Girth for a mare whose natural girth line is forward and whose ribs are well sprung. Mare’s barrel is quite wide after the narrow girth groove. Looking for a girth that will provide stability and width at the sternum what is narrow on the sides so her barrel doesn’t push the girth forward.
I love my Prestige Anatomical. There are many anatomical girths out there these days. I’d just say steer clear of TSF as I had a lot of problems with unequal pressure distribution. The best thing to do is to girth it a little snug and then get your hands underneath it to make sure the pressure is even throughout.
Fairfax and its less expensive clone, Prolite have added stability to my saddle and the saddles one of my students uses on her very round witherless Morgans.
Best girth I’ve ever owned.
I am waiting on this to arrive: https://totalsaddlefit.com/stretchtec/ I got a 30" at Rolex and need a 26". I got the leather and bought the neoprene overlay ($20 extra). I think this girth is $190. PNP, I agree with their old design but this one is HOPEFULLY better.
I know y’all will freak.right.all.the.way.out, but I have been blissfully happy with my cheap, washable, old school Trevira string girths. They fit as the horse needs, will not rub and seem to stay where you put them (with respect to not sliding fore or aft).
Prolite makes a narrow width girth too, anatomical, for horses with narrow chests.
Total Saddle Fit’s Shoulder Relief girth.
I used to use the string girths with my Stubben Tristans, but I just couldn’t get the right fits. I now use the TSF girth with all 3 Tristan’s. The over girth with the middle ring on the bottom is not perfect, but do-able. I’m trying ti figure out a way to take off or move the ring the forward, and add a small leather tab to keep the over girth centered.
I have the Prolite (Fairfax synthetic clone) for my forward groove wide body girl. Had tried the County version and it did nothing. IME many horses are not wide enough between their front legs for the majority of the anatomical girths, so I went with the narrow gauge and it has made a world of difference.
I recently bought the Jeffries dressage girth, I like it very much, the saddle has stayed quite stable using this girth.
For those that have the Prolite version, how soft/hard is it?
I have the TSF girth right now and will need to get a new girth when my new saddle gets to me (next week!). The TSF rubbed in a couple spots but it was cured by using a girth cover.
MVP how do you keep the buckles from digging into the horse’s ribs? I know the buckles directly on my horse’s side would bother her.
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I have the TSF StretchTec girth for my forward girth groove, well sprung ribs, laid back shoulder bladed horse. He likes it better than the original TSF, and I find the neoprene adds a great deal of stability even without cranking it tight, though I can get it tighter than the original TSF without having the saddle move forward.
My (and my horses’) very favorite girth of all time is a cheap little Wintec. It’s soft, stays where I put it, is elasticized on both ends, hoses off to clean it, and has never ever caused any rubs or irritation. I’ve used one for years and just now had to replace it because the rubber is cracking in a couple of places.
[QUOTE=CindyCRNA;8678575]
I am waiting on this to arrive: https://totalsaddlefit.com/stretchtec/ I got a 30" at Rolex and need a 26". I got the leather and bought the neoprene overlay ($20 extra). I think this girth is $190. PNP, I agree with their old design but this one is HOPEFULLY better.[/QUOTE]
I really like the looks of this. Do you really need a liner over the leather version? Or is that just for extra padding?
After reading about the “girth shield project” and experimenting with my horse’s girth, I have come to realize just how much of a difference the right girth can make. It’s not just about the rubbing, but about allowing the chest to comfortably expand.
For some interesting reading:
https://dressagesnob.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/we-figured-out-why-horses-dont-like-their-girths/
https://girthshield.wordpress.com/
Some horses may not be that picky or may not complain, but mine is very sensitive. I had been using the Prestige anatomic girth on him from the start. It’s a beautiful and well-made girth, seemingly well fitted, and I thought he liked it. But then he started getting crabby about being groomed between the front legs. He pinned his ears and made faces at me when I girthed him up.
It was not until I started futzing around with the tack that I figured out how much he hated that girth. I started cutting up pieces of foam and attaching them to his girths to see how he reacted. He liked it. So right now I have a piece of foam secured to the center of his girth with a piece of old pantyhose (they’re good for something!) and a girth sock over that. It’s only a temporary solution, but it works.
I was going to have one of these girth shields made but I may try the StretchTec first. The design looks very promising, the price is right, and it has a money-back guarantee.
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LadyNeon, I was a little surprised at how stiff the Prolite was when I first got it, but it has broken in nicely and is no longer alarmingly so. The Fairfax leather version is quite soft, but, ya know, budget. The material gets softer with warmth and moisture, I just wish it had a little elastic to it. I do love that I can just hose it off.
CrotchetyDQ, that’s good to hear about how its broken in. I suspect that the stiffness of the County Logic girth combined with it not being quite the right shape is what rubbed my boy. The TSF rubbed a bit without the girth cover, but not as bad as the County Logic. Sounds like it the Prolite narrow may work for me.
He’s a bit fussy when girthing up with the TSF girth, but not overly so. I continue to put the girth cover on the TSF out of habit now, and because the curve is just a bit too wide for him. Anything to prevent rubs!
Also finally using the narrow gauge Prolite here, though that’s on hold while I dicker with the company I bought it from, trying to get a shorter version. I would LOVE it if a sheepskin cover was available for it, since it’s thick and synthetic.
But yes – it is nicely made and very easy to care for, and my horse likes it.
I switched to the Prolite/Faifax design from the Total Saddle Fit girth. Total Saddle Fit got it ALMOST right. Agree the leather Fairfax is nice and soft, but $$$. The Prolite looks & feels like leather to me and my horse seems to like it. I think there is a little 'give" in it. Nicely padded, easy care.
My 16.1 gelding wears the Narrow Prolite. I forget how wide a horse has to be to need one of their “regular” girths. I was frankly surprised that my guy could wear the Narrow.
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MVP how do you keep the buckles from digging into the horse’s ribs? I know the buckles directly on my horse’s side would bother her.
.[/QUOTE]
Good question! In my cases, the conformation of the beast made the buckles OK for them. Sorry I don’t have a better answer for you with your sensitive horse.
If I had to have a string girth and I had a horse who was tender in the ribs, I might try to find one of those western, sheepskin-lined buckle guards.
Like this: http://www.centralkentuckytackandleather.com/weaverleather/cinchguardbucklecover.htm
Or this: http://www.comfysheep.com/sheepskin-no-pinch-cinch.html
Or even this: http://www.reininghorse.nl/en/product/neopreen-singel-gesp-hoes/
And lookie here! Someone is using billet guards to cure what ails you: https://www.etsy.com/listing/226277374/accessories-buckle-guards-for-short-x?ref=shop_home_active_6.
