Thanks, Farys! I saw this in the store in fact - in my experience, the BR brand isn’t amazing quality - have you tried this one?
Geez… I feel like I’ve owned every girth at this point. The Ovation Gel Body Form has been a good one, as has the Mikmar Dressage Comfort Girth (formerly named Le Tixerant). One picked the Smartpak Breathable Dressage Girth in a fleece cover, so long as the cover was washed daily (i.e. we actually had 4 covers).
I’ve had a few girths that I really liked, like the Total Saddle Fit Synthetic and the Thinline, that the horses weren’t too keen on, and a bunch we both disliked.
I haven’t tried this girth. My horses go in leather girths - one TSF and one Solo Equine. While the Premiere/BR brand may not be the highest quality, this girth isn’t “quality price” either.
The Christ products are excellent quality but come with the price tag for a similar design.
Love the Lettia coolmax girths for both Jumping and Dressage. They are reasonably priced, wash in the washing machine and you don’t feel bad if they die. I even show in them.
I did give in and buy a LeMieux sheepskin girth recently and I really like it.
Thanks again everyone!
Pro Choice real sheepskin dressage girth is my fave…
Just bought this for my guy, and he loves it. Equal pressure on each side (elastic) and super fluffy.
I would say to get a Lemieux sheepskin girth as opposed to the Ventech. The Lemieux run around $60 if you get them from Horse Health. I also like the Prestige anatomic girths - they are very well padded.
My TB actually likes the Professional’s Choice straight neoprene padded girth with elastic on both ends. The neoprene is very soft to the touch (like sueded silk) and very squishy - almost gel-like. He preferred it over all others including a super sheepkin shaped girth by Mattes. I like it because it hoses off easily. I was surprised but he’s not shy about his opinions.
I have a shaped (asymmetrical) girth from Mattes and wanted to switch the the aforementioned Pro Choice girth for the summer due to my Mattes being soaked at the end of each ride, but the Pro Choice still rubbed my horse. Of course. It receives many good reviews, but this horse and any neoprene seem to be a no go. Such disappointment!
That being said, I got my Mattes used for almost half the new price. It came in new condition with tags and small bottle of washing fluid for the girth. So I’d also keep an eye out on eBay or Facebook because others have probably been in the same situation where they try a girth just a few times then need to resell because it doesn’t fit, or otherwise doesn’t suit their needs.
If you do get sheepskin, brush it properly after or before each ride, it stays quite nice and I don’t have to wash mine too much, usually.
I too have a delicate flower (an OTTB). I have a Professionals Choice dressage girth, but it’s kind of old and I think, a bit harsh. After looking and looking at all kinds of dressage girths, I could not find ANY that did not have all kinds of seams on the skin side. YUK, I wouldn’t want that on me! So I’m just going to keep the girth I have and get a couple girth covers from SmartPak https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/smartpak-coolmax-fleece-girth-cover-18034. Good luck with your “flower”.
My delicate flower insists on ONLY the Ovation Gel BodyForm.
That’s a really nice one, but it still has seams on the skin side. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks!
Toklat Woolback - https://www.ridingwarehouse.com/Toklat_WoolBack_Fleece_Dressage_Girth/descpage-TWDG.html is worth a look. My TB likes it so much better than the TSF.
Update - the Lettia CoolMax has been working well - no rubs and doesn’t seem to affect his movement at all. He’s still a bit nippier than usual when tightening it so I wouldn’t say he’s 100% on board the dressage girth train yet, but such is life :rolleyes: Will stick with this for now. Thanks for the recommendations!
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