Reviews of Wow Free Space girth?

soloequestrian

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Interesting! Did you notice any difference in back lift? I keep wondering if moving to all the pressure from the girth to the rectus abdominis muscle might mean that the horse uses it less, so may go more freely forwards but in a more hollow outline? Hoping you are going to tell me that's rubbish!! I also don't know how much a normal girth would spread that pressure anyway, maybe not much...
 

Ample Prosecco

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This looks teally good. I'm going to get one for Lottie. When ordering, the site asks for length of girth then for length of 2nd girth? What is that all about! Surely both ends need to be the same length? Also what is the different n the buckles?
 

ycbm

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Eeep now I want to try it and I already use the H-girth. ?


If your h girth is long enough, you might get an idea whether it will work by padding up the centre, it's really just an H girth with a heavily padded centre and a hard shell to stop it bending.
 

ycbm

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This looks teally good. I'm going to get one for Lottie. When ordering, the site asks for length of girth then for length of 2nd girth? What is that all about! Surely both ends need to be the same length? Also what is the different n the buckles?


The front and back straps can be different lengths. My horse is only 1 inch shorter in fromt, but if you have a horse with a 2 inch difference it makes sense to have a 2 inch shorter strap on the front. The way to tell is if your ordinary girth feels looser to do up on the front buckle.

The tongue of the buckle isn't put through the holding strap like on most girths (except Harry Dabbs), so there's nothing to stop it flopping about. Harry Dabbs use buckles with a spring on the tongue. WOW have done a cludge with an industrial elastic ring. It works well though.
 
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ycbm

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ugh i really want one to try...............wonder how they work on the very rotund no withers sorts??????


I think it should work unless you've got the "square across the bottom" type chest shape, which could fill into the corners that are meant to be clear. Mine will be WAY too long for your little guy but if you're at SPF and time soon and want to try putting it on as a surcingle using some string just to see, you're welcome.
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ycbm

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Interesting! Did you notice any difference in back lift? I keep wondering if moving to all the pressure from the girth to the rectus abdominis muscle might mean that the horse uses it less, so may go more freely forwards but in a more hollow outline? Hoping you are going to tell me that's rubbish!! I also don't know how much a normal girth would spread that pressure anyway, maybe not much...

Heck yes, he lifted right out of his wither like he can, but has not wanted to for the last year, and let me sit down and round him in a way he has resisted for quite a while now. I had a huge run of mirrors to watch in and he was more rounded than he's been since we got the mirrors to use 2 months ago.

He was even different to lead out there, stomping away faster than I wanted to walk. He's never done that in his life. I really am feeling quite guilty!
.
 
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Ample Prosecco

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The front and back straps can be different lengths. My horse is only 1 inch shorter in fromt, but if you have a horse with a 2 inch difference it makes sense to have a 2 inch shorter strap on the front. The way to tell is if your ordinary girth feels looser to do up on the front buckle.

The tongue isn't put through the holding strap like on most girths except Harry Dabbs, so there's nothing to stop it flopping about. Harry Dabbs use buckles with a spring on the tongue. WOW have done a cludge with an industrial elastic ring. It works well though.

Ah ok thanks.
 

HufflyPuffly

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Well that wasn't expected.

Absolutely TRANSFORMATIONAL from the very first step.

I've had to lengthen my hold on the reins, and instead of putting him forward every few strides I was putting him forward every few minutes. Free walk was particularly shocking. I feel guilty now that I ever had a normal girth on him.

It's true to size, I was using exactly the same holes, except that with 2 straps you can have one done up a hole shorter than the other so it fits better than the old girth.

Criticisms are that they are using (industrial) rubber bands to control the tongue of the buckles instead of buying the sprung tongue buckles that are used on Harry Dabbs girths. Luckily I had an old HD girth and I've cut the buckles off that and replaced them. It's easy to do. There are no girth strap retainers, but the rubber bands of the buckles do an excellent job of that. I like the synthetic, it's virtually impossible to tell from leather and can be put under a tap.

It won't be going back, that's for sure.
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Is it elasticated? Looks very like the Stubben Equi Soft which Topaz reacted very similar too, but as the Stubben was elasticated it wouldn't sit still on a roly poly shaped horse, so I went back to the prolite. If I had any in work I'd be tempted to try it!
 

ycbm

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Is it elasticated? Looks very like the Stubben Equi Soft which Topaz reacted very similar too, but as the Stubben was elasticated it wouldn't sit still on a roly poly shaped horse, so I went back to the prolite. If I had any in work I'd be tempted to try it!


Hang on I'll just go and check ........


.........


nope!





ETA sorry to hear yours are all out of work ?
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HufflyPuffly

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Hang on I'll just go and check ........


.........


nope!





ETA sorry to hear yours are all out of work ?
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Ooo banking this for future then, as baby horse is a fairly round shape :D.

Two retired to hacking duties only, so not fully out of work but not in enough for fancy pants girths when their current ones seem comfy enough for them. Plus one three year old that is not having that kind of money spent on her until she's finished growing and has an actual saddle fitted to her :p.
 

ycbm

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Dammit, one is on the way!


My advice would be to do what I did, use it without putting the girth straps through the hole above the buckles. I could have sponged mine off and sent it back as brand be new for a refund under the distance selling regulations, only his reaction won't let me!
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Ample Prosecco

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Ordered. She'd better like it!! She does have tight pecs generally though and hates being girthed which I think is related to tight pecs not to gut issues. So fingers crossed this is the solution.
 

Petmurf

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There’s one in the basket but just need to double check his current girth size tomorrow as I can’t remember if it’s a 38 or 40
 

Cortez

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My advice would be to do what I did, use it without putting the girth straps through the hole above the buckles. I could have sponged mine off and sent it back as brand be new for a refund under the distance selling regulations, only his reaction won't let me!
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I'd be inclined to give it a little while longer to see just how miraculous it truly is.
 

Fieldlife

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I'd be inclined to give it a little while longer to see just how miraculous it truly is.

It does make me wonder. You had a good response to a much looser normal girth. You had a good response to this with girth straps not fully done up. Hopefully a few weeks later and fully tightened it is still as beneficial.

I had a previous horse who "LOVED" every change. Even if you swapped around - old item (bad) new item (good), old item (bad) new item (good). But after I bought it, a few weeks later the benefits typically wore off.
 

ycbm

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I'd be inclined to give it a little while longer to see just how miraculous it truly is.

I'm not sure you would if you'd been riding him, or even leading him. I understand your point, and that he might start compensating somewhere else but I don't see why he should, when he was moving from the get-go so correctly. I suspect it will actually become a virtuous circle.

WOW are a very technically orientated company. They created this girth because the biomechanics of the horse suggest that it's needed. Ludo certainly agreed today, anyway.
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Cortez

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I'm not sure you would if you'd been riding him, or even leading him. I understand your point, and that he might start compensating somewhere else but I don't see why he should, when he was moving from the get-go so correctly. I suspect it will actually become a virtuous circle.

WOW are a very technically orientated company. They created this girth because the biomechanics of the horse suggest that it's needed. Ludo certainly agreed today, anyway.
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Certainly hope it does the trick for you and Ludo.
 

ycbm

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It does make me wonder. You had a good response to a much looser normal girth. You had a good response to this with girth straps not fully done up. Hopefully a few weeks later and fully tightened it is still as beneficial.

I had a previous horse who "LOVED" every change. Even if you swapped around - old item (bad) new item (good), old item (bad) new item (good). But after I bought it, a few weeks later the benefits typically wore off.

The response I had from this, (and it was fully tight, I'm not sure where you got the idea that it wasn't), bore no relationship to the improvement from riding with a dangerously loose girth.

This is not a horse who has ever particularly reacted to things I change.
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ITPersonnage

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ycbm Can you just confirm for thicky here (me) that you had the WOW H girth before and then the free-space was a big improvement?
 

ycbm

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ycbm Can you just confirm for thicky here (me) that you had the WOW H girth before and then the free-space was a big improvement?

No I have an H girth but I wasn't using it on that horse as it's too long. I don't believe it's the H making a difference but the gap in contact on the horse's side. H's are great at stopping saddles sliding back though. I was using a Harry Dabbs curved girth.
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ycbm

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First hack was equally different and in some different ways. Far fewer reminders with leg or a tickle with a long whip that he needs to stay up and forward and carry me. Far shorter time to accept that we weren't taking the quick route back to the barn but extending the ride. Far more relaxed than normal when he had accepted that. Far less bit chomping.

The big changes are

- mental forwardness, pure willingness to move
- front leg stride length and reach into the rein. I've lengthened my hold on the reins over an inch, maybe two inches.
- significantly lower head carriage, and increased desire to stretch when given a free rein.
- a pushing outwards of the muscle at the bottom of the mane immediately in front of the saddle that I've never seen before. He's always had a weedy neck, I'm looking forwards to seeing where that goes!

I promise to update if these effects fade, I'm not into promoting expensive things that don't work or deluding myself, but so far I'd describe this as a game changer.
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