My OH has arthritis in his hands and is finding it difficult to tighten his girth. I'm sure in the past I have heard about a gadget to help with this. Anyone any thoughts?
Haven't heard of anything to do this, I also have problems with my hands and find that buying the next size of girth up so you have plenty of leather to hang on to is the easiest solution
I know exactly what you are on about. they didnt stay on the mass market for very long as people were abusing them and tightening girths way more than was nice for their horses.
I have however seen them since on specialist disability sites so it may be worth trawling round things like the RDA websites to see if there are links there.
My mum has arthritis in her fingers and finds an elasticated girth the best solution - it's easier for her to tighten but she hasn't got the strength to overtighten it!
I have arthritis and similarly use an elasticated girth (echo Virtual). I know you're not supposed to tighten elasticated girths on the 'elastic' side because it will wear quicker, but i'm just aware of that and will replace them more regularly. Having a well oiled strap helps too - the grip is better. A girth that is on the larger side is best too, (as mentioned by the watcher!!)
Thanks to all for your replies. The longer girth seems the most obvious solution (why didn't we think of that!) Having said that, OH's horse is a hunter on her summer break so the girth should get longer of it's own accord by October!
I will have a look at the RDA site too.