Girth galls :(

R

rvpeary

Active Member
Joined
19 September 2012
Messages
32
Visit site
Hi my connemara mare who iv had for 6 years has got a two girth galls. I always brush before and after i ride and she has never had them before. I haven't changed anything (apart from the fact that she is in harder work and working correctly now, which she didnt before)and im totally cluless as to how they have happend! One side is worse than the other and its happening when her leg is drawn back and traps her wrinkled skin between her leg and girth. I put sudacream on at first and then surgical spirit but rode agen today and shes red agen. Please can someone advise?

Ps sorry for the txt language im at my phone at the farm!! Lol

Thanks x
 
She has probably changed shape slightly and is fitter, try a different type of girth, a girth sleeve or possibly just wrapping the girth with some gamgee for now, although I would give her a few days to heal before riding her.
I had one mare that could not wear a girth with elastic ends, the join always caught her and made her sore.
 
Thankyou. She has changed shape, she has lost 80kg since last summer!! So that and maybe the extra work has changed her somehow! I will have a look at what girths i can see on the web :)
 
My pony gets girth galls with her dressage girth which the saddler says is a good fit and is a £110 albion girth - even when she is perfectly clean and the girth is soaped every time it is used. She never gets galls off her wintec girth on her jumping saddle that was a freebie when my friend's pony expanded out of it!
The only thing I have found that works is a nuumed cover over the dressage girth. Ironically I obviously can't wash it every time it is used so it is dirtier than just having the leather girth, but she never gets galls any more (touches wood furiously).
While your horse has the galls, you mustn't ride her or lunge with a saddle or roller, even if you put sudocreme or vaseline on. I tried doing that before even just for a short while (she was stabled and I thought it was for the best :() and it took the top of the galls and made them into horrible bleeding sores. You just have to put sudocreme on and leave them to heal, which might take a week.
It's just one of those things and it's bad luck - I think it's a myth that it's caused by dirt - quite the opposite in my case, I think in both of our cases it's the shape of the things! I hope your horse gets better soon.
 
Thanks :) she hadnt been ridden with a saddle for over a week so i thought she would be fine, so i tried and rode for 30 mins and it went again :(
 
You have to wait for it to heal fully so the skin is completely flat before you even try a new girth arrangement. Then of course it is more fragile, it is really frustrating.
 
My horse can suffer from girth rubs I have found leather shaped girths the best although if he is just clipped I have to use a girth cover, you can buy a special girth that is made for forward girth grooves, Ihave ordered one of these girths for mine they are about £70 but I feel its worth it, Lavinia mithcell stocks them have a look on her website.

As long as the skin is not broken surgical spirit can help harden the area, I find my horses rubs more if his not been ridden for a while and the skin gets soft again, some horses just have a natural foward girth groove like mine does so the girth is always sitting on the wrinkly bit.
 
Last edited:
Thanks all. How to i know where a normal girth groove is?! I will get some of the gold label stuff, i was using surgical spirit but it changed nothing :/
 
Ok so im going to try a girth i already have...shires anti chaffe and im going to get a nuumed sheepskin sleeve and see if that works!!! Really hope so!!
 
Have a look at the stuuben cord girth. I changed to one when my girth started rubbing and have had no problems since.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top