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Does anyone have any experience with/insight on the Stubben Equi-soft girth?

Dressage
#1

I apologize for yet another girth thread.:eek:

I encountered the Stubben Equi-soft girth (http://www.doversaddlery.com/stbn-eqsft-drss-grth-w-lthr-bk/p/X1-02280/) recently when a client of mine was trying different saddles for a difficult to fit horse. The fitter loaned me one of these girths to try as I have a horse who is somewhat particular about his girth. He seemed to like it and go well in it during the trial period but I’m not entirely convinced it makes a big enough difference to warrant the price…perhaps.

What I’m concerned about is if it causes any pinching with long term use or if anyone has had any issues with the rubber bands breaking?

I’d also be interested to hear how tight others make it. The fitter told me it can be left a bit more loose than a standard girth (which I like), but its design seems to make it so that the bottom chest piece is quite snug while the side pieces are very loose. Is this normal for this girth?

Any information would be much appreciated! :slight_smile:

#2

I got one at a Dover tent sale for a steal about a month ago. The elastic rings seem pretty sturdy, and I don’t get the feeling that they are going to break, but I haven’t had it long enough to have any problems. If you look at the shape of the main leather piece, and how the elastic is situated, it gives in such a way that it accommodates the horse’s rib cage as it expands and contracts, but doesn’t give so much that it keeps the saddle in place. My guy has pretty sensitive skin, and if it was going to rub or pinch him anywhere, I would know already.

I recall seeing an eventer use one cross country last fall, and if he was confident enough to go splashing through some big water obstacles in it, I would guess that it’s pretty sturdy and the elastic isn’t going to succumb to rot too easily. It’s just like elastic on every other girth, I think-there’s just more of it.

As far as tightening it, I’m not really sure. My horse is super, super narrow and has a decently high whither, so it is pretty much impossible for my saddle to slip from side to side, so I’m only ever interested in making sure that the saddle doesn’t slide forward or back. I let there be a tiny bit of play in the straps and I’ve never had a problem with it slipping. I did try to tighten it as far as it would go, but it kept giving and giving, and I got the impression that it wasn’t designed to be used like that. I also cross my billets, I don’t know if that makes a difference to anything.

#3

Thank you, Mvspencer!

Has anyone else used this girth?

#4

I handled one in person last year at a vendor fair. Stubben rep assured me that the rubber donuts don’t break but apparently in the unlikely event they do, that Stubben sells replacements.

If you get it through Dover and one goes pop, you can get a new one… just sayin’.

#5

I was in love with this girth when I saw it in the catalog. I saw one in person this fall and all of the same questions about pinching. I didn’t like that it had “sections”.

I was so pleased! I saved several hundred dollars. Lol

#6

For anybody thinking or lusting - here is something similar that I happened across…altho it doesn’t come in small sizes…

https://www.etsy.com/listing/221055045/painless-girth-for-horses-medicinal?ref=shop_home_active_7

#7

So what did you do? I am curious about the Stubben Equi-soft girth and now that it has been out for a year I wonder how they have held up and work. I have only seen one for resell on Ebay and no where else…maybe that is a good sign or just that no one is buying a $440 dollar girth.

#8

[QUOTE=ghettozoo;8551962]
So what did you do? I am curious about the Stubben Equi-soft girth and now that it has been out for a year I wonder how they have held up and work. I have only seen one for resell on Ebay and no where else…maybe that is a good sign or just that no one is buying a $440 dollar girth.[/QUOTE]

So I ended up buying one (with the fleece backing) at Thanksgiving from VTO (because they had the best price and had their 20% off sale on top of that). I’ve largely used it on my Dutch gelding and he seems to love it. I notice he moves out better right from the start and it does not seem to interfere with his elbow, etc. He’s a pretty big, loose mover and I felt like most other girths restricted him somewhat at the start of the ride. I have not had that problem with this girth, nor have I had issues with the saddle slipping, or needing to over tighten it. I’ve also not had any pinching, though this guy isn’t particularly sensitive to that in general.

Just for additional information, before I purchased my own, I used the trial girth on my I-1 horse (a super tight APHA gelding) and he seemed to love it and move out better too. He’s nearly all white and super sensitive but I never had any pinching or rubbing problems on him either. That girth had the smooth leather padding.

Overall I’m quite happy with the purchase. :slight_smile:

1 Like
#9

My guy is still happy with it too! I didn’t realise, but there are a few strategically placed velcro parts that mean you can disassemble it clean it easy. I thought it was nifty.

#10

[QUOTE=mvspencer;8552003]
My guy is still happy with it too! I didn’t realise, but there are a few strategically placed velcro parts that mean you can disassemble it clean it easy. I thought it was nifty.[/QUOTE]

Ok, I must have missed the velcro! Now I’ll need to look since that would make cleaning much nicer. :smiley:

#11

both myself and my sister swapped from fairfax girths to the stubben after a trial:

my horse is a 4yo KWPN, he is round in the ribs,flat over his back, bulky and chunky, a real leg at each corner type. His saddle would always move forward a bit in the canter work and he struggled to show his trot off to its full potential, feeling just a little tied in at the elbow(and when you see him loose he is most definitely NOT restricted by nature).
In the stubben the saddle stays put 100% never budges despite his athletic broncs and leaps! he is also much more fluid and reaching from the elbow to his full potential in the trot so it was a total no brainer.

sisters TB is 12yo and competing 3rd,working PSG. He has good paces but obviously more on the flat kneed, elegant TB side of things. In this girth he showed a definite increase in forearm use and thus cadence in the trot and more fluid movement in all 3 paces. He had no problems with saddle slippage before but certainly none now either.

it WOULD be easy to over tighten and ours are both snug in the centre and loose at the sides(as they should be to prevent pinching those muscles over the ribs). My trainer was NOT convinced i wasnt going to take a flyer as he could see the sides were loose, but nope, saddle never budged as was snug in the middle :slight_smile:

really really rate these :slight_smile:

#12

Stubben Equi-soft girth

Hey all. I just bought this girth off ebay coming from the UK to USA for under $300 which is a good price from what I have seen. I am looking forward to getting it especially since I read the last post about the the 4 yr old KWPN’s build- just like my two dutchies.

#13

How is the sizing? Would a 22" be comparable to an Albion 22" girth (just their regular leather shaped one)

#14

i would say so, my boy was 28 in fairfax and is 28 in the stubben :slight_smile:

#15

Bumping this up. Now that people have had them for a while what do you think? Worth the money? Do they hold up well?

#16

I am OBSESSED with this girth. Like everything about it is fantastic.

I’ve used mine for about two years, it looks fairly new and clean still. The straps are suedeish so that’s the only part that actually looks worn. There is zero pinching, several people have asked which I find so funny as it never crossed my mind.

I have a large Hanoverian who is a bit girthy, has sensitive skin, is big barreled and high withers. So I would definitely know if he hated it or got rubs. It sounds crazy, I know, but from the first steps of our first ride in this girth, he felt different. Like he could breathe, his shoulders felt free, his walk had great swing. It was sincerely like a different horse.

What I love as well is that you don’t need to ride with it super tight and you won’t swing around his belly. It’s just a wonderful piece of equipment. The elastic rings certainly don’t look like they’ll break and I’ve not had anything go wrong with it in two years. I know it’s spendy but it’s 100% worth the investment. Centerline has a sale going on: http://www.centerlinestyle.com/stubben-equi-soft-dressage-girth/

#17

Thanks! Mine arrived in the mail last night. Anxious to try it…

#18

I do not see the sale???

#19

I ordered mine from Smartpak…

#20

I have been using the Stubben Equisoft for about 8 months. I have both the leather pad and a “sheepskin” pad. I was replacing my Fairfax girth, which had gotten rather compressed and hard. I would say that, at first, my horse really moved freer in the Stubben. I did have trouble with it being too loose and afraid to overtighten it (and cancel out the benefits), but what I figured out was to tighten one hole tighter on the front billets and then raise the back billet to even after warming up. She seemed to start getting pressure points from the buckles, which are not very well padded (and fwiw, I saw an international rider using the Stubben with a leather billet guard pulled down under the buckles. It looked weird in the pictures, but was probably effective…I think it was Catherine Dufour) So what I did is get a lemieux sheepskin liner for my Fairfax girth, and I alternate between the Stubben and the Fairfax and that seems to work well.

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