I am casually on the hunt for a new girth and was wondering what everyone likes. I don’t live near any tack shops so have to order online, and feedback on which girths are worth the money would be greatly appreciated!
While I like the Total Saddle Fit shoulder relief girth (synthetic)… my horse was not fond of it till I made a fleece cover for it. Previously we were using a cheap fleece girth which she liked a lot. However as she has developed more in her shoulders/withers she had issues. The saddle fitter took some flocking out of the saddle but also suggested the shoulder relief girth. So now the saddle sits right where it should, but we needed a bit of cushion as my girl is a bit of a diva. I didn’t want to spend the money for a girth cover not knowing for sure if it would make a difference, so as I can sew we are trying a homemade cover.
Guess I am saying that what YOU want, what your horse needs and what your horse wants might be different… good luck.
Wintec, hands down. I spent a fortune on fancy schmacy girths, all of which rubbed on of my horses. I haven’t had a rub yet with Wintec girths after 10+ years of using them. They do need to be replaced periodically.
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I really like this Prestige girth:
https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/pr…age-girth-8616
It’s similar to the Total Saddle Fit girth but the quality is much nicer. I also don’t like where the billet keepers are on the TSF girth; they’re too close to the buckles so the ends tend to hang down below the keeper. The Prestige can often be found used on eBay for fairly cheap, and they wear like no other girth I’ve used. Mine still looks brand new after 2 years of personal use…and I bought it used!
The Wintecs are great for the wallet and the horses seem to like them, but I agree with the above poster: they do crack and need to be replaced periodically.
this is my girth. Both the horse and I LOVE it. It’s also soft!! I always had to use sheepskin to prevent rubs and although originally I had a cover for it, we were forced to use it without and it’s great! No rubs.
Love it, pricey but great investment.
I have this girth and I love it. https://www.cheshirehorse.com/jeffries-symbian-dressage-girth
It is shaped, and the equalizer feature allows me to have the girth tightened on different holes for each billet which provides the greatest stability. I wish they made a long girth the same way for my jumping saddle…
A couple months ago I bought the Ovation Comfort dressage girth used from someone on Facebook. I got a heck of a deal, and I really really love it. My horses are much more comfortable, and it looks great.
Nunn Finer Passage girth, super leather! Fit is amazing, fits my horse nicely.
I really like my Total Saddle Fit girths - my horses seem to need the anatomical style. Some individuals have complained that the leather isn’t nice enough but this is a $125 girth, not a $350 girth - for the price, the leather is perfectly
sturdy and serviceable, cleans up nicely, accepts conditioner nicely. I’ve had mine for going on three years
and I see no signs of any problems.
I have used the Lettia fleece girth and the Wintec - I love how easy to clean these are. The fleece girths do wear out within a couple of years (the edges curl a bit and the fleece flattens). The Wintec girth is sturdy but it’s a bit narrow -
my horses found it less comfortable.
I have one of the Tota comfort girths (from the same guy that makes the Tota bridles). I really like it and both my horses seem to like it too. It wasn’t cheap, but definitely under $300, it’s worth a look if it’s in your budget, it has some cool horsey comfort features.
I’ve used the synthetic Ovation Airform Chafeless dressage girths for my last 3 horses. Reasons why I like it:
- Elastic on both ends, stainless steel buckles.
- Material I can hose or sponge sweat off. No rubs! I’m not meticulous about cleaning/conditioning leather girths.
- Material will get surface cracks after a 3-4 years of daily use/multiple horses. At $30-$39 (depending on sales), buying a new one is a no-brainer = averages $10 per year!!
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I have a TSF girth that I really love and I ended up buying a Solo Equine girth for my other horse which is the same design as the TSF. The leather is exceptional quality and it was half the price of the TSF girth. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another one.
None of my current horses seem to need a shaped girth. In fact, they seem to gap in front and irritate my horses. Honestly, my guys seem to go best in either cheap synthetic fleece girths, or, if I’m being fancy, a real sheepskin girth, as long as there’s plenty of elastic and they’re fairly soft/flexible, and wide enough to disperse a lot of pressure.
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I love my fancy new stubben girth, but had to save for ages to afford one.
My mare became suddenly sensitive at her girth area as we started working on more difficult movements. She had never been girthy before, saddle was fit by a master, treated for ulcers, etc… I had been using a TSF, which I never loved, but she was fine in up until that point.
I bought a lovely DK saddlery anatomic girth, but it’s a bit too big. Wonderful girth though. Also love the Jefferies humane girth.
The Stubben really is “all that” for us. No more tenderness, and really seems to improve the freedom of her front legs. She’s happy, I’m happy, my bank account will recover, what’s not to love?
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I really love the Mikmar comfort girth. I think they were formerly called Le Tixerant. My horse is super girthy and sensitive, and he seems to be less reactive with this. I like that it really keeps everything in place with a flatter withered horse as well. Sometimes you can find them used for relatively inexpensive. 
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This is my favourite, hands down.
For the money, I can’t beat the Ovation gel body form girth:
https://www.ridingwarehouse.com/Ovation_Gel_Body_Form_Dressage_Girth/descpage-OGBF.html
I’ve used it on multiple horses, all of which did well in it, but none had super forward girth grooves. One was a fairly sensitive chestnut prone to rubs, and he did fine in it.
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ProLite or the Stubben EquiSoft. Tried both & many others. Those were the only two that I loved.
Do you mean the equi soft one?
My favorite was a simple, synthetic, Wintec. Used on a lot of different horses and the best part was you can hose it off.
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