Thursday, May 7, 2015

STRAP IT ON: Girth Innovations!

looking so fly
I'll admit I'm really more of a bridles and boots blogger than a girth girl, but there are some very interesting innovations running around out there right now and I thought I might as well share of list of the cool things I'm looking at.

I already reviewed the Total Saddle Fit Girth. If the price on that one made you gasp or the contouring didn't get you excited, well, this may not be the post for you...

Here we go.

Fairfax Performance Girth
Fairfax Performance Girth - short or long

It was actually JenJ who brought these to my attention. This is the first time that I'm aware of that the market has seen a girth backed by interesting scientific research. In fact, the British Olympic team was so in love with this girth that the company actually waited to publicly release/market the product until after the London Olympics because the riders thought it would be such an advantage.

Or so the rumor goes. It obviously didn't hurt them.

At any rate. The girth was tested with the Pliance testing method and claim to improve horse relaxation and comfort.

Curious? You can test it out for yourself for a mere $330 + shipping from England.

Stubben Equi Soft
Stubben Equi-Soft Girth - short or long (I think?)

Here's another fascinating entry. Stubben created this girth to allow the horse more comfort and a lower respiration rate, which translates to more relaxation and better scores in dressage.

Or that's the theory.

I have to admit, the design kind of fascinates me. I like the segmentation to allow it to wrap around the horse almost more like a bra than a belt.

Buuuuuut at $429+shipping (Dover), I'm unlikely to give it a go.


Wow H Soft Girth
Wow H Soft Girth

It sounds trippy and it is.

The idea behind the Wow H is that it distributes pressure along the horse's sternum instead of focusing it in one place. This contributes to greater equine comfort and great increases saddle stability.

In fact, you may have noticed one of these in the dressage at Rolex on Francis Whittington's horse, Easy Target. I'd post a picture because it really is fascinating, but I just cannot go stealing pictures from the Chronicle like that. Follow the link to read the quote and see the picture down below the dressage results.

The Wow H is surprisingly the most reasonable girth of the group, ringing in at a mere $280 + shipping from England. It also offers the most customizable options in terms of color and fit, it that matters to you.

wants $400 girth. still can't turn right.
I am a huge fan of innovation in equine accouterments and I have to admit, these girths fascinate me. I'm not in the income bracket that just leaps right in with a $400 girth (srsly wtf stubben), but I'm curious to track how they catch on and keep appraised of when affordable knock offs come along.

At the end of the day, we all want our horses performing well, and if a double strap spider looking girth is the key to the perfect free walk, well, who am I to say no?

21 comments:

  1. This is great. Pongo has a weird back and his saddle is always slipping. I've had it worked on by 2 different saddle fitters. I'm hoping a new girth will help with the issue but have to wait now until the kiddo arrives and I'm back on him again. In the meantime I'll be researching!

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  2. The Wow H soft girth fascinates me. Fiction's dressage girth makes his dressage saddle fit too far forward and it causes it to pop up in the back a bit, despite the saddle being flocked to fit him. I noticed that the girth pulls the billet forward. I've wanted to try a new girth for a while and I like how the Wow H lets the billets lay straight. I'm super tempted to nab one...

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    1. Though apparently they are only made to suit Wow saddles, according to some quick internet research :(

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    2. Hmmm where did you see that? I have a saddle sliding forward problem too and am pretty interested in seeing if this helps, but I don't have a wow saddle.

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    3. Do you have a point billet? Sometimes if you just have the billets redone it helps the fit of the saddle way better than just changing the girth.

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    4. My saddle doesn't have a point billet. I have always heard mixed reviews about them. But I just emailed WOW and they said that the H girth won't stop the forward sliding without a point billet. Ugh. The struggle.

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  3. One of the horses at Rolex was wearing a WOW. Have you seen the Le Tixerant comfort girths? Those are interesting too. I personally am pining after a sheepskin lined Frank Baines with the humane ends.

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    1. I have seen them, but I didn't know the brand name. They're also interesting and a little less terrifyingly priced.

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  4. Umm, I kind of love your blog post title! LOL. I too am curious about anatomical girths, although I am not ready to shell out money for one -- YET.

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  5. These girths are fascinating and looks so different! Thanks for sharing. *hides them from Nibbles*

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  6. I wonder how the first one compares with the TSF. I kind of like the TSF contours better in theory, but maybe I'm wrong. Interesting, very interesting.

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  7. These are AWESOME. I really want to try them all! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Cool finds. Thanks for sharing!

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  9. I use a $30 Smartpak girth. So does my trainer. They work great, and you can hose them off when they get gross. ;)

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  10. i hopped on the fancy girth bandwagon a couple months ago with a fancy anatomic jumping girth. that my mare promptly vetoed.... so i hopped back off again with a <$40 ovation dressage girth that my mare so far seems to love (meaning she pays it no attention haha)...

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  11. Woah, those are some funky looking girths!

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  12. A friend owns the fairfax and she SWEARS by it. I never tried it unfortunately but it sure was really nice.

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  13. I simply do not comprehend how leather and buckles cost this much money. Yes, the designs are fancy. But over $400? Uh no.

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  14. Interesting! But I agree on some other comments.... $300-400 for a girth??? Nooope. The Wow H girth is the most interesting looking but I do appreciate that the Fairfax has some research behind it. That's a rare find in the horse world!

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