Monoflap (jump saddle) girth sizing?

[WrenBlae.ParaShowJumper]

I’m brand new to monoflap saddles, so forgive me if this is a silly question. My saddle rep brought some monoflap jump saddles for me to try and used a 36" girth (which was just a tad big) on my horse. She’s going to be dropping of a loaner saddle for me to ride in while we figure out the right saddle, but said that she doesn’t have a girth I can borrow so I need to get one. When I search monoflap jump girths online most of them start around 20/22" and only go up to 30". I have found a few that go up to 36", but am wondering why there is such a large discrepancy in sizes? Am I missing something?

Thanks for your help in advance!

[Toblersmom]

Do some monoflaps have short billets or do they all have long billets like dressage saddles? Also wondering if there’s a specific reason you could not use a “normal” girth on a monoflap. There’s a beast of a lesson horse where I board that uses a regular long girth on his dressage saddle. A quite long one, too, not sure exactly how long but the girth I normally used on a “normal” horse with a jump saddle didn’t even come close to fitting. He’s just preposterously large.

[SolarFlare]

36 is really big for a short girth (what usually goes on a monoflap with long billets). What size girth does your horse wear for a long girth?

For comparison, mine’s in a 50" long girth, and a 26" short girth. Of course, it depends on the particular saddles and billet lengths, but that gives you a starting point.

I’m pretty sure there was a thread where lots of people gave examples of their horses’ sizes in both long and short girths to compare - maybe you’ll have luck searching the forum.

[kcmel]

Mine wears one size smaller than his dressage girth (18 which is hard to find!)

[Mouse_amp_Bay]

Monoflap girths usually go up to 34”. You want to make sure that the buckles are not in the elbow area, there is usually a curve for the elbows and then buckles above. Look at the total saddle fit girth’s to start, they are not expensive and will show you the basic options. You don’t want a little tiny girth - that just distributes all the pressure in a smaller area.

You cannot use a normal long girth with a monoflap saddle. There is no padding on the billets to protect the horse from the buckle. That is why the monoflap girth have the buckles end on the girth itself - to protect the buckle from laying directly on the skin. That would hurt :eek:

As an example of sizing, my beast wore a 58” girth in my old CC saddle, now a 34” girth for my monoflap jump saddle and 30” for the monoflap dressage (longer flaps). These sizes line up the curves to the elbow and leave about one to two inches of clearance between the end of the girth to the start of the saddle pad.

[DoubleDown]

Billets make a difference, on my gelding, I’ve used anything from a 26”-34” and they’ve all worked. If you have a dressage saddle, that would work too. I’ve also heard that you take 20” off your long girth size to get your short size. That worked on my mare, she wore a 54 long, and a 34 short.

[kcmel]

@DoubleDown

Billets make a difference, on my gelding, I’ve used anything from a 26”-34” and they’ve all worked. If you have a dressage saddle, that would work too. I’ve also heard that you take 20” off your long girth size to get your short size. That worked on my mare, she wore a 54 long, and a 34 short.

For mine it’s 30"–54 to 24. But my jump saddle has really short billets. Although he’s never less than a 50" for a long girth.

[FrittSkritt]

@kcmel

For mine it’s 30"–54 to 24. But my jump saddle has really short billets. Although he’s never less than a 50" for a long girth.

Same here, the 20" rule doesn’t always apply - all depends on the saddle. I would try several sizes, if you can, and go from there. My horse wears a 50" or 52" girth but wears a 24" or 26" dressage and monoflap girth. He’s also very narrow TB, which probably doesn’t help! :lol: