Prolite Girth - No Elastics

[Lucy_in_the_Sky]

I have been looking for a synthetic anatomical girth for a while now. I currently use the Total Saddle Fit Shoulder Relief Girth with my dressage saddle and my mare goes very nicely in it but I also want a synthetic girth for everyday riding.

I thought I had found what I need – the Prolite girth – and was about to put in an order. However, there is one thing that bothers me: the Prolite girth does not have elastics. I always thought that I was doing the right thing by using girths with elastics at both ends so this is different for me and I would like to hear from anybody that has experience with no-elastic girths.

Fairfax states in one of its emails “Prolite girths do not use elastic. Our tests prove that elastic contributes to saddle instability and encourages over tightening.”
http://fairfaxsaddles.cmail20.com/t/ViewEmail/i/9EEA99077C38C10F/DB3D5D6A1C224E5144D0DD5392A9C75A

Any experience or thoughts on not having elastics on girths, particularly the Prolite?
I also want to get a long synthetic anatomical girth for my jumper saddle (we cross train) so if you think that not having elastics on a dressage girth is OK does that opinion also stand for long girths?

Thanks for any information or thoughts.

[high_hat]

I have a Prolite and stopped using it. I don’t know the answer to the elastic question; but, it rubbed my mare who had never had a girth rub. I find it very stiff particularly in cold weather.

[crthunder]

I have the Fairfax and my horse loves it. Don’t miss the elastic at all! I find it is always a little “loose” compared to when I used elastic ended girths… So I think there is something to the over tightening. I did buy a TSF long girth for my jumping saddle bc I didn’t want to fork out the $$ for the fun saddle I use maybe once a week. My horse does like leather girths though.
Becky

[islgrl]

My fitter recommended a girth without elastic for my horse and I have found the saddle is much more stable. It has a V attachment that allows some flexibility however, for example, on one side the girth is on hole 6 on both side and on the other its on 5 in front and 4 in back if that makes sense… Its this one: https://www.cheshirehorse.com/jeffries-symbian-dressage-girth

[Dutchmare433]

I also use a girth with no elastic on my dressage saddle. It works great, really is more stable, and horses seem to like it. (I have a thin line girth with the V equalizer. I have used the Fairfax girth though and also love that.

Elastic can make the saddle unstable. It’s better, though, if it’s on both sides rather than just one.

[Lucy_in_the_Sky]

I don’t have any familiarity with the Prolite synthetic material so that is an interesting point about finding the Prolite girth to be stiff in cold weather, high hat. I have used neoprene / gel girths before and haven’t found that they are stiff in cold weather but we do live in the PNW and it doesn’t ever get very cold here.

Thanks all for sharing your experiences with the Fairfax, Jeffries and ThinLine girths. You all seem to have positive feedback for your girths without elastics.

[MelanieC]

I have a Prolite girth, and also live in the PNW. I’ve been using it for a few months now (ordered it just after Brexit with the, er, favorable exchange rates) and am very happy with it. No rubs, horse is moving well, saddle does not budge. I don’t need to worry if it gets muddy and it hoses right off. I don’t find it to be stiff, but like you said it’s never really cold here. That said, even if it was cold, it might be stiff when you first girth up but I would imagine the horse’s body heat would fix that quickly. It’s far less stiff than any County Logic girth I’ve ever handled.

Given how low the pound is right now, I paid about $60 less ordering from a UK tack shop than I would have if I’d ordered domestically, and that’s including shipping. It also ended up being cheaper than the new TSF girth, and I don’t miss the leather.

[myhorsefaith]

Surprised you were able to do that. I just tried purchasing a Fairfax product from the UK (a saddle) and the saddlery told me they are no longer allowed, by policy of Fairfax, to sell to US customers. I went back and forth with Fairfax on this and their policy stands. :mad:

[SendenHorse]

[QUOTE=myhorsefaith;8906208]
Surprised you were able to do that. I just tried purchasing a Fairfax product from the UK (a saddle) and the saddlery told me they are no longer allowed, by policy of Fairfax, to sell to US customers. I went back and forth with Fairfax on this and their policy stands. :mad:[/QUOTE]

?weird. Contact a US fairfax dealer- usually a saddle fitter

[myhorsefaith]

this is way off topic to the thread, but yep, it was weird because I have purchased a saddle from them in the past. Even with the exchange rate and shipping it was still cheaper and faster (got it in a week)…thus when I needed one again I went there. They are a super lovely shop and I wish them no ill, I actually feel badly that they could not sell me the saddle I wanted.

The first reason given was that Fairfax want to ensure the saddle is properly fitted to my horse by a rep…which is complete BS because Fairfax allows Dover and Smartpak to sell their products, saddles included, with no professional fitting required. When pressed by me, Fairfax said the saddlery was mistaken, rather, the reason is to want to protect their US stockists. And they assured me that because they factor in shipping and customs fees it is cheaper for me to get one through a US rep…umm no on the cheaper part, but thanks for trying. I get wanting to protect the stockists, but the particular saddle I was after would’ve meant I had to order it, and wait ~10 weeks… when the UK saddlery has one in stock and ready to ship directly to me. I decided it wasn’t worth the hassle nor worth the wait so found something else completely.

[myhorsefaith]

And as an aside, I have the Fairfax leather version of this girth - one horse hated the no elastic. I’ve just started using it on another horse (the one who needed the saddle above, LOL) and he seems to like it.

I’ve also tried the Total Saddle fit girth on my other gelding - he liked it okay but prefers the cheapie ovation gel girth, which has a slight curve to it - nothing like TSF or this Prolite girth.

I think it is a situation of YMMV,

[quietann]

I am of mixed feelings on the elastic vs. no elastic issue, but it doesn’t seem to make a huge difference to my current horse.

She has a saddle that tends to slip onto her shoulders (long rant about a deceptively hard to fit horse and a saddle fitter not knowing the options available on a new saddle elided). After messing about with the TSF and some other options, I finally ordered a Prolite girth. What delayed me the most is that I could not find a “stockist” (lovely term!) who would allow returns, only exchanges. So I gulped, and ordered, and of course that’s the girth that does the best at keeping the saddle back, as long as the flocking is adjusted regularly.

My mare seems fine with it, but she developed a few lumps… not painful, but the vet was worried they might become a real problem. She suggested a sheepskin cover, which I have finally obtained from the UK company Griffin Nuumed, which seems to be the only company that makes a cover that would fit. Lovely company, BTW, and very responsive once I figured out that their responses to my inquiries were not ending up in my inbox. So we will see how things go.

[myhorsefaith]

oooo that it great - thanks for posting about the sheepskin cover. Love their products!

[MelanieC]

Good to know about the cover. I haven’t had any rubbing issues (aside from the one time my trainer’s groom put the girth on my gelding backwards) but I assumed if I wanted a cover that I was going to have to get one of those tube sock things because nothing else would fit.

[outerbanks77]

I just ordered a Fairfax bridle from TDS with no problems. I’m sure you can buy the girth from the UK.

I had the same issue trying to save $$ buying my Black Country saddle from a UK shop instead of US. Even as the exchange rate gets more favorable, the US prices increase. Annoying!