Question about the girth on a monoflap saddle

[Meadow36]

I’ve noticed in pictures of people riding in monoflaps that the top of the girth (where it ends on each side) is just above the horse’s elbows, and there is a pretty decent “gap” where just the billet straps are touching the horse. On my horse, the girth comes up much farther, and there is only a small area (maybe a 4 fingers width) between the bottom of the flap of the saddle and the top of the end of the girth (hope that makes sense!)

Anyway, I’m wondering if my girth is too big and I need to go down a size. Sometimes I feel like the girth gets loose and then the saddle rocks; I’m wondering if this is because the girth is too big overall. Does anyone have any guidelines as to how to judge what size girth you need for a monoflap?

[yellowbritches]

You may need a smaller girth.

My previous saddle was a monoflap, but it came out funny and the billets were too short. Which made me need a longer girth than really should be necessary with a long billeted saddle (my horse can get away with a 26" girth with most dressage saddles, but I used a 30" with that saddle!). I think having the bulky girth RIGHT at my leg was part of the issue I had with that saddle. Going smaller mighty not solve all your issues, but it wouldn’t hurt.

[beowulf]

[QUOTE=Meadow36;7719414]
I’ve noticed in pictures of people riding in monoflaps that the top of the girth (where it ends on each side) is just above the horse’s elbows, and there is a pretty decent “gap” where just the billet straps are touching the horse. On my horse, the girth comes up much farther, and there is only a small area (maybe a 4 fingers width) between the bottom of the flap of the saddle and the top of the end of the girth (hope that makes sense!)

Anyway, I’m wondering if my girth is too big and I need to go down a size. Sometimes I feel like the girth gets loose and then the saddle rocks; I’m wondering if this is because the girth is too big overall. Does anyone have any guidelines as to how to judge what size girth you need for a monoflap?[/QUOTE]

This is a question for your saddle fitter, who is going to be familiar with how your saddle sits on the horse. In general, girths do affect saddle fit - some moreso than others, and having too long a girth can pull on the saddle or rock it in a position that is not comfortable for favorable for the horse. Next time your saddle-fitter comes out for a check, ask her/him what kind of girth best fits your saddle and horse, as it changes from horse to horse and saddle to saddle.

Generally speaking, longer billets create a more stable saddle, as the points anchor lower, however, this is not so black and white in every case. I’d give your SF a ring. :yes:

[EventerAJ]

As a kid, I was taught that the top of a short girth should lie about halfway between the horse’s elbow and the bottom of the saddle flap. That way, the girth buckles don’t risk rubbing the elbows nor cause additional bulk under the rider’s leg (that’s the whole point of long billets-- close contact).

I’m not super strict about the “halfway rule”-- it’s not like I get out a tape measure when I tack up every day. So long as the buckles are somewhere above the elbows and several inches below the saddle pad, it works for me. Most importantly, do I have multiple billet holes above and below the buckles? That’s all I really care about. If I’m two holes (or less) from the top when snug, I need a shorter girth.

[RockstarPony]

If you have a dressage girth available I would try that & see if it’ll fit. I usually judge girth length more or less the same way regardless of what type of saddle it is - ideally I want to be able to put it on 2 or 3 on the right and 1 or 2 on the left when I’m tacking up, then tighten to 4 or 5 on the left after a bit of warmup, but still have a few holes available to tighten more if I need to. If you feel like you’re always putting it up on the top holes before you’ve even left the crossties then it’s probably too big.

[jaybird660]

More surface area spreads out the pressure so too short is not good. It really depends, also on the shape as some are rounded at the top and you don’t want that interfering with the elbow.

I like to get on and then tighten as weight in the saddle can make the girth looser but don’t tighten so much that the horse can’t breathe.

The girth should hang vertically and not angle forward significantly.