Opinions of Humane girths?

I do not like them, they can easily be over tightened, I know of one physio that treated horses on a large yard that used them and she found the horses were constantly getting sore, I believe the girths were all burnt in the end !!!
 
Iv only seen one and I wouldn't of used it, due to the fact it was the same strap holding on both buckles if that makes sence! So if it broke the whole girth would come off instead of still having 1 girth buckle done
 
I haven't used mine for years, but I do remember the criticism of over tightening. There is more scope for overtightening but I never did so with mine. I prefer them to one sided elastic girths but nowadays I tend to use girths without any elastic. If the saddle is well fitted and the rider and horse are well balanced, there's no need to squeeze the horse into it.
I think the advantage is that with the Humane girth, you can ensure the girth sits evenly on the straps.
 
Invest in a three fold leather girth with serge inside and look after it. Mine is 30 years old, used on many horses and never marked any of them.
 
Dangerous IMO, because of what thatsmygirl says - if one buckle or the billet breaks you immediately have a very loose girth held on by one buckle only. If you struggle with girthing up get one with elastic at both ends or throughout - Wintec do one which is stretchy along its whole length.
 
I would only use one on a horse that's completely bombproof; I bought one for my horse once (really, really not bombproof), then was half way to doing it up and thought - OMG - what if he spooks or moves half way through doing it up. If you couldn't get the second billet in, the whole lot would come loose and you'd be on the floor with the saddle round their belly in about five seconds flat!
Agree there are much more 'humane' solutions.
 
I have one and like it much better than girths with elastics. If you are careful not to overdo any girth, then this shouldn't be a problem with a humane girth as well.
 
I absolutely detest them.
i know someone that says it goes on the 3rd hole and will yank it around until she can get it on that hole, which is farrrr too tight when she gains a bit of weight.
i really really hate that girth and would never put one on my horse
 
Dangerous. If one girth strap breaks your whole girth loosens, that’s why saddles are made with the girth straps attached to two separate points so that if one breaks you have a back up. Even if you accidentally don’t get buckle done up properly you may find the girth suddenly loosen as there is no back up. Not only that they are prone to over tightening. When I worked at a riding school the owner threw all of hers out because of the mentioned reasons!
 
I love them. Yes they can be over tightened. So don't. It's easy enough to check a girth. I do up the first buckle on the very first hole. Then do up the second to where it needs to be. Before mounting I redo the first one where I want it. I got my first one after getting tennis elbow but never went back. The girth itself has some give it, it is shaped behind elbows and the strain is balanced between the buckles. You could get a size smaller than usual so if one strap snaps (check straps!) it doesn't loosen too dramatically.
 
Why blame the girth if the rider tightens it too much? It's the rider's fault! I rode with one for years on the cold backed late chesnut git, and we both liked it. I would have been on the floor if he had disliked it, or if I had over tightened it!

IMHO they are particularly useful for cob type saddles with unusual girth strap arrangements.
 
JillA said:
Dangerous IMO, because of what thatsmygirl says - if one buckle or the billet breaks you immediately have a very loose girth held on by one buckle only. If you struggle with girthing up get one with elastic at both ends or throughout - Wintec do one which is stretchy along its whole length.
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This is the reason I don't like them!
 
Really like them :) For what I do (schooling and a bit of hacking, with the odd BD/Unaff anything) the chances of a nylon girth strap or my saddle breaking are slim, (In all honesty my girth is usually very loose anyway so I doubt I'd notice!) they're so much easier to get done up evenly and quickly, they don't rub and m,y pony prefers them to elastic.
 
Morgan123 said:
I would only use one on a horse that's completely bombproof; I bought one for my horse once (really, really not bombproof), then was half way to doing it up and thought - OMG - what if he spooks or moves half way through doing it up. If you couldn't get the second billet in, the whole lot would come loose and you'd be on the floor with the saddle round their belly in about five seconds flat!
Agree there are much more 'humane' solutions.
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Yep, heard of someone who had exactly this accident, ended up falling onto a concrete yard. Not nice.
 
I use them and love them, my animals seem a lot more comfortable in them. The straps are webbing so they are extremely strong and it's easy to see if there's any wear and tear - just check before you use it!
 
I have one and love it, my mare loves it.
I spoke to 3 saddlers about them before I bought mine. All 3 said as long as you check the straps before using which you should do with any girth anyway then should be fine, none of them had known one to break as webbing has a huge breaking strain.
However as someone else said, drop a buckle when tightening up the girth when on board and you could be in trouble.
 
Tiddlypom said:
IMHO they are particularly useful for cob type saddles with unusual girth strap arrangements.
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The Stubben cord girths are fab for this too. I looked into the humane girths because my mare's girth billets needs to stretch onto the point and balance straps (too far apart for the average girth).

Glad I went with the Stubben, which are also great anti slip too for roly poly horses.
 
I brought one years ago thinking i was being very kind to my youngster, but was seriously chastised by my saddler (nationally renowned), as they are dangerous and offer the saddle to stability whatsoever.
 
mega spoilt ponies said:
I brought one years ago thinking i was being very kind to my youngster, but was seriously chastised by my saddler (nationally renowned), as they are dangerous and offer the saddle to stability whatsoever.
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Isn't saddle stability more to do with rider stability and balance though?
 
I rode my gelding in one and loved it. I think it's much easier to over tighten elastic girths that the humane one... I rode with it for about 3 years and never had any problems with it at all.
 
mega spoilt ponies said:
I brought one years ago thinking i was being very kind to my youngster, but was seriously chastised by my saddler (nationally renowned), as they are dangerous and offer the saddle to stability whatsoever.
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Interesting, I started using them after being recommended to me by a nationally renowned saddler!
 
The thought of accidentally letting go whilst tightening it worries me. It doesn't take much to spook a horse sometimes and risking it happen whilst trying to adjust the girth and leaving you with a loose saddle is too risky for me.
 
Its dangerous with any girth to tighten it from the saddle without someone standing by, unless you have a really steady horse. It was also drummed into me as child not to remove a jacket while in the saddle without a handler on the ground.
 
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