Narrow dressage girth for small horse getting rubbed inside the elbow

Sophie C

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My horse is very narrow between forelegs with a forward girth groove and quite a large rib cage. Shaped girths (Fairfax, Ideal Affinity, Christ 'banana') don't work as the narrow bit is invariable in the wrong place and the narrow section isn't that narrow. She image of 'banana' girth attached.

The straight-sided Professional's Choice Ventech did work initially but within a week the seamed edge caused rubs/hairloss at the elbow so I have to use it inside a sheepskin girth cover (defeats the point of it's non-slip surface, obv). I also use a straight-sided Wintech inside a sheepskin cover as this girth is comparatively narrow.

My question is does anyone know of a straight and NARROW dressage girth (in a 24-26 inch size.) that might work. I was thinking an integrated sheepskin girth without seamed edges might be good but they tend to be mostly shaped and quite wide. I looked online to see if there's such a thing as a narrow string dressage girth but couldn't find one.

Before riding I'm using olive oil and or vaseline is the affected area to try to prevent further hair loss.

Any girth suggestions/tips very gratefully received...
 

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Sophie C

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Hae you thought of using the prolite narrow dressage grith it is designed for horses like yours. It's not staight but might be worth a try.
Thanks for responding. Yes, I've tried this one and it's way to wide, even in the most narrow section :-(
 

whiteflower

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Not so much the width but are you sure it's not the buckles catching the elbow area ? Personally I would try a longer ergonomic type girth so the buckles are higher and clear of the elbow and then the 'indented' bit of the girth should sit in the right place giving clearance to the elbow as it moves.
I had a similar problem but it was only on one side due to the horse being crocked. A longer girth and straightening the horse out remedied the problem. This was also on a horse with a forwards girth grove. Narrow girths didn't work as they just moved further forwards.
 

splashgirl45

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there is talk about this on the chronicle of the horse forum and it was mainly sorted by using a girth sleeve or someone suggested a wintec girth, a much cheaper option so that could be worth a try.....
 

Sophie C

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Not so much the width but are you sure it's not the buckles catching the elbow area ? Personally I would try a longer ergonomic type girth so the buckles are higher and clear of the elbow and then the 'indented' bit of the girth should sit in the right place giving clearance to the elbow as it moves.
I had a similar problem but it was only on one side due to the horse being crocked. A longer girth and straightening the horse out remedied the problem. This was also on a horse with a forwards girth grove. Narrow girths didn't work as they just moved further forwards.
Thanks for your response, Whiteflower. My problem is also on one side only and my horse isn't totally straight due to weaker right hind (I'm working to correct this with my equine physio). The attached image shows the Ideal Affinity girth and even if it had been longer and the buckles higher the narrow section below the buckles was not long enough to still be narrow at her elbow, if that makes any sense! It's a shame there isn't a 'girth bank' where you can try before you buy as there probably is an ergonomic one out there with a longer narrow section! But my saddler (who tried a Prolite Fairfax version Narrow Gauge on her) told me to stick to a straight girth so I'd written them off. Anyway, I'll bear your comment in mind, thanks.
 

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Red-1

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Mine needed a curved girth, drastically curved, as she was developing and was very forward in her girth groove.

I had one made, a leather very curved girth, so the buckles actually point in different directions. I put the curve backwards so the girth no longer lies IN the girth groove, it makes the girth lie behind it.
 

whiteflower

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Thanks for your response, Whiteflower. My problem is also on one side only and my horse isn't totally straight due to weaker right hind (I'm working to correct this with my equine physio). The attached image shows the Ideal Affinity girth and even if it had been longer and the buckles higher the narrow section below the buckles was not long enough to still be narrow at her elbow, if that makes any sense! It's a shame there isn't a 'girth bank' where you can try before you buy as there probably is an ergonomic one out there with a longer narrow section! But my saddler (who tried a Prolite Fairfax version Narrow Gauge on her) told me to stick to a straight girth so I'd written them off. Anyway, I'll bear your comment in mind, thanks.
My issue was the same, week right hind. Remedied with an Albion leather dressage girth 4 inches longer than the one I was using. Certainly in the second picture you have posted the elbow will be making contact where the straps stick out from the buckle. The Albion girth has a neat leather 'pocket' for the straps to go through so stopped the issue occuring whilst I was sorting out the straightness issue

ETA - in the second picture your saddle looks very far forward and on the shoulder, not sure if your girth has pulled it forwards or if it started like that. Sometimes if you have a well fitting saddle and make sure that the girth Is done up where it should be rather than forwards in the grove it will sometimes stay put of its own accord
 

Sophie C

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there is talk about this on the chronicle of the horse forum and it was mainly sorted by using a girth sleeve or someone suggested a wintec girth, a much cheaper option so that could be worth a try.....
Yes, that's what I'm doing but it's not ideal as rubbing is still occurring and the saddle moves forwards. Thanks for responding.
 

Sophie C

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Mine needed a curved girth, drastically curved, as she was developing and was very forward in her girth groove.

I had one made, a leather very curved girth, so the buckles actually point in different directions. I put the curve backwards so the girth no longer lies IN the girth groove, it makes the girth lie behind it.
My issue was the same, week right hind. Remedied with an Albion leather dressage girth 4 inches longer than the one I was using. Certainly in the second picture you have posted the elbow will be making contact where the straps stick out from the buckle. The Albion girth has a neat leather 'pocket' for the straps to go through so stopped the issue occuring whilst I was sorting out the straightness issue

ETA - in the second picture your saddle looks very far forward and on the shoulder, not sure if your girth has pulled it forwards or if it started like that. Sometimes if you have a well fitting saddle and make sure that the girth Is done up where it should be rather than forwards in the grove it will sometimes stay put of its own accord
 

Sophie C

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The second image was taken after riding. The saddle is a sore subject. It had been made to my horse's template but it was an awful fit, sliding forwards and causing soreness to my horses withers area. As soon as I realised I reverted to my trusty old Albion. I'll check out that Albion girth, thanks and I'll try ignoring the girth grove when I tack up tomorrow!
 

Sophie C

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Mine needed a curved girth, drastically curved, as she was developing and was very forward in her girth groove.

I had one made, a leather very curved girth, so the buckles actually point in different directions. I put the curve backwards so the girth no longer lies IN the girth groove, it makes the girth lie behind it.
Thank you Red1. I'm impressed with your ingenuity but I'd prefer to find an off-the-peg solution if I can!
 

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I'd use a string girth (possibly a mohair one), a long one, which may need you to punch higher up holes in your girth straps. It was the only thing that worked with an old dressage horse I had who had such freakishly sensitive skin that we couldn't even brush him, had to use an old woolen jumper to groom.
 

Red-1

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Thank you Red1. I'm impressed with your ingenuity but I'd prefer to find an off-the-peg solution if I can!

Yeh, I would have preferred an off the peg solution too :p but I could not find one that worked for us (we had a long girth, I could have found something suitable for a short girth).

It does sound like a similar situation, with my horse the forward girth groove meant the girth did not make a perpendicular line down, it came forward into the groove. Of course, this meant the saddle was then pulled forwards by the position of the girth... meaning the girth ended up interfering with the shoulder and elbow even more.

Your saddle does look too far forwards, onto the shoulder, which will not help.

I needed to get the girth perpendicular, so needed it to not lie in the girth groove. To get it perpendicular it had to curve backwards. It was a huuuuge curve, but once on the horse you would never have known, it actually hung bang straight.

Happily the horse has grown up some, and it is not a big issue now (except that the saddle I bought to fit no longer does :confused:
 

Sophie C

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Yeh, I would have preferred an off the peg solution too :p but I could not find one that worked for us (we had a long girth, I could have found something suitable for a short girth).

It does sound like a similar situation, with my horse the forward girth groove meant the girth did not make a perpendicular line down, it came forward into the groove. Of course, this meant the saddle was then pulled forwards by the position of the girth... meaning the girth ended up interfering with the shoulder and elbow.

I needed to get the girth perpendicular, so needed it to not lie in the girth groove. To get it perpendicular it had to curve backwards. It was a huuuuge curve, but once on the horse you would never have known, it actually hung bang straight.

Happily the horse has grown up some, and it is not a big issue now (except that the saddle I bought to fit no longer does :confused:
Somebody kindly sent me a picture of a curved girth on their horse a couple of months ago. I think maybe it was you? I subsequently asked my saddler about this as an option for my horse but she said to stick with a straight-sided one. So the search goes on...
 

milliepops

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The pds relief girth is quite narrow behind the elbows, might be worth a look.
Depending on her shape you could also try the stubben equisoft as it has straps that sit over a central pad that might work. prestige make something similar in that a narrow girth sits over a sternum pad (relax performance girth) but that probably depends on the horses shape quite a lot.

I agree that you need a longer girth than those pictured.
 

Sophie C

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The pds relief girth is quite narrow behind the elbows, might be worth a look.
Depending on her shape you could also try the stubben equisoft as it has straps that sit over a central pad that might work. prestige make something similar in that a narrow girth sits over a sternum pad (relax performance girth) but that probably depends on the horses shape quite a lot.

I agree that you need a longer girth than those pictured.

Great - I'll look into those, thanks Milliepops.
 

ester

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I'd definitely go longer.
I'd also add that a stubben string girth was one of the worst options I tried albeit long version.
We didn't get on with the prolite either as he dragged it forwards. and it gaped at the sides.

(Essentially just want to say I feel your pain).

I'd wonder if the H girth would work as obviously the front part is narrow/less padding than the stubben but also ££

With our dressage saddle I found a slightly too long elastic at both ends cheap aerborn atherstone worked best - leather always rubs him. I'll have a ponder if I can come up with any others.

have you been through the mattes diagrams?
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Sophie C

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Thanks for your reply. I'll have a look at the Aerborn Atherstone thanks. Sadly the H girth is beyond my budget. And yes, I have been through the Mattes diagrams but sadly there's no facility to try before you buy and it's impossible to know where the narrow section would lie on my horse without trying each one :-(
 
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