Horse girth rub even with fleece girth sleeve?

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spotty_pony

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Not my mare I was discussing the other day - this is my old boy. He has got a small cut behind his elbow which I can only think is a girth rub. It appeared after riding him on Sunday - he wears a cottage craft girth with a fleece girth sleeve on. The girth sleeve is clean, and he’s worn these girths all of his life. I wasn’t sure it actually was caused by the girth so I rode him again today but kept it steady but sadly he was a bit sorer when we came back so I won’t be riding him until it has healed now. It’s just pink and has the hair missing, not bleeding and not swollen. He’s never had one but always been a bit sensitive about the hair getting trapped between the girth hence the girth sleeve. He has been clipped but it’s growing out so I’m wondering if it might be the friction from the hair causing it? Or whether he is more sensitive now older? I’ve been putting some antiseptic fungatrol on it which is soothing it.

Any ideas?
 
Rigsby has had this a couple of times. I think with him, it is from where he has slightly saggy skin (old man) and it chafes in the creases. I have found it better when he is clipped with a belly/chest/strip up the neck clip to keep him cooler.

He has sumptuous girths and sheepskin, and it does not occur when he is cool.
 
Red-1 said:
Rigsby has had this a couple of times. I think with him, it is from where he has slightly saggy skin (old man) and it chafes in the creases. I have found it better when he is clipped with a belly/chest/strip up the neck clip to keep him cooler.

He has sumptuous girths and sheepskin, and it does not occur when he is cool.
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Looks like I’ll be getting him sedated and clipping him next Tuesday then! He shall does have his lady clip a bit later than usual but I haven’t clipped him this year as we haven’t hunted since beginning of December and with him being so bad to clip I thought we’d get away with it. He also comes up in hives if got too hot when ridden on the clipped bits that are growing out so I think it’s going to be for the best if I take some hair off so he is more comfortable.
 
He also couldn’t cope with leather.

He was a lot better clipped, I used to either go down the back/ insides of elbows or give him half legs

he was either in a Harry dabbs anatomic with nuumed sleeve at coat change time.
Or a pro choice ventech was working well for us but he semi retired before I was able to test it fully with a days hunting 😅.

he did also have a forwards girth groove so not a great combination.
on the occasions it did rub I just used to use sudocreme, he was prone to scabbiness elsewhere so we always had sudocreme with sulphur about

I wouldn’t use a CC girth by choice these days as I think the pressure distribution has been shown to be pretty poor
 
Elbows being tight into the body make this sort of rubbing likely, and a thicker girth can make it worse. Does he have much space there? I would try the Stubben string girth as it's the lowest profile there is, as long as he has a flattish girth groove from front to back, they can fold and wrinkle on horses that have a "pouchy" girth groove.

I would also suggest looking into postural groundwork, tight elbows are a sign that the thoracic sling is dropped, and every single horse that one of the "dissecters" has looked at, if it was a ridden horse, had arthritis/damage to the elbows because of this, so it's not just the obvious cases!
 
ester said:
He also couldn’t cope with leather.

He was a lot better clipped, I used to either go down the back/ insides of elbows or give him half legs

he was either in a Harry dabbs anatomic with nuumed sleeve at coat change time.
Or a pro choice ventech was working well for us but he semi retired before I was able to test it fully with a days hunting 😅.

he did also have a forwards girth groove so not a great combination.
on the occasions it did rub I just used to use sudocreme, he was prone to scabbiness elsewhere so we always had sudocreme with sulphur about

I wouldn’t use a CC girth by choice these days as I think the pressure distribution has been shown to be pretty poor
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Hmm I may have to look at getting him something more technical then 🤔 I’ll have a look at the ones you suggested. I’ve just bought him a wider and fluffier girth sleeve to try too. I think I’m going to have to wash the area when I’ve ridden too when I can ride again. Spooky or not, this is exactly what he told the psychic horse lady when she did a reading for him - that he likes his belly being washed because it itches!! Didn’t think much at the time but it makes sense now!
 
sbloom said:
Elbows being tight into the body make this sort of rubbing likely, and a thicker girth can make it worse. Does he have much space there? I would try the Stubben string girth as it's the lowest profile there is, as long as he has a flattish girth groove from front to back, they can fold and wrinkle on horses that have a "pouchy" girth groove.

I would also suggest looking into postural groundwork, tight elbows are a sign that the thoracic sling is dropped, and every single horse that one of the "dissecters" has looked at, if it was a ridden horse, had arthritis/damage to the elbows because of this, so it's not just the obvious cases!
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If anything is girth groove tends to be quite far back. He has massive shoulders and a big wide chest so quite rolling in his movements. We are at MOT time of the year now, physio is next on our list after the dentist. It did cross my mind he could be moving differently so a check up will be good for him anyway. He does have arthritis but in his hocks but it has possible spread elsewhere by now.
 
Rigs has recently enjoyed BH's Wow fancy girth. He likes it with a Superfleece bit on the thin straps though.

I also do the feathers clipped and a full strip up through the elbows and into the belly clip. A lot of faff for a little bit of hacking, but at least he is good to clip.

He is essentially retired, we just have a jog out for his amusement.
 
Red-1 said:
Rigs has recently enjoyed BH's Wow fancy girth. He likes it with a Superfleece bit on the thin straps though.

I also do the feathers clipped and a full strip up through the elbows and into the belly clip. A lot of faff for a little bit of hacking, but at least he is good to clip.

He is essentially retired, we just have a jog out for his amusement.
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I’ve just had a look at those wow ones! They do look good! Found this too. 🤔 https://thecentreline.co.uk/shop/fo..._kh6Hen6FUDCV1ofhnKTSeCQkaN-0RsBoCaAsQAvD_BwE

hmmm well my car is for sale currently so I could afford to splash out on one soon! 🤷🏻‍♀️ for now he will be long reining around the village and I may have a sit on him bareback until it’s healed. He enjoys the work and it’s keeping him moving and less stiff so I’ll keep him doing other things if I can!
 
spotty_pony said:
If anything is girth groove tends to be quite far back.
Click to expand...

I would definitely recommend the Stubben cord girth, I fit wider horses (and do make sure it's not your saddle fit changed) and they work really well, AND they're relatively cheap. Have a look from behind his elbow, do they sit really close to the ribcage? He's very engaged in his underneck and shows other mild signs of being a little dropped in his posture, every horse benefits from this sort of postural work.
 
sbloom said:
I would definitely recommend the Stubben cord girth, I fit wider horses (and do make sure it's not your saddle fit changed) and they work really well, AND they're relatively cheap. Have a look from behind his elbow, do they sit really close to the ribcage? He's very engaged in his underneck and shows other mild signs of being a little dropped in his posture, every horse benefits from this sort of postural work.
Click to expand...

These photos are both from December. Ignore the patchy clip - the only way I can clip him without sedation is with dog clippers and it takes hours 😂 so I’ll be getting him sedated and getting the big clippers out this time. He is a little bit rounder than this at the moment as he was at his fittest this winter here. Not the clearest photo of the saddle but you can see how much room he has hot behind his elbow and how big his shoulders are!
997979FA-3C7B-425B-930E-1A326028980D.jpegD49910B8-E649-4161-9A10-AD01C5D4B8DE.jpeg
 
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Red-1 said:
Rigs has recently enjoyed BH's Wow fancy girth. He likes it with a Superfleece bit on the thin straps though.

I also do the feathers clipped and a full strip up through the elbows and into the belly clip. A lot of faff for a little bit of hacking, but at least he is good to clip.

He is essentially retired, we just have a jog out for his amusement.
Click to expand...

He only has that one as I tried it for BH, I wouldn't have bought it for him. He also has the Stubben cord one, in fact that was the one he had when it first occurred. I think it is more to do with clipping so he doesn't get chafed than anything else.
 
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