The New H Girth !!!

Wizbang

Wizbang

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Morning Peeps,

I'm thinking about purchasing the new Wow H girth for my Arab who has a flat shoulder and a forward girth channel (therefore pulling all saddles forward) ... has anyone had any experience of these girths with saddles that aren't WOW? They are designed to keep your saddle in a better place and I've seen mixed reviews as to whether they work well with other saddles. I have a Black Country dressage.

Alternatively does anyone have any curved girths that they have tried and would recommend - Ideally I need an 18-22" and alot of them don't go down to this!! Also, they are all so expensive, I think the H girth is £170 and it's alot to spend to find out it is no better than the normal old neoprene jobbie!!!

Any recommendations would be gratefully received !

Sarah x
 
Sarah there is no reason whatsoever why the H girth would not work as well with a normal saddle that I can see. The WOW is a monoflap, but the opening at the bottom is so wide that it allows the girth straps to move just like a dual flap saddle. I haven't tried mine on a non-WOW but it was essential to sorting out my horse's saddle moving forwards, though I did also use a WOW foregirth which positions the girth strap forwards.

If you only need 18 inches then you might just be able to mock up a 2 strap girth with a couple of long stirrup leathers and something underneath to hold them 6 inches apart. I'm thinking attach one end hole to hole with at least 2 cable ties, and buckle the other end. I'm not suggesting you should ride in it but at least you could watch it working as you lunge before you splash out £170.

I'm not sure what level you ride at, or where your legs sit on your horse, but they do have one huge disadvantage. You can easily catch your spurs in the back strap if you are doing leg movements that need to sweep your leg past it.

My curved girth recommendation is very firmly with Matt Marlow, incredible value at about £60 for a beautiful English leather English made girth. He will probably make you a shorter one if you ask. Google "heritage marlow" to find his website.

If you needed a 32 or a 34 I could give you one of my spares!
 
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Thank you cptrayes - I think I might be giving it a go .... luckily I don't wear spurs with him as he is pretty forward going but I think if that is going to be my only prob with it and it helps my saddle stay put I'll be a happy bunny :) !!!

x
 
I've just looked at Matt Marlow, very nice too - do you think this would be a better option for keeping the same put than the H girth?

x
 
Wizbang said:
I've just looked at Matt Marlow, very nice too - do you think this would be a better option for keeping the same put than the H girth?

x
Click to expand...


It really depends on what shape your horse is :) On mine, moving the girth forwards tipped up the back of the saddle, and the H was needed to hold it down in place. But I suspect that's just what happens with an air flock saddle.

I think in your shoes I'd go curved before I would splash out £170 on an H. You'll soon know, and a "new" condition one should at least get you £30 or so back on eBay, from what I've seen. The person I bought my H from lost over £70 on it and I was the only bidder the second time it came up for sale :(

I would suggest you go for the longer size girth that will fit, to get the bigger curve to sit the saddle back further.

Hope that helps.
 
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Can I suggest a test - tie a piece of baler twine around your front girth strap, to the D ring to pull it forwards and use your normal girth. Lunge in that and see what happens. If it stays put then you should be OK with a curved girth. If that still slips forwards, then get a stirrup leather and put a back strap on with cable ties or string on the holes end. If that's better, then you'll have some idea whether the H will work. It sounds a faff but £170 is an awful lot of money to find out it does no good!
 
Can you put a link on for the Matt Marlow Girth please.

I've got saddle movement issues, due to my horse's shape. I currently have the neoprene professional choice girths in dressage and long length. Which are OK, but I do worry that I'm having to tighten them too much sometimes, particularly in the jumping saddle.

I tried a Tixerant girth, which seemed good in my trial. That's £120 but I would have liked it to look a bit smarter so I can use it for competing, which is why I’ve been hesitating over buying it.

http://www.suecarsonsaddles.co.uk/accessories.html
 
looking for a h girth but really want a sheepskin jobby to go over it for my extremely sensitive soul !!
 
I had a curved girth and it was the biggest waste of £75 I've ever spent. The saddle still came forward as my mare has a forward girth groove and a nice topline (not a curvy back like most TB's have). In the end, my saddler put point straps on all my saddles (even on my side saddles) so that the girth straps line up where the girth actually wants to sit on her conformation and problem sorted!

I see though that you have a saddle with long girth straps. My friend had an Albion SLK dressage saddle that had a long point strap that you could use with fulcrum girthing or just let the straps hang straight down, I tried his saddle with the point and 2nd strap without the fulcrum disk (so just the point strap and the last girth strap hanging straight down) and that saddle stayed put as well. It may be worth seeing if a long point strap can be put on your saddle like what the Albions have. It wouldn't cost as much as a H or curved girth either!

Some people don't like point straps on saddles but some horses just need them and if the saddle is flocked up properly, they work quite well.
 
cptrayes said:
It really depends on what shape your horse is :) On mine, moving the girth forwards tipped up the back of the saddle, and the H was needed to hold it down in place. But I suspect that's just what happens with an air flock saddle.
Click to expand...

I don't know much about air flocking and it does sound very logical that it could tip, but as advice to anyone with regular flocked saddles they should stay flat wherever they are girthed - if a flocked saddle does this then I'd be concerned about it.

sidesaddlegirl said:
I had a curved girth and it was the biggest waste of £75 I've ever spent. The saddle still came forward as my mare has a forward girth groove and a nice topline (not a curvy back like most TB's have). In the end, my saddler put point straps on all my saddles (even on my side saddles) so that the girth straps line up where the girth actually wants to sit on her conformation and problem sorted!

I see though that you have a saddle with long girth straps. My friend had an Albion SLK dressage saddle that had a long point strap that you could use with fulcrum girthing or just let the straps hang straight down, I tried his saddle with the point and 2nd strap without the fulcrum disk (so just the point strap and the last girth strap hanging straight down) and that saddle stayed put as well. It may be worth seeing if a long point strap can be put on your saddle like what the Albions have. It wouldn't cost as much as a H or curved girth either!

Some people don't like point straps on saddles but some horses just need them and if the saddle is flocked up properly, they work quite well.
Click to expand...

I use point straps most of the time - the tree needs to be a really nice fit at the front, and I would not use a point strap on a tree that has an inward kinked headplate as they always create a slight pressure point at the top of the panel. If the saddle has a tendency to mov forwards, very common with the cobs and natives I fit, then I will use the third of four straps in addition. Using a girth strap that is either directly attached furtehr back, or is a swing system on a dressage saddle, can bring the saddle further forwards and undo the work of the point strap. On more regular shaped horses it works well, the dressage saddles I fit have four straps so you can choose the two you need and unpick the other two pairs from the webbing - ultimate flexibility for different shapes.

I will say that so far I've not seen a horse that needs a curved girth - the right tree, panel, saddle balance and use of the right girthing straps stop saddles moving forwards even on very difficult to fit shapes. A wide soft padded girth, the wider the better as long as the horse has room for it, definitely can help as it provides more grip around the whole body. I personally use a ReactorPanel dressage girth: http://www.reactorpanel.com/html/girths.html.
 
Just a thought, if the saddle is moving/tipping forwards, I would say it doesn't fit properly. So,,,,,,,, trying expensive girths to solve the problem may just make it worse and be a massive waste of money. I would be getting the saddle checked, possibly from a master saddler I didn't buy it from. Like I said, just an idea
 
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