The inner side of my expensive Fairfax girth cracked and recently tore. Pictures were sent to the manufacturer from the place I purchased the girth from and we’ll see what they say.
I will not spend another $400 to buy another of this girth that lasted a relatively short time with care and a climate-controlled tack room.
Where to repair it at? Would you consider a leather shoe store repair? I’d rather not send it away for repair if I have different options.
Thanks in advance
Sheepskin girth cover? Get the cheaper prolite version? David dyer saddlery website says that girth has to be cleaned AND conditioned after every use. Sorry, no. To much work for 400 dollars
I’ve seen a decent amount of cracks Fairfax girths. Honestly, as an owner of their saddles, I think all of their stuff is over priced for the quality. Anyway, some Saddlers can do leather repair. Maybe inquire around your area? I’ve known some that can do repairs on saddles such as replacing the seat and whatnot, so maybe a girth is a possibility?
ETA: I did get a pair of chaps repaired at a shoe place a long time ago, but never any horse tack. However, I just remembered a friend brought a jumping girth (I cannot recall the exact repair) to a local motorcycle place…since they wear/dealt with leather repairs.
Honestly, I’m not all that impressed with my Prolite. It looks relatively well-made from a stitching perspective and the low-maintenance synthetic material isn’t likely to crack/rip. But the material is very rigid and bulky and seems to put a lot of pressure in the middle of the belly when the girth is tightened. The super easygoing gelding I leased was not a fan of it (and I did size him for the narrow gauge). I’m now riding a VERY sensitive TB mare who also gets skin rubs extremely easy… There’s no way I’m putting the Prolite on her. It was obviously way cheaper than buying a Fairfax, but I hate that I paid $165 for a girth I don’t like and won’t use.
My Fairfax hasn’t held up terribly well either. It’s seen maybe 3 years of regular use in the 5 or so years I’ve had it. The inside leather is fine, but the outside leather isn’t smooth anymore. It has little dimples or pits all over it. It still works fine, but isn’t as pretty to look at.
Huh, @joiedevie99 . The outside of my girth is really good, the inside isn’t. I’m currently riding with vetwrap (freshly applied or, yes, rinsed and dried vetwrap) to make it through a clinic this weekend. @CanteringCarrot , there’s one saddle shop near me I can call tomorrow, I think they do maily western but I’ll call. @arabiansrock I briefly looked into a sheepskin cover when it was just cracked and not torn. I may go that route after it is fixed. I can’t imagine they can just sew it, they’ll have to put a patch it over it. I wipe it after every ride like instructed and it lives in a temp controlled tack round. I’m not very pleased.
@J-Lu I’d send pictures to Kate at Dutchess Bridle and Saddle. She sells them, and does all kinds of repairs.
so glad for this thread, I was eyeing FF girths but seems like a hard pass now.
I’ve found them to cause rubs and you feel like you are cutting your horse in half trying to make them snug enough (I much prefer elastic and do not like super tight girths).
I recently got a TSF girth (with the elastic center) and they gave me a 90 DAY (!) trial. Typically it is a 30 day trial anyways. I may upgrade to the leather liner but the neoprene one seems fine. It feels similar in shape and feel to the FF girths that I have handled.
To keep this on track: OP, try Cabin Branch in Southern Pines. I have heard that their leather guy is great for repair and custom work.
I currently use TSF on my other horses and love it, I need a new girth for my big mare since I don’t have a big enough one now, so I guess I will stick to TSF!
UPDATE!!
The tack shop I purchased the girth from, M&M Tack in Raleigh, NC, talked with Fairfax recently. They said that in NC, 7 years is a healthy lifespan for a leather girth due to our climate and regular exposure to sweat (I’m a bit skeptical, as I’ve lived in climates from southern NM to Houston (10x worse than NC) and haven’t seen cracks like this in anyone’s girth, but I digress). However, the owner and Fairfax offered to sell me one at what what I suspect is likely cost to produce (a fraction of the retail cost). I mentioned picking it up on Saturday, and the owner told me that the store was closed for the fourth of July (I forgot it was Sat) but she’d meet me there anyway to sell me the girth. How incredibly accommodating!!! I of course said no, and I’ll pick it up on Thursday. I asked her to please re-inform me on what is considered good care for this girth (I have been following that closely, I thought, but apparently was wrong) and asked if I should purchase a sheepskin cover (Lemieux makes ones that fit Fairfax girths) to extend the life (it was mentioned upthread). She graciously offered to meet me at the store to discuss. THAT is customer service.
I am very happy that the store and the company stood behind their product/products they sell. While I’d be hesitant to buy another new, maybe I got a “lemon”. I’ll find out. My horse goes in a 28 narrow, and I couldn’t find similar dimensions in other anatomical girths. He really likes this girth and I’d really rather not change things with this horse because he’s clear when he objects to tack or things that change. He’s going quite well right now, I’d rather not go through the whole girth thing again. I suspect this is a high-maintenance girth…I can do that to extend the life.
Again, huge shout out to M&M Tack for really trying to help me and standing by what they sell. And, a huge shout-out to Fairfax who also stands by their products and worked with the store owner and me. They could have been jerks about it - they weren’t at all.
I’ve never had a rub on my horse, and I make the girth snug on the ground, it gets less snug when I mount. I don’t crank it down. He stays on the same “holes” year round, it gets more snug in the spring and less snug in the winter. :winkgrin:
THANKS!! A saddle shop in my town mentioned Cabin Branch and said they send everything there for repair. Good to know!!!
I just bought my second fairfax dressage girth (25 NG) because my first one (8 years old) was starting to show some wear that I was worried could lead to cracks/tears in the leather. I will admit I was not the best at cleaning every use the first couple years…I will say it lasted longer than my previous leather girth for the same horse. My horse prefers the shape of the fairfax and the no elastic. I’m glad the shop and company offered such great service J-Lu!
I am not sure what they recommended for the girth, but I treated in the same way as my Fairfax saddle. I cleaned and wiped it down with water, then used Rapide Leather Gel. Nice to hear that good customer service is still a thing these days!
Whoaaaaaaaaaa, I picked up my new Fairfax girth today and what a HUGE difference from mine! I brought mine in to show them. Turns out, I was one of the first people who purchased this girth from them (7 years ago) and they’ll be interested in hearing others’ experiences as the years go on.
They suggested I reach out to Fairfax to ask if the LeMieux girth cover is compatible, noting that some substances rubbing on the leather girth might damage it more. I will do that before putting a girth cover on it. I’ll report back.
Yep, damp cloth after riding, application of Rapide every or every other ride.
same!! I need a larger girth now - I think I’m going to order the LeMieux gel one.
I found a relatively inexpensive, used dressage Fairfax girth to try for my horse to see if he liked the girth and check size (I wanted a short one for my jumping saddle). I have no idea of how old it was or the kind of care it got, but I was surprised to see that it had cracks on the inside. Nonetheless, my horse really like it, so I bought a new one for the jump saddle (needed the breastplate loop). The leather on the new girth seems to be quite different (possibly different tanning process?). I have to confess I have not been scrupulous about the care, but it has held up quite well with no evidence of cracking and is still soft and supple. He is a horse that sweats a lot and all of his tack gets well and truly tested.
I noticed a big difference between my first girth (when they first came out) and my new one. New one is lighter, softer overall. I am not a leather expert but I’m assuming type of leather for the part that comes in contact with the horse is different source/tanning process (?)
Huh. You could very much be right. I think (I think) the interior leather is the same leather they make the little Rapide (sp???) pouch with. @Ubu&Goober and @crthunder , the Fairfax rep told me that as much as the girth gets wiped cleaned and dried and the takes up the Rapide (sp???) conditioner, the girth leather will take up horse sweat and that will change the leather. He wasn’t surprised with my cracks and tears because of my climate. In NC, it gets freakishly hot in the summer (well, spring (if there is one) and fall, too) and horses sweat alot.
I asked if the LeMieux girth cover would extend the life or aggravate the soft leather interior with rubs. The Tack shop told me to ask Fairfax prior to buying a product advertised as “made for brand x” like Memieux does, and so I did. Will report back.
How long have you had it for? That’s encouraging news!
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