Adding extra holes to saddle girth straps?

[LegOn]

Probably a stupid question but I presume its okay to add holes to your saddle girth straps - has anyone done it before? I have a good hole punch & I would measure & do it correctly

My saddle is new (well about 6 months old at this stage) and fits my horse really well - but my girth is a prolite synthetic one with no stretch - and he seems inbetween holes at the mo, I have it on 3 on both sides & sometimes I can get it to 4 on one side but its a struggle & I hate swinging out of him!

If I added a extra hole between 3 & 4 on both sides, surely it would be more comfortable - does that make sense? Or am I about to do something stupid that I'm not seeing!!!

 

[milliepops]

I wouldn't add holes between the existing ones, you would potentially be weakening the straps and making them more likely to stretch or snap.
I'd just leave your girth on the snuggest hole you can easily get it onto. Many people tighten the girth more than necessary

 

[scruffyponies]

Holes in between holes will weaken your girth billets. Not wise.
Why not use a humane girth and take one end up a hole higher - will have the same effect.

 

[ester]

lots of people will not use a humane girth (including me) for safety reasons.

I wouldn't be keen to add an extra hole either because of aforementioned strength issues.

I think horse would say few extra carrots and problem solved . Realistically I'd imagine hole 3 will be just fine.

 

[LegOn]

Thanks a mil! Glad I asked now - I was wondering if there was a reason not to do it!!

The difference in the freedom of movement from the Prolite girth is unreal compared to standard girths. In independent movement tests - horses hate instability so anything with elastic is out, causes too much instability when add a rider on top. I'm happy with the girth & I dont think he is gonna get any skinnier anyway - still filling out by the day! lol!

 

[Casey76]

Be careful you aren’t overtightening. As long as the saddle stays put for you to get on from a block it’s generally tight enough

 

[sbloom]

The difference in the freedom of movement from the Prolite girth is unreal compared to standard girths. In independent movement tests - horses hate instability so anything with elastic is out, causes too much instability when add a rider on top. I'm happy with the girth & I dont think he is gonna get any skinnier anyway - still filling out by the day! lol!

If your horse loves it then great, but in many cases elastic ended girths (always both sides) can work brilliantly, it depends on the saddle and the way it is fitted. The company I fit for has collectively over 60 years experience between the 3 main fitters and we all use and recommend elastic almost all the time. The study that showed that elastic ended girths caused instability was a very small study, I believe it was with elite horses and riders, though I can't find the source data, and I KNOW it is not universally applicable. Not ranting at you specifically, but you can imagine the black and white nature of the Centaur statements on girths wind me up a little

And yes, I agree about not overtightening, it's easy to do. I have yet to see a horse that "needs" an in-between hole on the girth straps. In 10 years saddle fitting.

 

[cremedemonthe]

As others have said, don't place a new hole between existing ones and you should use an OVAL punch not a round punch, oval holes help stop the hole elongating and it's the traditional punch we use when making girth straps

 

[Keith_Beef]

Where I ride, a temporary solution to this would be to add an extra felt pad between the numnah and the saddle.

 

[sbloom]

Adding another pad will affect the fit of the saddle, I'm not being funny (search it on the group and elsewhere) but France isn't at the leading edge of hands on saddle fitting for everyday consumers. We have enquiries all the time from people in France who cannot access any kind of saddle fitter who would advise them not to simply add another pad because of a girth being half a hole out.

I honestly don't think a girth ever CAN be half a hole out, I think there's a high chance that this is being overtightened. Bear in mind how large a horse's ribcage is, between being able to put the girth up on both sides, one hole means 1" difference in most cases. You MIGHT find your belt is "between holes" but a girth? Much too small a %.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Adding another pad will affect the fit of the saddle, I'm not being funny (search it on the group and elsewhere) but France isn't at the leading edge of hands on saddle fitting for everyday consumers. We have enquiries all the time from people in France who cannot access any kind of saddle fitter who would advise them not to simply add another pad because of a girth being half a hole out.

I honestly don't think a girth ever CAN be half a hole out, I think there's a high chance that this is being overtightened. Bear in mind how large a horse's ribcage is, between being able to put the girth up on both sides, one hole means 1" difference in most cases. You MIGHT find your belt is "between holes" but a girth? Much too small a %.

I understand, and I've had a few people on here state that "France is different" when it comes to saddle fitting (among other things)...

But this is a riding centre where girths go walkabout or get damaged, and it's not all that rare to have to take the girth from the saddle of a horse who won't be ridden that day, and if there's too big a difference in size, then a felt pad (or even two) seems to be the standard "temporary fix".

 

[Casey76]

I understand, and I've had a few people on here state that "France is different" when it comes to saddle fitting (among other things)...

But this is a riding centre where girths go walkabout or get damaged, and it's not all that rare to have to take the girth from the saddle of a horse who won't be ridden that day, and if there's too big a difference in size, then a felt pad (or even two) seems to be the standard "temporary fix".

That’s worse than usual... if a saddle is fitting the horse, then adding a felt pad or two is going to make the saddle not fit! It’s going to be too tight and unstable. Adding felt pads to make a too large girth fit is madness.

Fortunately saddle fitting is becoming more recognized in (my area of) France now, and that a good fit for both horse and rider is -essential, though it is still very common for people to have « their » saddles and they put them on any old horse.