Idiot curved girth question

Hold the girth by the buckles. Girth should curve forwards.

But there are curved girths and curved girths. Personally I only use the Marlowe/Heritage and Bates girths where the buckles are at a distinct angle when you lay the girth flat on the floor.

Girths where the buckles point out sideways and the girth itself just wiggles in the middle don't do the same job at all.


By the way I have an FSS (your pointer) . It's as stiff as a board and I never use it, but the shape is right.
 
cptrayes said:
Hold the girth by the buckles. Girth should curve forwards.

But there are curved girths and curved girths. Personally I only use the Marlowe/Heritage and Bates girths where the buckles are at a distinct angle when you lay the girth flat on the floor.

Girths where the buckles point out sideways and the girth itself just wiggles in the middle don't do the same job at all.


By the way I have an FSS (your pointer) . It's as stiff as a board and I never use it, but the shape is right.
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Thanks. Do you have a link to the bates one? Can't find it. Also, do you buy it in your normal size or go up/down due to shape? Will it help with saddle slipping forward?
 
zoon said:
Thanks. Do you have a link to the bates one? Can't find it. Also, do you buy it in your normal size or go up/down due to shape? Will it help with saddle slipping forward?
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Bates(leather)/Wintec(plastic) is air filled (Cair) and slips on my horse with a round belly. I use it with a horse with a ventral groove between his belly muscles and it's stable on him, but I wouldn't recommend it for ordinary shaped horses. In fact the plastic one I hunt with, I have cut the airbag out!

I buy normal size Heritage ones (English made, lovely quality, great price for what it is. ) and I started using them to stop my saddles slipping forwards. I've since come to the conclusion that most horses would be more comfortable in a true curved girth (and also believe it's one of the reasons that the Fairfax girth is supposed to make such a difference).

I also tend to use a longer girth than other people on monoflap saddles. I cannot bear to see the flesh pinched between two unprotected girth straps or the elbows knocking into the buckles.

Heritage anatomic girths are sold on eBay £70 at the moment.


A really severe saddle-pusher was resolved with the use of a WOW H girth and a gadget to hold the first girth strap forwards.
 
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I thought it was very helpful that my passier one was actually stamped with an L on one side and an R on the other! :o :p I didn't go up/down a size, just got a normal size and it was fine - the distance between the buckles is still the same which is what matters. Helped stop Dan's saddle from moving forwards :)
 
Another silly question for you - if the buckles are at an angle, do you end up with the back if the girth looser or girthing on different holes on each strap? Basically, how do you ensure even pressure from and back? It is wow saddles I have - thinking of h girth, but think it'll rub his elbows. Waiting for my foregirth to arrive so I can try that
 
zoon said:
Another silly question for you - if the buckles are at an angle, do you end up with the back if the girth looser or girthing on different holes on each strap? Basically, how do you ensure even pressure from and back? It is wow saddles I have - thinking of h girth, but think it'll rub his elbows. Waiting for my foregirth to arrive so I can try that
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No Zoon, quite the reverse, which is why I use them. On my friends horses, their girths dig in at the back edge on the stomach and are looser on the side nearest the forelegs. With a true curved girth on a horse of that shape, the pressure is equal across the chest.

I've a 34 inch you can try out if it would be short enough. It's currently too long for any of mine.

If the foregirth does not work on it's own (it didn't on mine) the H girth would be your next port of call. It was the complete answer to stopping me riding my horse's neck :D
 
Thanks for the offer, but too big. He isn't backed yet, but on the lunge saddle moves forward a couple of inches so point strap is vertical. Hoping foregirth will give us that couple of inches, but figured a curved girth can't hurt
 
You may well find the saddle stays till with a rider on board, totally depends on many factors, but instability on the lunge is very common - the saddle is designed to be stable with weight in it :)
 
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