Balding Girth That Won't Bankrupt Me?

[Ceylon_Star]

Posting here because Baldings seem to be more prevalent with fox hunters these days than hunter/jumpers.

I’m on the hunt for a 46" Balding girth for my draft pony. I got to borrow a 49" and while it solved a LOT of my issues, it was too big even done up on the top holes on both sides. So I’m searching for one in a 46. Problem is, I can’t afford $200+ for a girth right now, and he needs a better girth like yesterday. :no:

If there’s a UK company that makes them, the local boutique tack store owner will bring one in for me and save me some $$ on shipping. I know of 2 American sites that sell them, but they cost more than my saddle did :eek:

My google skills are failing me and I’m finding LOTS of baldings in wee sizes (under 40") and HUGE sizes (56" and bigger)

Ideally wanting dark brown, but my saddle is such a dark havana that we could pull off black.

Thanks for any help you can offer!

[Willesdon]

Used to be a lot more common and still a favourite of mine.

http://www.equestrianworld.co.uk/jeffries_balding_girth-m495?gclid=CMnLk4ea5b4CFWvkwgodaIAA4w

http://risleysaddlery.com/Girth5/Leather-Balding-Girth.aspx

http://www.tackzone.com/catalog/balding-girth-p-370.html

There are a lot for sale on E-bay in the UK

[MissMilly]

Bartville Harness probably makes them and has them in stock, but will certainly be able to do custom if they don’t have any on hand. Their work is VERY high quality, and quite reasonably priced, but not fancy. I don’t have the catalog in front of me, but do a search on the forums for more info. They are easy to work with, but are Amish so communication is limited. No website and they only answer the phone in the early AM but will call you back if you leave a message. They’ve done lots of stock and custom items for me and I’ve been very pleased. Almost all of my fox hunting tack is from them.

[SLW]

Ditto Bartville, great business to work with for tack.

I know this isn’t a Balding girth but it is what I use with my cobby built Connemara. Slightly shaped through the elbow area and oh so nice to tighten up with the spring prongs.

[sdlbredfan]

I will take a look in my tack collection. I know I have 2 Balding girths, but don’t remember what size. Do you need the 46 inch to be from end to end, or from middle of buckle to middle of buckle? Please PM me the answer, if you would rather not say in the message thread.

[Ceylon_Star]

[QUOTE=sdlbredfan;7612514]
I will take a look in my tack collection. I know I have 2 Balding girths, but don’t remember what size. Do you need the 46 inch to be from end to end, or from middle of buckle to middle of buckle? Please PM me the answer, if you would rather not say in the message thread.[/QUOTE]

Either way of measuring SHOULD work. The one I had to try was a very stretched-out, originally size 48, that actually measures 50.5" end to end. I really appreciate you looking, even if neither are close.

Willesdon, thanks, but two won’t ship to my area, and the third has ridiculous shipping costs. I tried to get a local tack shop to bring me in a Bobby’s, but they said that Bobby’s is horrible to work with and often take more than 6 months to fill an order Very frustrating!

I’ll give Bartville Harness a shot, even if it means getting up ungodly early my time to get a hold of them!

SLW - what did you use on your Connemara? I definitely need narrow around the elbows. Not only is his girth channel narrow, his elbows come back farther than other horses of similar type. I’ve tried several shaped leather girths, but they’ve been too thick/wide in the elbow area and either rubbed, or pulled the saddle out of place. I’ve got a string girth coming for schooling/trail riding, but they’re not allowed in the local show rings, and the balding really does work better than the string anyways but as I said, I really need something better than what we’ve got right now.

Gah, odd-proportioned horses are a huge pain in the butt! (at least he’s cute? haha)

[Cherry]

Ceylon Star, I just looked through my Bartville catalog and there is no balding girth listed. :no:

That’s not to say they couldn’t or wouldn’t make you one but they might need to look at a sample before proceeding.

How much were you looking to spend?

[Ceylon_Star]

I honestly can’t afford more than $175CAD after shipping, so it really limits my options. This whole being unemployed thing is getting REALLY old, but pony needs to be comfortable and my leaser needs to have a stable saddle so they can be safe.

I’m open to other non-balding options, but the important thing is that it be narrow right up to where the elastic and/or buckles connect. The saddle flaps come down far enough, paired with elbows that come up high enough, that the majority of overlay girths are too wide about halfway up, or if they’re narrow enough the leather itself is too thick and it still rubs. I’ve tried sheepskin, girth covers, different girth lengths, a crupper to hold it all back and try to avoid the elbows all together, and it just doesn’t work He’s built like a draft that’s been squished into too short of a stall for too long so failed to grow to the proper length, and while it makes for a good strong back, it also creates a huge pain in the rear when it comes to finding a girth that fits correctly.

[Cherry]

CS–the girth at the tackzone site is a Bobby’s and it’s around $73. USD. Will they not ship to you?

[Ceylon_Star]

I chatted with them the other day and they don’t have a 46 in stock, and apparently Bobby’s is a beast to deal with and it’ll take about 6 months for them to get the girth in, and then ship it to me (and the shipping quote was more than the cost of the girth. ouch). I asked a couple more local shops if they could bring one in for me, and they too said it’ll be months before Bobby’s will get it to them, which I found surprising! I had a Bobby’s bridle that I got from one of said local shops, and don’t remember them having nearly the same issues at the time, but this was probably 10 years ago now. Major bummer

[SLW]

Oops, here is the link!
http://www.sstack.com/English_English-Girths-Accessories/Lettia-Clik-All-Purpose-Girth/

I bought mine from SmartPak. Good luck!

[sdlbredfan]

Ceylon Star, I sent you a PM.

[Ceylon_Star]

Got it! Jeanie you are absolutely wonderful! Thank you! <3