Fairfax Girth - worth it?

[Jealoushe]

@dps

mine is a year old used 6 days a week no cracking yet, I hose mine off after each use and hang to dry

Pretty much every one on eBay has significant cracking from what I see. They are likely older than a year though.

@outerbanks77 I have the LeMieux gel tek and it is THE BEST girth. It is sooooo soft and squishy and my horses love it.

[artisticgold]

I have a Fairfax and a Prolite I would sell. My mare is the princess and the pea and has chosen another girth!😁

[J-Lu]

@reithme2

Just had the saddle fitter out to reflock my saddle and they let me try a fairfax performance short girth and I really liked it and so did my horse. He seemed to move a bit freer but of course the price tag has me a little hesitant. Also - horse could have moved better because of the saddle reflocking - hard to know if it was just the girth (I did try with both my girth and the fairfax - seemed to move better with the fairfax girth).

Has anyone used one?

Since getting a dressage saddle I got a cheap shoulder relief girth - I’m wondering if something like the Le Mieux Gel Tek girth would be a good alternative. Otherwise I may stalk eBay for a fairfax…

i tried a Fairfax girth when I was looking for saddles (via my independent saddle fitter). The girth really helped the saddle from moving forward on the shoulders on my young pear-shaped horse and I purchased it. My horse really liked/likes it!!! The girth lasted about 7? years before ripping on the side against the horse. The girth was kept in a climate controlled room, etc. I was not pleased. I was able to replace it at cost but it needs regular care which I’m anal about now. It is a bit of an orchid in terms of tack care. I like it because my horse goes so well in it.

[J-Lu]

@flynride

My sensitive snowflake approves of his Fairfax girth, even over other shaped models. He likes it even more when it’s encased in LeMieux’s sheepskin Fairfax girth cover. The girth is several years old now and looks practically brand-new. I condition it regularly with Fairfax’s recommended product, Rapide Leather Gel, a sample of which comes with every Fairfax product purchase.

To your knowledge, does Fairfax approve of the LeMieux sheepskin cover? I have been thinking about using it and I’m happy to hear that you’ve been using it for a few years without issue to the girth.

[outerbanks77]

I just got my LeMieux GelTek and have used it twice. I’m quite happy with it for about half the price of the Fairfax. Hoping it will hold up as well; I do like that it has a touch of elastic, and that it is closer in shape to the Fairfax narrow gauge. It seems the same in terms of the saddle staying in place, and my horse’s performance.

I’ve used LeMieux covers on my Fairfax with no problems and can’t see how they could damage the girth. On the contrary, they should prolong the life by protecting it from sweat and grime.

[flynride]

@J-Lu

To your knowledge, does Fairfax approve of the LeMieux sheepskin cover? I have been thinking about using it and I’m happy to hear that you’ve been using it for a few years without issue to the girth.

The sheepskin cover fits like a glove – literally, as in it’s a bit of a do to get on, but once it’s in place it doesn’t budge. It has not had any adverse effects on the girth. I’m sure it helps that I keep both scrupulously clean. I have several covers and change them out regularly and wash them regularly in sheepskin wash. I never leave a sweat-soaked girth cover on the girth.

[eightpondfarm]

i have finally found a saddle that fits my mare and now i’m seeking a girth. I admit i usually ride in a very loose girth, but because i can and i think the horse can move so much better. BUT… i guess i should bite-the-bullet and conform to the real world. And, now that i have a dressage saddle to ride upon, my coach tells me that i shouldn’t be buckling up under the flap. It’s hard on the horse for leg pressure ontop of the buckles, hard to feel the horse, etc. I think my first question is i seen people buckling onto billets in so many different heights. Some (online) recommendations is that the higher up toward the saddle you go, the more stability you have to the saddle. BUT…lower on the billets …like say, 2 to 4 inches are what i see being recommended the most…offers the horse more flexibility. So number one on my list is to figure out where the girth should be buckled before i can even take a measurement.

My second question is how important is it to have a backing to the buckles (as opposed to say, the Stübben Equi-Soft and it’s four independant free-wheeling buckles)? Is motion and flexibility a big enough deal to override buckles against skin?

Another question, when there are gel girths, does the gel move down and also away from armpits of the horse and coalesce on the sternum?

Leather is just too much a PITA…i’ll be getting synthetic. So that kinda nixes the Fairfax for me, but it looks like a nice design.

[outerbanks77]

There is a synthetic version of the Fairfax girth called the Prolite. The main downside to it from what I’ve read is that it gets stiff in cold weather.

I have not had gel migrate in a girth, though I haven’t used a gel girth for an extended period of time. Maybe 6-12 months at one point.

Personally I prefer the girth to have backing behind the buckles, and to have a minimal amount of billet in contact with the horse’s side, so I want the buckle backing to be pretty close to the bottom of the saddle flap. If you look at horses that are girthed in short girths several inches below the saddle flap, the billets look to be cutting into their sides at times, which appears fairly uncomfortable. My saddle billets aren’t that long though, so it would be impossible to girth that way. I want to be able to start the girth on at least the second hole of the billets on each side, and then be able to tighten it up a bit from there, just to have some leather to grasp.

[soloudinhere]

The equisoft does have backing behind the buckles. It’s just not a solid piece that connects the two buckles to each other, each buckle has its own padded backing.

I find girths that have too much backing behind the buckles interfere with my boot/spur. I’m not gifted with a lot of leg.

That said, while I like my equisoft, I won’t be spending $300 on a larger one for my new saddle, so I just use the collegiate synthetic anatomic which I actually quite like for the $60.

[artisticgold]

I have one that is like new that I would sell reasonably. They are really nice quality

[J-Lu]

Yes, the girths on dressage saddles are shorter and I prefer them to be secured below the widest part of the horse - of course depending on the horse - but above the saddle flaps for comfort. My typical dressage saddle numbers the long billet holes from the bottom and I use hole 4 and 5. My independent saddle fitter agrees with the fit and was instrumental to my girth purchase. We examined several girths and she determined the fit.

I chose the Fairfax because on THIS horse, when he was young and not using himself well, the saddle slipped from his well-spring ribcage to his “girly” narrow shoulders. They were pretty narrow. He has since filled out but his rib cage is wider than his shoulders and the Fairfax really works for him.

Previous to this, I used a simple Wintec synthetic girth on my previous horses (with a Wintec Isabell synthetic saddle) and it worked just fine through the levels for them. Not so much Mr. Orchid.

I am very happy to privately send you pictures of his tack set-up.

[eightpondfarm]

Yes please, i would like to see…
a 26 came-with my saddle, but didn’t even reach the bottom holes. I just ordered a 30 and a 32 of different manufacturers. I think part of my issue is the billets are maybe not as long as they ought to be?

[GiantHim]

Do you still have these? Interested if you do please PM specs.

[J-Lu]

Will do.