Quote:
Originally Posted by lizathenag
lift up a 20lb bag of dog food. that is about 19kg.
20lbs is a little over 9kg!
Ok, conversion calculator says 19 kg is about 42 lbs.
How does that feel when you are tightening? I suppose if i slipped my hand under a 42 lb bag of dog food that’s what it should feel like to the horse?
I use elastic on girths to school in. I never use them in competition. I use balding girths as they fit well and there is no inherent weak points and everything stays put. It also allows freer movement, IME.
I use girths with elastic on both ends for both jumping and dressage. Started using them a long time ago when my horse was having some saddling issues and would rear to the point of falling over when his girth was tightened if it didn’t have a bit of “give” to it. Not sure if he’s still that way, many years later - haven’t dared to find out!
give an elastic girth an inch, and it’ll take a mile…
To much of a good thing can be a bad thing- and tightening the elastic girth is no exception!
A massage therapist once told me to check the tightness of the girth at the bottom middle part (between the legs area) b/c that’s where the girth applies the most pressure and if you have a slab sided/narrow horse then the girth is more easily tightened to much b/c you think it’s loose when it actually isn’t and will hold the saddle in place just fine. She said she found that area to be really sore on a lot of horses due to over tightening of girths
I use a double elastic girth but I’m careful about not over tightening it- though my horse is a very naughty puffer so I have to check it after I start riding!
Wow, I never expected so many and so many differing responses. Double elastic seems best to me for jumping, as long as it is not too tight (which I admit I do - but will not do anymore after reading the responses above). Thanks all.
[QUOTE=Wayside;5571002]
I prefer girths that have either elastic on both ends, or no elastic at all. Having it on one side just seems like it would feel crooked and apply pressure unevenly, but that’s purely speculation.[/QUOTE]
I’ve heard quite a bit about how it’s better to use a girth with elastic at both ends for exactly that reason - even out the pressure.
8-10kg is right around 20lbs.
I too prefer either no elastic or double ended. I have also found that using a nonslip pad really helps with not having to have your girth super tight. My saddle use to slip all the time, no matter how tight the girth, now it hardly budges. I also use a neoprene girth it all works well for me. I am notorious about my girth being loose on my horse. He puffs really badly and I often get on near where I tack up (he walks really slow in hand!) so he hasn’t unpuffed all the way and sometimes I forget to check it later and I will notice when I am jumping and take a break that my girth is very loose :lol: I am better about checking and making sure it is tight with other horses, just lack with my saintly horse.
Anecdotal evidence only – a (horse) massage therapist in our area believes that elastic on one side is bad because of the uneven pressure – she says she finds more “issues” on the right side (the side WITHOUT the elastic).
What it sounds like to me is she works on a horse, then asks “do you use a girth with elastic on one side or both?” Based on her client’s answers, she’s developed this hypothesis.
She recommends elastic on both ends (as opposed to elastic on neither).
I was recently told by a Master Saddler & saddle designer that elastic can be very unstable & that it is best to use either no elastic or elastic on one side because of this. If using elastic, find a girth that has triple thick heavy duty elastic - less stretch = more stable. Leather & mohair string were the materials he recommended.
It seems that a center elastic girth may be a good way to go by offering a balanced light give, but can’t seem to find them for long jumping girths. I did manage to locate some for short (dressage) girths. That reminds me … I’ve also heard that long girths offer more stability than short girths - particularly for intense jumping. I thought that was interesting.
I had a horse as a kid who I did the big jumps with and he used to get visibly “off” on the side that had no elastic on the girth. Quit using a single/one-end elastic girth and never had an issue with him getting sore and tight on that one side again. Never used “uneven” girths since.
EquiSport - look at the Le Tixerant girths. They’re designed with that principal in mind (the elastic/stretch part is in the center of the chest). I have one that I dislike because I feel like my saddle moves more with that girth than with a regular anatomical girth. But it may be what you’re looking for?
To those who use cord girths, I want to say that your’e basically using the equivalent of a full elastic girth. Cord girths have a ton more natural stretch and give than a solid leather girth. I think that’s a bit of comparing apples to oranges. A cord girth, despite not having elastic inserts, is definitely not the same thing as a solid leather or nylon girth without elastic.
I prefer double elastic girths, and all of my horses go in anatomical girths (only jumpers, though, as I primarily jump - though I also have a County Logic for my one dressage saddle). I am guilty of wanting to crank the girth down on my horses who are a bit of a tougher fit saddle-wise, but had an interesting lesson recently.
My super narrow, high withered youngster developed a huge hematoma in his girth area when he was off with a [less-than-stellar] trainer this summer. He got a bunch of time off, but still had a huge “boob” when it came time to go back under saddle. So I rode him in a saddle with no girth for a couple of months (video of him trotting around girthless here). I’ll be darned if I couldn’t even tell the difference between having a girth and not having one (other than the fear of being launched a mile high should he suddenly have a bucking fit or do something unpredictable - which would not be totally out of character for this guy). Now it’s largely because he’s so narrow and high-withered, but I could even mount relatively normally without the girth. When we started jumping again I had moved on to a cord girth, but I still have it super loose. Totally not an issue.
It’s made my rethink my need for a “tight” girth, and I’ve eased everyone’s girth settings a hole or two lower since.
Our jump saddles all have balding girths. Too much stretch with elastic.
I am probably one of those who rides with a girth a bit too loose. I know some “trainers” have tried to tighten my girth but I always tell them no.
My saddle fitter prefers double sided elastic and not overly tight so think I am good to go.
I am so interested in girth design and horse performance/comfort. I don’t think that enough has been done research-wise to really identify the best solutions. I can’t imagine that shape, material, level of give/flexibility, etc. don’t make a big difference. I’m doing a lot of my own investigation with respect to elastic/non-elastic/one-sided elastic/all shapes of anatomical/contoured, etc. (largely because I have the first really girthy horse in my life). I find everyone’s responses and experiences really helpful. The flexiworks girth concept kind of makes sense to me, but I’ve never seen one in person.
I never got very excited about girths until I found this one:
http://www.doversaddlery.com/lettia-clik-girth/p/X1-02005/
Double ended elastic which is dark so no problems getting it clean. The buckle tongues are spring loaded making it super easy to tighten while mounted if you have a puffer. There’s a gel insert in the center only for sternum padding, and the whole thing is synthetic waffle weave stuff that doesn’t rub even after 4 hours of hard hunting on a clipped TB.
I also feel like elastic would be more comfortable long term (as I’m hanging out in my stretchy pants). As for uneveness, I reach under the horse and pull down hard on the middle of the girth when I’m done. It also has the effect of smoothing out any wrinkled thin skin that could get pinched.
My favorite girth is a Passier, all elastic.
I have all three kinds of girths (no elastic, and elastic at one or both ends). Honestly, I have gotten no indications from any of my horses about which type they like the best.
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