Reviews of Wow Free Space girth?

[ycbm]

Has she got a flat bit across the bottom, and an obvious turn where the sides come down to, like an egg with its bottom sliced off, or is she more like a whole egg? Best I can do as a description
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[KHippo]

I posted months ago on this thread querying its suitability for helping with my mares girth rubs. Since then we have had a bit of a journey with months of soundness issues, rehab etc & slowly chipping away at one problem at a time. Earlier this year I changed her to a Stubben string girth (which BTW are like hens teeth if you have a CC or dressage saddle & need a short one!) which immediately resolved all issues with rubbing which was fantastic!

However, she has always thrown her saddle to the right (its her movement, conformation and her ongoing soundness issues which we are still working on) & by the end of every ride it has shifted to the right by 1-2 inches at the back. So this became my next issue to fix in order to rule out saddle movement being a cause or aggravation of her issues. Cue a very long conversation with saddle fitter in which she convinced me to try the Freespace. I was traumatised by girth issues & terrified of spending £250+ on something which then rubs her, but I agreed to give it a try...

Its been 3 weeks & we have no rubs, my saddle doesn't move an inch, and she is moving better in it with more lift & better freedom through the shoulder. I am really impressed with it so far & quietly hoping the new stability of saddle & her improved freedom to move will help improve some muscle wastage behind her right wither (which I'm sure is part of the saddle slippage issue either via cause or effect)! I'll update again in a few months for anyone interested.

 

[ycbm]

I'm very interested in your progress. My current horse came with very different shoulders, possibly from being trained left handed for the predominantly left handed courses that he ran on. They are much closer to equal now and I do wonder if I could have got so much of a change in 3 months of limited schooling without this girth.
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[JGC]

Has she got a flat bit across the bottom, and an obvious turn where the sides come down to, like an egg with its bottom sliced off, or is she more like a whole egg? Best I can do as a description
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That is very clear actually She's narrow in front, so she is like a boiled egg with a small bit sliced off between her legs! So it doesn't sound like it's worth the risk. She's back in the Stubben string girth for the moment, so we'll see how that goes

 

[Identityincrisis]

My horse is still going great in his girths (i loved the GP so much I bought a short version too!) he has hardly any gaps now where as he was very boxy (good description YCBM) before the girths despite regular hill hacking, schooling and jumping.

They wear very well but the crappy bands to make the buckles sprung have disintegrated and fallen off but that’s fine as I didn’t like it anyway, but for £250 I feel that was a mickey mouse solution

 

[ycbm]

The bands are bog standard and can be bought in Screwfix.

I think the buckles are naff and replaced mine with ones off an old Dabbs girth very early on.
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[Squeak]

I gave this girth a go with a horse that I was really convinced it was going to help with as he was the right shape and you could see where it would free up his muscles. Unfortunately it just didn't seem to make any difference to him whatsoever. Real shame as I was so excited by the reviews from all of you.

FYI - anyone wanting to trial one - WOW don't publicise it (so probably wont appreciate me doing so!) but if you contact them then they will let you trial a girth for two weeks.

 

[Hels_Bells]

Haven’t posted on H&H for years but I’ve just bought one of these girths and was interested in reviews. I have a big WBxTB who has had a broken hip in the past. He’s sound and pain free but has been a struggle to saddle fit to date, WOW saddle was frequently slipping to the LHS, and today in a saddle fitting we tried the WOW girth… the difference was quite literally astounding. The saddle became totally centred and much better balanced and horse literally frolicked for some time! lol. A very slight air adjustment was also needed to the saddle in the back right cushion but the major difference was the girth. If it can do this for my slightly wonky donkey I think it must offer some good comfort and stability for horses without special needs. I’m still in shock a bit at the difference. Will be riding in it for next few weeks so may update again once we’ve really got used to it.