The elastics on my current girth don’t give much, plus I think there’s something better fitting out there:
Current girth:
Is there anything specific you’re trying to address? Or materials you/your horse like/don’t like?
Just off the photo, it looks like your horse would benefit from an anatomical girth that puts the girth in her very forward girth groove, where the saddle billets can hang more vertically (instead of being pulled forward as they are in the photo).
I’ve had good luck with the Total Shoulder Relief girth, but I think there are better (and more expensive) ones out there. TSR does tend to be better for horses with well-sprung ribs (which your horse appears to have) and they have a great return policy.
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The girth in your photo is too short. You want the short girth to be absolutely as long as possible without interfering with the flaps. I actually like the shape of the one you posted, it’s just too short. I like the nunn finer type girths with the equalizer system. I also really like the county logic girths.
ETA: I’m betting your girth needs to be 6 inches longer. I also love your saddle. That’s exactly what I have!
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I am currently using an anatomical girth but I think the part near the buckles needs to curve back farther.
County, Fairfax & TSF will all have a more pronounced curve. I agree with the earlier posters that you need a longer length.
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Yeah I think it’s a pretty modest curve - it looks pretty darn straight relative to where your billets fall. More curvy and longer and you should be good to go.
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I think a crescent shaped girth like the Ovation gel girth would work well with your mare’s round barrel. Agree that you should go a few inches longer as well.
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Of the anatomic girths I’ve tried, I really like my Prestige for the shape and the extra squishy-ness. The County and a lot of the others were quite a bit stiffer.
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Another vote for the Ovation gel form.
I just got that ovation girth for my pony-shaped pony (very round ribcage) and she likes it. She did not like the fancy sheepskin moon girth - it was too wide and tickled her midsection, nor did she like a shaped, but not anatomical, girth with padding.
It’s a good price too. My other horse got to try the new prestige donut girth and went very well in it, so I had a girth sale for all the others that they didn’t take to.
I’m thirding the ovation body form gel girth, (or any crescent/moon/banana shaped girth. You can find them referred to as all sorts of things.) Please note that this girth will go the opposite of what you may think, meaning you want the convex side towards the back, and the concave side towards the front. I have a pony who is shaped like yours, with a forward/shallow heart girth and wide (or at least in my case, pudgy lol) ribs, and this is the ONLY girth that works for him. Have you ever seen those images of flat maps that have been shaped to be placed over a globe? And the shape is all funky to account for a flat 2D surface to conform to a round 3D sphere? Similar principle here. Ponies shaped like ours benefit immensely from the curve of this girth, it keeps it from slipping into their armpits and the pressure along the front and back edge ends up much more even.
