and mints at him, but maybe if it works…
I did order the small donut for the Prestige girth. The video I found from the inventor of the girth indicated that the small one was better suited for horses with a forward girth groove, ones whose elbows are close to the girth, and round horses, in addition to narrow ones. He said the small (“pony”) donut was becoming more popular, though it is a little more difficult to find in the US.
So I have a lot of prestige donut and stubben equisoft girths in my barn. Don’t know where you’re located but if somewhat local happy to have you come trial ride in some girths!
We also have one horse who is very very sensitive to girths and we have tried everything on him. So far he has liked the mikmar which do not last and are quite costly. The equisoft. And now in the donut. He prefers the big donut over the small.
While it hasn’t “fixed” his grumpy girthing up sessions. He now just makes faces and doesn’t stomp or kick to being girthed up. So big improvement. He doesn’t care if girthed in stall, aisle or under saddle. He detests getting his girth on. Even hanging completely loose he reacts. He works really in them all, but is better in all the girths mentioned above and best in the large donut.
We’ve had him since he was 3. He is now 14 and did his first GPs two seasons ago and his owner is doing the inter A and hopefully the GP this fall. He has been this way since a baby and at first we thought it was saddles… boy did we buy him saddles in the beginning…when most likely it was the girth all along.
While the donut isn’t perfect so far it’s the best we’ve had for him. He no longer palpates sore at all. At this point I do think some of it is a learned response. He “acts out” more for his owner than for me. (No we don’t get after him) but I don’t go looking for him to have a reaction either and am a bit more business like in my tacking up routine.
Best of luck and if your around northern Nj happy to help.
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Yup 
I’ve been using it for many years on several horses. Only problem is that my current horse is smart enough to extrapolate. Communicating that she is ready to do desired behaviours at appropriate times = “Paymint please.” She’s not rude but the looks she gives almost always get me doing what she wants. Tonight we were in a different grooming area so I couldn’t sneak the saddle on from the side. She saw me coming straight towards her with it and ducked her head and pricked her ears. The saddle went on over her head and she got her paymint.
That head duck thing as a signal that whatever I’m carrying (saddle pad, boots, bandages, towels, bits of my clothing, etc.) should go on/over her head came from teaching her to stick her head through the neck hole of her blanket.
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Does your horse get any grain/pelleted feed? If he’s a food-motivated piggy like mine, you may be able to use a single pellet of his grain instead of a treat. My horse is just as eager to get a single alfalfa pellet as a full sized treat.
My horse is also grumpy about being girthed so I’m following this thread closely! I tried the “mint method” yesterday and even though I only treated her when her face was forward, she was starting to mug me for treats. I need to do some more work with her on how to take treats politely.
Reporting back, there seem to have been some improvements in the sensitivity, whether its down to the nettle supplement or careful grooming 
at the moment there are too many variables.
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I purchased the WOW Freespace Girth about a month ago.
The main girth to body connection is through the sternum plate, the girth straps leave room around the pectoral muscles. I’d say my boy has slightly improved his way of going since I started using it, but the biggest advantage is the saddle is less likely to slip sideways on a barrel shaped horse. Also he’s slightly less girthy - he doesn’t blow himself out when I start to tighten it, although I still get a slightly scowling face from him.
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Is it possible he has ECVM with first rib involvement? If you can get xrays of C7 - T2, that should tell you. It would explain why he’s uncomfortable being touched in that area.
David dyer in uk has a girth bank where you can demo girths. https://www.daviddyersaddles.co.uk/category/girth_bank
