They look interesting. They’re expensive and I think you have to have them custom made. I’ve seen them on several horses and I believe there are made to keep the saddle in place on horses with difficult girthing options. Does anyone have one or know someone that is using them and can you tell me more about them? Thanks in advance.
I ride in a WOW jump saddle on my very round barrelled Andy cross. The saddle is set up with a point billet. This horse has a very forward girth groove.
The H-girth seems to have made a difference. When I started riding in this saddle this spring I used a Prolite forward girth groove girth. The saddle would be pulled forward through the ride. Once I changed to the H-girth that has not been an issue. My horse has never complained about it. I would like the front strap to sit a bit further back behind his elbow, but that’s where it seems to want to line up. I have the soft girth and there has been no issue with chaffing in his elbow.
I believe that the theory behind the H-girth is that it is for horses who have round barrels and forward girth grooves. When used with the WOW foregirth (a flap that goes under the main flap and allows the front billet to sit even more forward) the back strap prevents the saddle from tipping forward. I believe that it is also supposed to give some lateral stability - don’t know if it related to the girth or not, but my saddle sits rock solid on my very round horse.
They are (in my mind) ridiculously expensive for what it is, but I think that most WOW items seem to come with a premium. I found one used on eBay from a UK seller so I saved myself about $150 on it. You can buy them through the WOW website, so I don’t know that they are truly custom made versus made-to-order. One thing to keep in mind - the back strap sits about one hole lower than the front strap, so if you are worried about looks you might want to have the back strap 2" longer so that the buckles line up.
Thank you for the feedback!
I am extremely happy with the WOW girth that I have and have recommended it to many of my students. I ordered one in the Spring and now my daughter and I fight over who is going to use it. We have several horses that we use it on now. It really seems to ‘stabilize’ the saddle. It is excellent on horses that are wide through the body and flat in the back, horses that have so much movement that the saddle moves the slightest amount into the scapular area which creates a little too much pressure from the tree points and it is also excellent for horses that have an issue with the process of the girth being tightened. In my opinion it is well worth the expense. I have several horses that are much, much happier with the WOW girth.
I got mine through Patricia Cooper at Fine Used Saddles. She was patient with my questions and very helpful. You can Email her at: patricia@wowsaddlesusa.com. Feel free to use my name. I am not sponsored by WOW. Patricia was so very helpful that I want her to know how much I appreciated it and recommend her as a result.
