I really like the idea of those billets! I always worry I don’t get the cinch tight enough on a Western saddle.
professional’s choice neoprene is LIMESTONE based. All other neoprene is petroleum based, ie it dries out over time and can gall. PC does not dry out. I have cinches 10 years old that are still great. While mohair is nice, it collects burrs. If you ride in tall brush the seeds and all will collect in your girth. Won’t happen with PC. I ride in tough brush.
I too am a converted Western saddle trail rider from 35+ years with English saddles.
I used a canvas/fleece girth for over 20 years and boy did that wear well, so that was my first choice for the new saddle.
My western saddle came with a cheap cotton/poly string girth which I used my first year. I started noticing hair loss, then blisters in sensitive “underarm” areas where the buckle rubbed my horse.
I bought a Weaver neoprene girth and have been super happy with it. I hated the idea of my horse wearing “rubber”, but it’s actually very comfy for her and easy to wash if she sweats. It definitely distributes the pressure evenly to a larger area.
Also, the BEST investment I made to this saddle, apart from the new girth, was replacing BOTH billets from nylon to leather straps. They definitely hold better, don’t slip and feel more secure.
I haven’t ridden in my English saddle in over 2 years. (my big fattie QH looks much better proportioned in a trail saddle)
[QUOTE=howardh;5059274]
professional’s choice neoprene is LIMESTONE based. All other neoprene is petroleum based, ie it dries out over time and can gall. PC does not dry out. I have cinches 10 years old that are still great. While mohair is nice, it collects burrs. If you ride in tall brush the seeds and all will collect in your girth. Won’t happen with PC. I ride in tough brush.[/QUOTE]
I had a PC waffle neoprene and that made my horse so sore I couldn’t ride for a week so I will stick with mohair. I haven’t noticed they collect all that much in the way of burrs or seeds, my girths are double strung so they would have to work through 2 layers to get to my horse.
Mohair. Not synthetic. Some people love their neoprene but I have a gelding who has enough issues getting swollen under his cinch area after warmer rides, and the neoprene made it worse. The felt cinches are also nice, but I still prefer the mohair–cooler, and they wash up nice, and not as stiff. Yeah, hair sticks to them but who cares?
I don’t do the big knot if there are holes punched where I nned them in the cinch strap. I do like Grape said and hook the tongue on the hole and then loop up the extra length. Less bulky.
Since I rode western before english and then returned recently to the “wild side”, I am enough of a dinosar to not know that anything but a mohair wide belly (roper) girth was going to work. So that’s what I have. I clean them when they appear dingy or matted-brush them after every ride, remove any burrs, seeds or thorns by hand, and once every few months, soak them in handwash soap solution for half an hour, then hang them on the fence and hose them down really well and let them dry a couple of days. They sure do last when you take care of them!
I also have a felt lined nylon cinch and it is a bit harder the cinch up than the mohair ones.
Prochoice is human grade neoprene. I’ve worn a lot of wetsuits and never gotten a rub or a rash, but my bubblewrapped warmblood develops rashes from his Pro Choice SMBII boots and I get a rash from wearing their back support next to my skin. So maybe there’s something else in them that makes me allergic ( and my horse).
