Recomend me a Girth!

CBFan

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Right... following my post the other day I am pretty sure it is the girth that my boy doesn't like and TBH i'm not too happy with it either. Its the aerborn atherstone waffle girth with elastic both ends.

I need a girth that is elasticated both ends or not at all as I had one that was elasticated at just one end and the pressure was uneven which was causing saddle to move / twist.

It needs to be quite a wide girth (the aerborn atherstone is quite narrow in places) and quite well padded (although I could get a girth sleeve if nec).

I have heard good things about the proffesionals Choice girths so any comments on these or other girths would be gratefully recieved!

So go ahead!
 
I just bought a Wintec Cair one off ebay and it was lovely, only too small so it is back on there again! Really wide and padded with Cair panels. I used it on one of my others and it was fab, only he has a nice girth already hence why it is back on ebay!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280772503285?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

oooh! that looks promising! I don't know if is long enough though. I've got a 52inch at the mo and I can ONLY JUST get the strap through the buckle at the moment (although get up to hole 3 on both sides eventually) and with the extra padding it looks like this one offers I might have no chance! hmmm
 
I have just got a professional choice dressage girth from ebay - love it!

Wide and soft, but not chunky.

Expensive to buy new though
 
My fusspot mare likes the Stubben trevira cord girth - nice and wide and although not elastic it has a bit of give to it which horses seem to find comfortable. As for saddle stability - well she's a round shiny native and this type of girth is fine on her.
 
I have an Albion girth for my dressage saddle and have a Stubben trevira cord girth for my GP saddle as the GP saddle does have a tendancy to slip.
 
My horse only really seems to like sythetic padded girths. I have a Thorowgood DR girth and a Wintec chafeless GP girth. Both are shaped and have elastic running throughout them rather than at the buckles. The DR girth is also padded, and the GP girth stretch during work without becoming loose (sounds strange when you describe it but it works). He is VERY fussy about girths but likes both of these.

The Wintec one (which I now have two of, one in his current, slimmer size and one for summer when he will be fat!) http://www.wintec.net.au/products/mounts/chafelessGirth.html

The Thorowgood DR girth is the third one on this page: http://www.thorowgood.com/gp-girth.html#dressage. I don't like their GP girths though, that's why I went for the Wintec over the TG for my GP. My saddle fitter reckons Wintec and TG girths are the best on the market, most comfortable for the horse...
 
I love your posts, it is always like you have been hiding on the yard and seeing what niggles we have had!!

Predictably OH mare also didn't get on with this girth - god knows why as it ticks all the correct boxes!! She used to have a proff choice girth, but the grippy stuff caused no end of trouble, in the end our back lady banned it! The wintec girths are excellent (not cair, just ordinary) as there are no pressue points, it is reasnobly wide and is elasticated along its length. http://www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk/P/Wintec_Chafeless_Girth-(353).aspx She also got on well with an old john whitiker girth (shaped behind the elbows, but not narrowed). She is now in a saddle with long girth straps and finds the ideal short girth v comfy as it is super soft and fairly wide. The albion long girth is beautifully soft so that might be woth a go too? Def avoid the humane girths as the balancing type arrangement on the straps causes a pressure point, as do things like loops for martingales sewn into the the girth - make sure the horse side of the girth is utterly smooth and not affected by any design on the outside.
 
- make sure the horse side of the girth is utterly smooth and not affected by any design on the outside.

On this point... I recently looked at the GFS version of the Wintec/TG girths I posted links to above. I would definitely recommend avoiding the GFS ones. The Wintec GP girth I have is the middle of the range one - not the cheap unshaped one but not the v expensive one with Cair. The GFS one is about two thirds of the price but you can tell it is cheaper. IMHO it was badly made. The surface looks OK when hanging up on a peg but if you bend it into the shape it would be on the horse, the inner surface (in contact with horse) bunches up and, I think, will rub quite badly.
 
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Both of these are good (JW and Shires) as they are shaped around the elbow but very wide in the middle, so spread the pressure on the horse's sternum.
 
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Both of these are good (JW and Shires) as they are shaped around the elbow but very wide in the middle, so spread the pressure on the horse's sternum.

Fab shapes, but the stitched designs where the clips are will cause pressure points on the horses side of the girth - it is enough to cause a problem in a sensitive soul!! (and they are the bane of my life - finding a smart girth without is bloomin' difficult!!).
 
Fab shapes, but the stitched designs where the clips are will cause pressure points on the horses side of the girth - it is enough to cause a problem in a sensitive soul!! (and they are the bane of my life - finding a smart girth without is bloomin' difficult!!).

I have a sensitive soul, feel like I've tried every girth out there! I decided against a lot of the expensive branded leather girths because although they're padded, they felt v stiff and I didn't like the stitching on the horse's side. He hates all material girths (ie, Cottage Craft type), humane girths, plain leather girths, girths with elastic on one side. I looked a Pro Choice one but didn't like that either. He does like the Wintec and TG girths though :)
 
I have a sensitive soul, feel like I've tried every girth out there! I decided against a lot of the expensive branded leather girths because although they're padded, they felt v stiff and I didn't like the stitching on the horse's side. He hates all material girths (ie, Cottage Craft type), humane girths, plain leather girths, girths with elastic on one side. I looked a Pro Choice one but didn't like that either. He does like the Wintec and TG girths though :)

The plain shaped wintecs really are fantastic! Well worth the money, and alot better than most girths that are much more expensive too. I think sometimes they are overlooked - in a kind of 'reasuringly expensive' type way! They are cheap and good - now you can't say that v often, esp in the horsey world!
 
The plain shaped wintecs really are fantastic! Well worth the money, and alot better than most girths that are much more expensive too. I think sometimes they are overlooked - in a kind of 'reasuringly expensive' type way! They are cheap and good - now you can't say that v often, esp in the horsey world!

It was my saddle fitter who put me onto the Wintec and TG girths. I was being a bit of a snob about them and said I didn't want one, would persevere until I found a leather one he liked. SF said he thinks they're the best girths on the market for the money and are always comfortable for the horse, so I tried the Wintec GP one. It is fab! I didn't like the cheapest one (the one that isn't shaped) as it has a seam running along it that I thought might rub. Mine (horse, not saddle fitter! :D) is contrary enough that he would complain about the seam.

But the Wintec and TG girths are fab :)
 
I love your posts, it is always like you have been hiding on the yard and seeing what niggles we have had!!

.

Hehe! Must be a CB Thing?! They may look tough but they aren't stupid!!

I do like the look of the albion and will gladly invest in one if they come reccomended. I do like a nice leather girth - and my boy does too as my original girth was leather (bought for bargain price and he never showed any sign of discomfort. I guess they are just much smoother... I think the aerborn waffly stuff might be snagging on his teddy bear coat plus there's the issue of the flappy bit near the elastic getting snagged on the numnah - argh!

As for the wintecs stretchy all the way through jobbies... I have picked them up and put them down so many times... one thing that puts me off is that a friend on my yard has one and hers has started cracking!? that can't be good!!

and then there's teh pro choice... I too can see how the grippy bit might cause problems on a fluffy coated rather than smooth coated / clipped ned. hmmmm.

Now for the size... and the real question... HOW MUCH MORE IS A 4 YEAR OLD CB BABY GONNA GROW?!! lol!!
 
Crazymare. You make a very good suggestion.

I have considered a non elasticated one. I can't see how you can overtighten them any more than an elasticated one as if they won't go up to the next hole, no amount of pulling will get them up to the next bleedin hole!

He did seem happier in his leather atherstone girth with elastic one end but it pulled the saddle skewiff... I guess sometimes the old ways are the best!
 
As for the wintecs stretchy all the way through jobbies... I have picked them up and put them down so many times... one thing that puts me off is that a friend on my yard has one and hers has started cracking!? that can't be good!!

Had ours for years, and they are chucked through the washing machine every now and again - still in fab condition. If you examine it v v carefully you can see some v small cracks in some bits, but nothing on the horses side.
 
Stubben cord girth, wide, soft, doesn't rub, easy to wash, no nasty pressure points, no elastic, and nice and cheap. My mare loves hers after her shaped elasticated thorowgood one rubbed her.
 
Stubben cord girth, wide, soft, doesn't rub, easy to wash, no nasty pressure points, no elastic, and nice and cheap. My mare loves hers after her shaped elasticated thorowgood one rubbed her.

ditto this.
or, the wintec ones are really very good. slip into a sheepskin cover perhaps, that's what i've had to do for 1 of mine for a little while.
 
I've just been and bought a wintec... the non-shaped one... they ddn't have the size I needed in the shaped version and I was worried that the binding on the edges might annoy the boy. Anyway, tack shop were lovely and said to try it and take it back if no good so thats what I'm going to do.

I will pobably get a sheepskin but I want to try and get the girth right first as any dicomfort will still be felt with the wrong girth IMO..
 
I was going to ask this question last week as my one end of elastic girth is definitely pulling my saddle skewy on BH.

The Stubben one looks a bit different (and by different I mean suspiciously like old string girths which I hate!). Those who recommend it, can you put my mind at rest that actually it is nice? Don't want to buy it and then hate it!
 
The Stubben girth is not like the nylon string girths of old - to start with it is a lot wider and the cord is very soft. It doesn't crinkle up like the old-fashioned ones used to. Like any girth, they must be cared for and put on properly - I brush mine down after every ride with a soft brush and give it a wash after a few days and it looks good as new.
 
Have a look at the Flexigirth. A friend was getting desperate to find a girth that her horse found comfortable and found this one on-line. The demo video is a bit amateurish but shows very clearly how the girth works.

My friends horse loved it and I am getting one now.

www.flexiworksequine.co.uk
 
My fusspot mare likes the Stubben trevira cord girth - nice and wide and although not elastic it has a bit of give to it which horses seem to find comfortable. As for saddle stability - well she's a round shiny native and this type of girth is fine on her.

This is what i use, recommended by my saddler fitter. They are great, if you ride a lot you may need more than one as they take a while to dry.
 
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