How does one measure for the best girth length? Where is the ideal place for the buckles to sit on a horse with a small girth area and “well sprung ribs”? Planning to order a Total Fit Solutions girth for Dani, but unlike any horse I have ever owned, she actually needs her girth tight, and is prone to bruising from it. I am wondering if part of the issue is where the buckles are sitting (even though there is leather under the buckles).
You know, that’s something that I’ve never thought about. It’s a very good question. If you Google “images Grand Prix Dressage riders” you will see most of the photos show the rider’s leg right at the girth, so doesn’t help. But keep scrolling through them. Almost uniformly, it appears that they have about 2" of billets showing between the bottom edge of the saddle pad and the top of the girth.
Hope this helps.
I’d also look at how long your billets are. I didn’t really think of this until I got my current saddle, a Hennig, which has pretty short billets compared to most other dressage saddles I’ve seen. Because I have short billets and a horse who gets girthy if I tighten his girth too quickly, I actually have to keep the girth up a bit closer to the saddle when tight than I might otherwise, in order to be able to first put it on relatively loose.
Are you currently riding in a dressage saddle? I’d start with where the girth falls currently and the size of the girth, and adjust accordingly. (Remember, if the girth isn’t labeled with size, you can measure buckle to buckle to figure it out.)
Also keep in mind when deciding on size/type of girth that if the girth has extra material beyond the buckles, you need to account for that in deciding size so that the girth doesn’t end up going over the saddle pad when tightened. The size/length of your saddle pad and length of flap will also impact this.
Just a thought… I’m not a fan of leather girths for girthy/sensitive horses because I’ve found them to be more reactive with leather. I’m guessing this is more because most leather girths aren’t exactly soft, in order to hold their shape. The TSF girth in particular, actually, because it actually puts a lot of pressure on the back of the girth because of its shape (at least on my horse, the front of the girth gaped!). I’ve had good success with fleece-lined nylon girths, plus they’re cheap and easy to clean (just throw them in the wash with your saddle pads!).
All jumper saddles seem to have short billets/ long girths, and the buckles lie over the inner flap, father up the horse. Most modern dressage saddles have long billets/ short girths, and the buckles lie only halfway up the horse, and against the horse’s skin (with of course a flap of leather between the buckles and the skin). This is meant to reduce the amount of bulk under the rider’s leg.
I’m assuming you have the long billet/short girth combo, which might be a problem for your horse with any length of girth? In that case you could always get the billets replaced so that you could ride in a short billet/long girth combo, in otherwords in a hunter/jumper girth. Older dressage saddles sometimes have that format.
I was told by a reputable saddle fitter that you want your girth to be close to the bottom of your saddle flaps – you don’t want inches and inches of billet until you hit the girth.The 2" mentioned above is consistent with her advice, although she may prefer even less.
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Yes - you want the buckles to be well above the elbow. On some horses, there is a lot of real estate to play with between the ‘above the elbows’ and the bottom of the saddle flap. For others, there is practically none.
The Fairfax site has some good pictures about short girth placement that are relevant regardless of the brand you choose http://www.fairfaxsaddles.com/girths/girth-fitting
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I am hoping to find a dressage girth that I can also use with my western saddle (with a cinch converter), so a short girth will be needed.
