Girth recommendations

[Romanylouise654]

Has anyone got any recommendations for girth for a cob with a forward girth groove.
She did have the saddle fitter not long ago as her saddle was slipping forward and it did stop for a while but it has now started to slip forward again. She currently has a shires anatomical girth with elastic on both sides

 

[MuddyMonster]

I have the non-elasticated version of what you are currently using on my native with a forward girth groove. It's made my saddle so much more stable than other girths.

The Stubbins string girth always gets good reviews so might be worth a try. My boy hated it but lots of people report good things!

 

[dottylottie]

i’m a big fan of the shires velociti anotomical girth - i had one of the anti-chafe ones and neither me or pony liked it!

 

[Clueless]

This gel girth has does the trick for my cob, it does come up a bit small

Acavallo Gel Leather Ergonomic Girth | Old Mill Saddlery

The Acavallo Gel and Cow Leather Ergonomic Girth is part of the leather passion collection. Ergonomically shaped, this girth offers your horse freedom of movement and comfort. An inbuilt grip sytem limits movement of your saddle. Elasticated o .... £173.75.Free UK & Ireland Delivery on orders...

www.oldmillsaddlery.com

I tried the plastic one second hand, which I’ve passed on, which is working well for another cob.

 

[Romanylouise654]

I have the non-elasticated version of what you are currently using on my native with a forward girth groove. It's made my saddle so much more stable than other girths.

The Stubbins string girth always gets good reviews so might be worth a try. My boy hated it but lots of people report good things!

I might have to try the non elasticated one.
The one with elastic did work for a while when the saddle was last slipping and only recently has the saddle started to slip again

 

[Jambarissa]

I haven't had much luck with the curved girths on cobs but stubben cord girth works well. I'm on professional choice ventech girth now which is working very well.

 

[Jellymoon]

I like the pro choice girths with neoprene liner.

 

[Mahoganybay]

I have the Ventech Professional Choice girths. One for my GP saddle for hacking and the dressage version for my dressage saddle.

They are super girths, help keep the saddle in situ and my ulcer prone horse is ver6 comfy. Would highly recommen.

 

[Sossigpoker]

I've been using a Prolite with a fluffy cover for my cob for a few years but I think I've been too slow to not increase its size and he's therefore become girth sore.
I've now got a longer girth but it's elasticated, as I'm not sure if he'll tolerate a non elastic for the time being.

How much do the elasticated ones affect saddle stability on the fairly flat backed ones ? The Prolite one has been great for stability but I'm reluctant to just buy a longer Prolite as he's quite sensitive around the girth buckles (and is happier with the elastic whe girthed up).

 

[sbloom]

I recommend strong elastic, both ends, almost universally, for the saddles I fit. As always, the answer is it depends, many cutters recommend non elasticated girths for wider horse especially but it doesn't work for the way I fit.

I would.emphasis to have the saddle checked first, if you haven't already, but also realise that saddles being shoved forwards are very often on horses or ponies aren't working optimally behind, often being blocked in front. In extremis it can be genuine bilateral lameness.

 

[southerncomfort]

I have the Shires Arma anatomical fleece covered girth.

Bo is very happy with it but I'm not! The elastic at both ends makes the saddle really unstable, and if you don't do the girth up much tighter than I'm comfortable with, the saddle moves. I'm constantly shifting my weight to compensate.

I've tried so many different ones and this is the only one he's happy with so, like you OP, I'm not sure where to go from here.

 

[Sossigpoker]

I have the Shires Arma anatomical fleece covered girth.

Bo is very happy with it but I'm not! The elastic at both ends makes the saddle really unstable, and if you don't do the girth up much tighter than I'm comfortable with, the saddle moves. I'm constantly shifting my weight to compensate.

I've tried so many different ones and this is the only one he's happy with so, like you OP, I'm not sure where to go from here.

I've just bought the Arma memory foam one and I'm concerned the elastic will make the saddle unstable too. But he's got very sore with the Prolite so I feel he might need the elastic for comfort

 

[sbloom]

There's a huge difference between good elastic and cheap, stretchy elastic, the latter being found on the obvious sub £30 candidates but is also on the Ventech (though doesn't cause issues in so many cases because the girth is so darned grippy in itself). A saddle shifting makes the load of the rider much harder to carry so a horse may seem comfortable but it's not great long term for movement patterns, compensation etc.

A basic not too expensive girth I recommend regularly is the Dabbs waffle shaped elasticated girth, it has trebled strong elastic which may be enough in itself to fix the problem. The Stubben cord girth can also work well, counterintuitive as it's not shaped.

 

[marmalade76]

I like the pro choice girths with neoprene liner.

A cheaper copy of this is what I used when I had a cob, I had no saddle slipping problems with it.

 

[Sossigpoker]

There's a huge difference between good elastic and cheap, stretchy elastic, the latter being found on the obvious sub £30 candidates but is also on the Ventech (though doesn't cause issues in so many cases because the girth is so darned grippy in itself). A saddle shifting makes the load of the rider much harder to carry so a horse may seem comfortable but it's not great long term for movement patterns, compensation etc.

A basic not too expensive girth I recommend regularly is the Dabbs waffle shaped elasticated girth, it has trebled strong elastic which may be enough in itself to fix the problem. The Stubben cord girth can also work well, counterintuitive as it's not shaped.

The shape of the Prolite suits my horse , it seems to stop the girth moving forwards into the girth groove.
Would the Dabbs girth act in the same way,.noting that it doesn't have quite the same shape to it as the Prolite ?

 

[sbloom]

Hard to say, I'm not a great fan of the Prolite overall, so often it puts pressure on the back edge of the girth and I think sometimes that's the reason it stays in place. Girths and how well they work is very complex, lots of factors to take into account, as with me recommending elastic but most generalist fitters saying to never ever use elastic on a wider horse.

I've just looked up the Arma, I'm not a great fan of memory foam girths, the ones I've seen anyway, and this one looks like the soft nature of the girth will mean the anatomical shape isn't "real" or effective, as the tension is across where the webbing is and won't extend into the front extension. I can't remember if I've checked one in the flesh or not, but I'd say this has way less effective shaping than it looks like.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Thanks @sbloom that's a good point about the Shires and the webbing on it.

 

[Hormonal Filly]

I have the Shires Arma anatomical fleece covered girth.

Bo is very happy with it but I'm not! The elastic at both ends makes the saddle really unstable, and if you don't do the girth up much tighter than I'm comfortable with, the saddle moves. I'm constantly shifting my weight to compensate.

I've tried so many different ones and this is the only one he's happy with so, like you OP, I'm not sure where to go from here.

I have the same one. My mare likes it, the elastic is rubbish and once I’m on it does up so many holes.

Prolite was awful, pressure all in one small area which she absolutely hated. The saddle fitter I used doesn’t like the shires fluffy ones as all the pressure is up the centre. Might go back to a Harry Dabbs waffle.