Favorite Anatomic Girth?

[SadieRidingHorses]

Fairfax has a measuring guide on their website, I believe, which helped me! I ended up going with the LeMieux GelTek (jumping) and a mattes girth (dressage). I liked that mattes offered different anatomical shapes based on body/girth groove type.

[BlueDrifter]

Does that make it a $500+ girth? Because you have to purchase a top and bottom? Or does a bottom come with the initial purchase, and you can buy additional bottoms later?

It looks interesting, and I am partial to Stubben, even though I no longer have their saddle.

[Smthn_Like_Olivia]

$500? I believe it’s around $300 give or take. Like I said, I got mine during Covid and believe I paid just over $160 for it (Both pieces). They were $80 each plus tax and shipping. The other feature that I like is that it doesn’t have to be over tightened, just snug, so you don’t feel like you have to cut off your horses air stream to feel secure. Especially now that things are back in full swing, it’s more painful when you have to just buy the bottom piece. But if you shop around, you can usually find it a little cheaper on other sites than Stubbens.

[J-Lu]

@Cowgirl

Because my horses have a more forward and narrow girth groove, the Fairfax fit them so much better than the County Logic. Both girths have stitching around the edge that causes a little groove next to the horse, so I use a sheepskin liner with it. The County has elastic on the ends; the Fairfax does not, but I do a slow girth up anyway so it’s fine. I have a Stubben Equisoft and I’ve had the Mattes anatomic girths before, but I keep coming back to the Fairfax…

What girth cover do you use with your Fairfax?

[J-Lu]

@evntr95

I think I’m even more lost in options than I was before! So- dumb question, which I feel like I ought to know as a rider of what feels like umpteen million years, who is relatively competent at assessing saddle fit and self managing the care and training of my two horses. But… how the heck do I tell what type of girth groove my horse has and then decide what I think he’d like, as per some of the recommendations here?

My older Stackhouse fits the horses pretty well and doesn’t have an appreciable amount of forward or backward slide while I ride. I’ve only been using the Logic girth with it, but they jump in normal long girths with no major complaints.

Not a dumb question at all!

I’m sure others will correct me, but a forward girth groove occurs in horses that, when you look at how the neck sets in on top, have withers that set in rather far to the back. And when you look at where their legs come out of the body, where you think the girth would naturally settle is in front of where you think you saddle and its billet straps will settle when properly placed on your horse’s back.

A regular girth slid everything forward onto his shoulders.

If you want, PM me your email and I’ll send you pictures of what I’m talking about regarding a narrow girth groove and how the Fairfax helps.

[Roni4444]

Mattes has a girth guide that identifies 5 body types

[Cowgirl]

I prefer the LeMieux sheepskin (I’m not sure if they still make it). The current one they are selling for Fairfax is a Christ Horsedream, but I don’t like it–it tends to bunch up. If it’s really difficult to get on (like the LeMieux) it is better!

[BlueDrifter]

Well the girth top is $399 and girth bottom is $189 = $589 … so you got a deal!

[Smthn_Like_Olivia]

Nope. You’re mistaken. Not sure what site you’re on, but if it’s showing $399 that’s for both. On Stubben’s website right now it’s $199 for the top and $189 for the bottom. Smartpak has it for $349 for both, but limited on bottoms you can choose from. Mary’s Tack and Feed has it for $388 complete. Stateline Tack has them for $349 for both.

[BlueDrifter]

I was on the Stubben website, but I can see what you are seeing now. At the time, it seemed to say $399 for the girth and then offer the bottom as an option for $189, and that is what I was trying to figure out – do I have to buy a bottom or does it come with one for $399.

So now, it is clearer that it is $388 for a top and bottom. Whew. Thanks for sticking with me!

[Synthesis]

@ExpialidociousOTTB

Stubben also makes one that might be worth looking at, the Equisoft. And Fairfax makes a synthetic version if the leather maintenance is too much a pain, I’ve not seen that one in person but I’d like to.

I have two of the synthetic Fairfax, sold by Prolite. I love them. I’ve had no rubbing issues, they’ve held up well even with benign neglect. One is regular width that was for my broad draft cross, the other was the narrow that I bought second hand out of the UK for my TBs. My only real issue was with some slip back of the saddle when the TBs hadn’t filled out yet. Forward girth groove but rib cage not yet ‘popped’, easily resolved with a racing breastplate.