Trying to nip when girthing with new "posh" girth!

chickeninabun

chickeninabun

Well-Known Member
Joined
4 July 2007
Messages
2,001
Location
Yorkshire
www.wix.com
I got a new saddle for my girlie last week and got a new Stuben string girth at the same time, as reccommend by my saddler, as my pone is like a barrel so it should help it not slip at all.
She is fine once tacked up and ridden but has started putting her ears back and swinging her head round at me whilst I'm doing the girth up now!
frown.gif

Her previous girth had elastic at one end, so a bit more stretch in it and she hardly even put her ears back when that was done up.
Should I presevere with the new girth or go ack to the old one, but it being elastic means the saddle might slip a bit. Although I have noticed a small amount of slippage with the new girth, so might have to take the saddle back in to get some extra straps sewn on, as my saddler said he would do this if it did slip.
 
I would hazard a guess in that the string girth is nipping her, so either go back to your old one or try stretching her front legs so no skin is caught.

fwiw, string girths can be very comfortable for horse, I like them
smile.gif
 
Get a new girth that's not string or elastic at one end?

I know there's a cost, but I certainly found that a girth with elastic at just one end made my saddle slip on my round cob.

Don't like string girths myself, and it sounds like your girl is of the same opinion.
 
sorry for saying nip instead of pinch - wasnt aware that i had said the wrong thing...

string girths are fine imo, esp. the stubben ones as they are nice material.

But OP sounds like your horses dosent like them!
 
I would say that the string girth might not be the best thing for her. Why are you using a cheapy string girth on a lovely saddle like a stubben??
confused.gif


I would also like to point out (as no one has as yet) that this nappiness could also be a sign of pain if the saddle does not fit quite as well as it should.
frown.gif
As you have only had the saddle a week and the horse has only been doing this since the new saddle arriving I will just say a) was the saddler fitted by someone registered? - see link http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/horsecare/article.php?aid=35798 b) are you using the same saddlecloth as you used when trying out the saddle in front of the saddle fitter ? and finally c) did the saddle fitter try a number of saddle on your horse and did you ride in different types before choosing one? I am not trying to insinuate your saddle fitter does not know what he/she are doing but I have heard (and been part of ) so many dodgy saddle fitter tales that I wouldn't be suprised if you have fallen victim to one along the way. xx
 
Hi Nailed. Sorry for being blonde, what does QR mean? I am confused, is it query something? no forget it, it means quite right doesn't it??
laugh.gif
 
applecart14 makes a very valid point - are you sure its the girth and not the new saddle your horse is objecting to?
 
It's a Stubben string girth - definitely not a cheapy one!
cool.gif
Personally I love them, sounds like the horse might not agree with me though. As Applecart says, it could be the saddle so worth getting it checked again. If you decide to go back to the elasticated girth, I'd consider getting one that is elasticated on both ends, not just one. This should allow equal movement on both sides.
 
I tried a stubben string girth on my mare after people raved about them on here as she's so sensitive but she didn't really like it either. While it looked lovely and wide I found it "bunched" up and because it was then uneven she didn't like it. I currently use a wintec and have found it to be the most comfy girth I've tried. The elastic is in the middle so you don't get the uneven pull that girths that are elasticated at one end have. I really rate them. Not sure whether it would help with the slipping problem though - but not sure how a string girth would work there either.
 
Ditto try a wintec elasticated girth. Both mine have them and are sensitive pones. My back person had a real rant about my girth that had elastic at one end, apparantly a real no-no!
 
Yes, it is a Stubben string girth, not a cheap but it seems she really doesn't like it.
Applecart14 - I haven't ruled out that it's not the new saddle but she's fine once the girth is done up and I'm on board. Yes the saddler was registered and he tried on about 12 saddles until he found one that was right but he wasn't convinced it was the best. He persuaded me to try some brown ones (as I initially said I wanted black) and it's then that we found the prefect one. And yes I did ride in it and it's very nice and seemed to fit very well, although she is difficult to fit, being barrel shaped, short backed and sway backed. It also wasn't the most expensive of the saddles we tried so I can't see any reason he'd have said it fitted when it didn't.
I think I'll try another girth, or even my old one for now, and see if that makes any difference before getting the saddler back. Although he has said any saddle on my girl might slip as she's so round, so he could sew some further straps on that would anchor the back of the saddle down more, to stop it slipping.
I might have a look at the wintec girths cbajjd mentioned as my old girth was a wintec.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I would say that the string girth might not be the best thing for her. Why are you using a cheapy string girth on a lovely saddle like a stubben??
confused.gif




[/ QUOTE ]

The string girth is made by stubben, it is not a 'cheapy string girth' and it is made of large soft cottom strings that do not pinch.

Could it be that your mare is in season and feeling her back more? If she isn't happy under saddle I would get the saddler back out, if she is just a bitch to tack up give her a while and see if she gets over it.
 
She is normally a sweetie to tack up, because I remember mentioning it when we viewed her, that she didn't even twitch her ears when the girth was being done up! I really hope it isn't the saddle and is just the girth

The girth looks like this:
Stubben String Girth

Like I said, I'll try switching girths back and see if there's any improvement but if not I'll ring the saddlery.
 
I would try new saddle with old girth and see what she is like then you should know whether it is saddle or girth. you do get a bit of movement on big round cobs with your saddle i got a barnsby one for mine and thats the best i have had on him it hardly moves at all
 
How tight do you do the girth up before mounting?

Mine tends to be quite loose, and then gets tightened after walking a few steps, hole by hole.
 
Amy May, I try and do mine up as tight as I can before mounting (obviously slowly hole by hole whilst putting bridle on, finding hat gloves etc) because we have problems standing still once mounted
blush.gif
and I'm not confident enough to adjust things whilst mounted at the moment
frown.gif
.
 
I think you will find problem is because you no longer have the elastic, so when you pull the girth up it pulls more on her tummy! When you have elastic it is intially more comfortable because the elastic is more forgiving.

I would put the girth on not too tightly and do up gradually when on board.
 
If I remember correctly, my instructor always warned to be careful not to over tighten a string girth. I'm lucky that I could get on my pony with a relatively loose girth and the saddle didn't move and I could tighten it up once on.

I think elastic girths are considered okay if the elastic is even - the Wintec Chafeless has it in the middle.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top