I have mover to all double sided elastic girths on my english saddle and really really like the idea, especially it’s forgiveness on green horses when their adjusting to being “squished”.
However I’m looking into a western saddle in the near future and in my last 14 years of recollection can’t recall ever seeing any elastic on a western cinch. hmmmm….
Does anyone here ride with one? Have a favorite? A link to buy? or a reason why they think it’s a terrible idea?
Cashel makes a billet with elastic in it-
http://www.cashelcompany.com/Product.aspx?ProductID=8744
They also make a converter so you could use a double-elastic dressage girth with your western saddle.
I have a sheepskin cinch with elastic at both ends from Stagecoach west. It is wonderful!
I had one made by Toklat with elastic on both ends. It is very nice quality and would recommend them.
https://stagecoachwest.com/woolback-girth-roper-girth-p-5353.html
Here’s the cinch. I was wrong. It only has elastic at one end, but it has rollers to do it up, which makes it very user friendly. You can’t beat the price!
If you get a cinch that is made of natural materials (such as alpaca or mohair) it is going to have some “give” to it. If you also have a leather latigo and off-billet on your saddle, that is also going to have more “give”.
Versus synthetic materials in cinches and nylon latigos/off-billets, that will be more rigid with less give.
I’ve never seen a western cinch with elastic in person (obviously they do make them) and I guess I’ve never had a problem, so I really wouldn’t worry too much about it.
If your green horse has a problem with being cinched up, then I’d go back to ground work and fix the problem.
Thanks for all of the suggestions guys! I think I’m going to wait until I get had a more permanent saddle to actually buy one though, one of the options I’ve been looking for is a bob marshall and I think she would need a smaller girth than many of those come in 
If your green horse has a problem with being cinched up, then I’d go back to ground work and fix the problem.
I had the whole back story/ training time line etc etc in my original post before deleting in lieu of just getting to the point. We are going so so so slow that we’re almost making no progress at all lol I’m in school now so really not a lot of time to work with my pony but I’ve been working with her and mostly just tacking her up and feeding her in my english tack, I go very slowly, and there has been very minimal fuss, if any at all. However, I did buy an endurance saddle (that doesn’t fit me) and decided to see how she felt about different tack. She didn’t mind it but it seemed like she let me get it just touching her then when I took a step back she bloated but it “squished” her instead of stretching like my english girth and she tensed and tosses her head and had to really think about it. In general she just looked kind of agitated without it even being tight (just snug). So it was just an inquiry as something she might prefer in the future as well as a curiosity of my own 
I am also looking for a double sided elastic western girth. My horses perform so much better with these. However I havent had to purchase one in 15 years as thats how long my last one lasted. I can not for the life of me remember where i got it or the name brand but I am looking to replace it with another just like it. It is the sleeve style neoprene western girth. Stushica you are very intelligent in your search for this girth. I have professionally trained horses for over 35 years and making your horse as comfortable as you can takes training and performance to the max. It is not about making your horse learn to tolerate discomfort but to learn how to make your equine friends more comfortable so they can work better for you. If you find that girth please let me know.
I hear ya, OP! I’ve got the Toklat sheepskin double-elastic cinch but one thing about it that bums me out is, the sheep skin is so puffy it makes the overall width of the cinch kind of ridiculous, and the excess sort of bunches up behind my mare’s elbows. I want to say it’s at least 8" wide.
I also have the Toklat and agree with the above post. It’s waayyy to puffy and looks ridiculous!
Ha, just got a new saddle for my 13.3h mare and now my girth is too big. Got one from Chicks - they have pony/mini sizes up to 26", and a few of the regular girths go down to 28" and 26". Yes, green horses can be girthy, so a little extra care while they are getting used to it is good. But with proper fitting tack, a girth really should not bother the horse. Just don’t use all your power to snug it up.
One word of caution - with a green horse, you don’t want the horse to go bucking off while you are getting tacked up and have the saddle slip. I always used a bareback pad with no stirrups for first saddling, it really is not the saddle they object to as much as the girth. Once they’ve moved around with a bareback pad and snug girth, putting a saddle on is no big deal.
I hate English cinches, and find my English saddle so much harder to do up than any of my western saddles
My English saddle’s girth only has elastic on one side, and I hate pulling against that elastic to try and make the holes
I fail to see why you would want such a cinch on a western saddle, as you only have to do that cinch up as tight as you wish. You are not just trying to make that first set of holes, as with an English girth
[QUOTE=Plumcreek;7744059]
http://www.sstack.com/western_saddles_girths/dura-tech-stretch-eze-girth/[/QUOTE]
One has to be careful with neoprene cinches. Some horses hate them
Professional’s choice has a new “smx comfort stretch” cinch that stretches in the middle. I just wish it wasn’t it wasn’t neoprene. Nationalbridle.Com has at least one with double elastic.
Go back to a mohair or alpaca cinch with roller buckles. Classic Equine makes a really nice cinch. http://www.smithbrothers.com/27-strand-vintage-100%-alpaca-and-mohair-straight-cinch/p/X3-02105/
All leather latigo and off billet is very important so the horse can breathe. Make sure you do not have too thick a saddle pad making the saddle roll. Make sure your saddle fits. Pinching in the shoulders will make a horse seem girthy.
Make sure your saddle is not too far forward, a lot of English riders start out putting a western saddle too far toward. Make sure you have a hands with of space between the cinch and the inside of her elbow. The bars of the saddle should be behind her shoulder, not on top of it.
The comment that waiting for fittings until you get another saddle is kind of silly. Fittings can be transferred to a new saddle.
Lastly, don’t tighten your saddle to quickly. Snug it and walk her around. Do it in increments. Do not over tighten the cinch. Pretty easy to do with roller buckles. After being snugged up before mounting, you should be able to slip your hand under the cinch below the buckles. After you get on, walked around, check it again.
Good luck.
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