Mohair girth stretchiness?

[KonaPony]

For those of you who use mohair girths, how much/how little have they stretched since you bought them, or just during a ride?

I’m looking into getting a Montana Cincha endurance girth, and my horse currently uses a 22" girth. The trouble is, if the girth were to stretch much longer (say another couple of inches) it could start interfering with the saddle (size 2 Barefoot Cheyenne + small horse, it’s been some fun, girth-wise), but if I ordered a shorter one the buckles would be below the points of her elbows unless these girths end up stretching quite a bit.

I would dearly love to keep using my current synthetic girth, but unless the planets are aligned, my horse gets girth galls. Bah!

[chicamuxen1]

My experience is that mohair girths slowly shrink over time as washing wool causes it to shrink.

Bonnie S

[Auventera_Two]

I agree with Bonnie. I have 2 100% mohair dressage girths, and have washed them by hand a few times and definitely never noticed any stretching. If anything, I’d say they got a tad shorter.

[betsyk]

We’ve seen both with mohair/cotton blends (I think that’s what they are): they stretch as they’re used, then shrink in the wash. We have a pony whose girth will go to the top hole when it’s ready for the wash, then shrinks about 2 holes when it first comes back out. You actually have to be a little careful because as it stretches, it loosens…

[Bank_of_Dad]

Since I thought of getting a new one from Running Bear, I measured mine after washing, but before a ride, 42 inches. Then after a long ride, 45 inches. 42 inches once I washed it again. I have the mohair english girth from Running Bear. I thought I wanted shorter, but now I don’t know what to do. I am waiting now to see if I do a new saddle instead.

[Romantic_Rider]

I was also wondering about the give in a Mohair girth. My new little mare does not like my Wintec girth, which both of my other mares are fine in. She doesn’t get sores or anything, I think she just wants something with a little more give to it. I love Wintec material because it doesn’t get sopping wet and doesn’t need to be washed, but there is really not much stretch in it. At the same time, she is right now an exceedingly round little horse and I need a girth that will keep the saddle in place. I was thinking about getting a Toklat wool girth with elastic on the ends. I know my Mom has one and likes it. How does Mohair compare to wool?

[chicamuxen1]

Those toklat girths are a lot more work to keep clean get dry but they really add to the turnability of your saddle when mounting. Just a warning!

Bonnie S.

[Camp_Girl]

I’ve been wondering the same thing myself. I bought a 5 Star mohair girth for my western this spring at a swap. Love it but it was a little long with my drop down rigging and seem to get longer with use. Hand washed it in warm water being sure to add some friction into the mix. It shrunk it a couple of inches. Need to ride in it again to see if it restretches or not. I am hoping not.

[whitesage]

I am in pretty much the same situation that you are; size 2 barefoot cheyenne and wondering what girth to buy. My roly poly horse recently got diagnosed with Equine Metabolic Syndrome, and with his diet changes to accomodate him he’s lost almost 200lbs. I have a 20" no name “professional’s choice” kind of girth for him, but would also like to invest in the montana cincha endurance girth. (Let me guess, you’ve been talking to people at actionridertack.com right?)

The synthetic girth that I have right now has elastic on both ends and it seems impossible to keep/get the girth tight enough. I have a Versa HAF pad under the saddle and have wondered if maybe the pad is compressing? But the people at actionridertack assure me it isn’t and that probably getting the endurance girth which is a wool/mohair blend would help make that situation better.

Somewhere else in the land of COTH I recently read a whole thread about mohair girths…maybe do some searches on the forums? What I remember reading is that the mohair doesn’t shrink as long as you hand wash it in cool water BUT that washing them girth in warm water could cause significant shrinkage. No one was worried about them stretching out over time from what I can remember. I guess that’s not as much of an issue with natural fibers? Not sure…

Anyhow, keep us posted if you do buy one. I’ve searched everywhere and can’t find one for cheaper than $80+ so I am waiting a little longer before spending that much on one.

I’m also curious if you’re happy with your barefoot in general? I absolutely love how comfortable mine is but have had some difficulties with it along the way.

[KonaPony]

Somewhere else in the land of COTH I recently read a whole thread about mohair girths…maybe do some searches on the forums? What I remember reading is that the mohair doesn’t shrink as long as you hand wash it in cool water BUT that washing them girth in warm water could cause significant shrinkage. No one was worried about them stretching out over time from what I can remember. I guess that’s not as much of an issue with natural fibers? Not sure…

Yes, I think I did find those. But I had read elsewhere that mohair did tend to stretch, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to actually ask myself. It seems like I’m just going to have to try it and see, so I’ve gone ahead and ordered the girth in 22"… We shall see what it does in my case, I guess! Will update after a couple of weeks of use if you’re interested.

I have a Versa HAF pad under the saddle and have wondered if maybe the pad is compressing? But the people at actionridertack assure me it isn’t and that probably getting the endurance girth which is a wool/mohair blend would help make that situation better.

I wouldn’t be so sure about the pad not compressing… my treeless pad does compress a little when I sit in it and after riding a few minutes, but I use a Skito and I believe that’s a different kind of foam. I just ride for a few minutes and adjust it again, then we’re good to go. A friend of mine used a HAF, and also had to tighten her girth after riding a few minutes, but that may have been due to her devilish old pony who liked to blow out while being saddled. But, it’s still a good idea to check your girth again after you’ve ridden a few minutes.

I’m also curious if you’re happy with your barefoot in general? I absolutely love how comfortable mine is but have had some difficulties with it along the way.

I’m pretty happy with the Barefoot. It’s not the most secure situation ever for the 180 spook-and-run attempts, but it meets all of my other needs… I’ve also had a few difficulties with it, but they’ve pretty much been resolved (the folks at Skito are super helpful, btw).

[KonaPony]

For anyone who was interested - I’ve used the Montana Cincha mohair girth for several rides now, and washed it once. I haven’t had a chance to ride for more than a few hours at a time, but I haven’t noticed significant stretching with use (no significant shrinking, either). It’s working out just fine. Thanks for the input, everybody!

[Leather]

My mohair girth hasn’t stretched at all, even after a 5 hour ride. Which is a good thing, since it’s only 18" to begin with! :lol:

I love mohair–no more galls and my mare is no longer girthy. I haven’t had any slippage issues either with my treeless Black Forest.

I hand-washed it for the first time recently and there was no change in the size. I used this since my girth has leather ends and it worked great: http://www.smartpakequine.com/ProductClass.aspx?productclassid=1064

[dreamswept]

I’ve got a mohair endurance girth with a Barefoot size 2. I measured the pony, and he’s something like an 18" (shocking, I know, considering how stout he is) so I figured I’d just add an extra two inches to give myself a little wiggle room for the girth. I also start out with a slightly loose girth, and tighten it up because the pony holds his breath for a while, so I wanted a slightly longer girth for that. Once everything is snugged up proper, we’re pretty good.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/dreamswept/MightyMitch/mitchie-and-lei5.jpg

Near as I can tell, this seems to be the best picture I’ve got with the girth on the pony at an angle that can be seen without my leg covering it. He seems to like it pretty well, the girth seems to be stretchy enough to fit around him, and he’s only gotten one little nick from it when I didn’t stretch his leg out proper.

I haven’t cleaned this girth yet, but I’ve cleaned my other mohair girths, and I wash those in cold water and lay flat to dry. No change in size or anything.

[ctab]

Mohair girth

I ride dressage and over fences (3’) with my mohair girth. I get them from Dover for less than $20. These are standard English girths sizes. I wash them in a garment bag in the washing machine. When the thread holding the strands together starts to come apart more than I can reweave together, I get a new one. That is about once a year. I use them on my TB, who has a good set of withers to help keep the saddle from slipping!
I find that the girth shrinks after being washed but stretches out after a ride. If you are in between sizes, try getting the smaller size and use a girth extender until it stretches out. I love them! Soft and strong! The do need to be made tight at first as they can slip when clean and new.