Best anti-chafe girth?

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Can anyone recommend a good girth for GP Saddle which will prevent chafing? I'm currently using a Thorowgood one which is elasticated at one end only but noticed that even though I make sure there are no wrinkles of skin caught or anything, there are tiny little dry/scabby (not sore or open wound) patches on both sides where my horses girth goes.
Any ideas why this could be? I always wash him thoroughly if he sweats and he gets a good groom every day.
Any ideas of a better girth I could use? I've heard that sheepskin ones need washing really regularly otherwise more chafing could occur. Any suggestions welcomed
 
I use a Shires soft neoprene anti-chafe on my mare.

https://www.shiresequestrian.com/neoprene-girth-24633

It's elasticated at both ends and is very, very soft. When I had her checked by a physio she was a little sore in her girth area so I bought this girth and a sheepskin sleeve for her comfort. She then became really difficult to girth up and through a process of elimination, it turned out that she really didn't like the sheepskin cover at all! :rolleyes: She seems perfectly happy in just the girth now.

You probably know it but any decent saddler will tell you not to use a girth that is only elasticated at one end as this can cause many problems. Either both ends or not at all.
 
domane said:
I use a Shires soft neoprene anti-chafe on my mare.

https://www.shiresequestrian.com/neoprene-girth-24633

It's elasticated at both ends and is very, very soft. When I had her checked by a physio she was a little sore in her girth area so I bought this girth and a sheepskin sleeve for her comfort. She then became really difficult to girth up and through a process of elimination, it turned out that she really didn't like the sheepskin cover at all! :rolleyes: She seems perfectly happy in just the girth now.

You probably know it but any decent saddler will tell you not to use a girth that is only elasticated at one end as this can cause many problems. Either both ends or not at all.
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Thanks for replying. Yes I only just read up about girths that are only elasticated at one end - until recently, I didn't realise it could cause problems. Thank you I will look up the girth you recommended.
 
Mine is a short girth but I have a shaped Christ Lammfelle sheepskin and it's fab. I don't wash mine just give it a brush over and it works really well. Although I managed to drop it in a big pile of wee so will have to wash it now :(
 
AliceKate said:
Can anyone recommend a good girth for GP Saddle which will prevent chafing? I'm currently using a Thorowgood one which is elasticated at one end only but noticed that even though I make sure there are no wrinkles of skin caught or anything, there are tiny little dry/scabby (not sore or open wound) patches on both sides where my horses girth goes.
Any ideas why this could be? I always wash him thoroughly if he sweats and he gets a good groom every day.
Any ideas of a better girth I could use? I've heard that sheepskin ones need washing really regularly otherwise more chafing could occur. Any suggestions welcomed
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I'd suggest a sheepskin cover, but a proper sheepskin not a synthetic lookalike. As No_Angel said they don't need washing frequently, just brush them clean & fluff them up, but if you do wash rub with hair conditioner first to keep them soft.

Girths are very much a matter of preference so it can be trial & error, for instance I had a Stubben cord girth work beautifully on one horse but another I used it on absolutely hated it.

There can be other reasons for chafing. Are you overgirthing? This can be a common problem with girths with elastic ends. Is the saddle unstable or the rider unbalanced, thereby putting more strain on the girth to hold everything stable? I seem to recall you mentioning in another post that this horse is very fat so saddle fit may well be an issue if it's a saddle that was fitted when he was slimmer, also for some reasons fat horses do seem to be more prone to girth rubs in my experience.
 
Jess gets scurfy in her armpits if she sweats for an extended period and I don't get the sweat off well enough, a rinse with a hose just isn't enough for her, equally too much soapy washing does it too, I've found some of the rinses you dilute work well, like the netex lavender wash. Additionally using a sheeps wool sleeve (I have a numed one I like best) helps reduce the sweating and wick it away from the skin. The girth does seem to play into it too, I tried several and found the wintec contour one suits her and it has center elastic which I like.
 
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carthorse said:
I'd suggest a sheepskin cover, but a proper sheepskin not a synthetic lookalike. As No_Angel said they don't need washing frequently, just brush them clean & fluff them up, but if you do wash rub with hair conditioner first to keep them soft.

Girths are very much a matter of preference so it can be trial & error, for instance I had a Stubben cord girth work beautifully on one horse but another I used it on absolutely hated it.

There can be other reasons for chafing. Are you overgirthing? This can be a common problem with girths with elastic ends. Is the saddle unstable or the rider unbalanced, thereby putting more strain on the girth to hold everything stable? I seem to recall you mentioning in another post that this horse is very fat so saddle fit may well be an issue if it's a saddle that was fitted when he was slimmer, also for some reasons fat horses do seem to be more prone to girth rubs in my experience.
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He isn't obese but he has a small amount of weight to lose. His saddle fits him.
Thanks will look at sheepskin covers.
 
mu0ljk said:
Would a stubben cord girth help? I recently got one for my mare and I absolutely love it. It's not like the old cord girths, really soft and quite stretchy and also wide to take the pressure.
https://www.throstlenestsaddlery.co.uk/stubben-cord-girth-black.html
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Thanks for the link :) I'm not sure to be honest, I'm worried about getting something so stretchy that it causes me to overgirth him if the girth keeps stretching. Thank you for your advice though x
 
AliceKate said:
Thanks for the link :) I'm not sure to be honest, I'm worried about getting something so stretchy that it causes me to overgirth him if the girth keeps stretching. Thank you for your advice though x
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They aren't stretchy the way elastic is, you wouldn't overgirth with them the way you can an elasticated girth, it's more that each individual cord has some give in how it's woven. They're normally very good for flat backed horses whose saddles tend to roll & also on very sensitive skinned horses.
 
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Cord girths aren't stretchy at all. I tried an old mare in one and she detested it.
 
Sorry, no it's not stretchy as in an elasticated girth, but it does have a bit of give in it. They are very different from the old fashioned cord girths too!

I have no problem with jumping etc in it - I have it for my round cob but I would use it on other horses too as it is so soft and disperses the pressure well.
 
I had the Stubben string girth for my very sensitive skinned boy on my previous saddle. I thought he'd hate it (thought his hair would get trapped between the cords and he'd object) but actually he was happy with it (which is unusually as he's very girthy) and it did stop the saddle from moving. Sadly my current saddle takes a dressage girth so I can't use a cord girth (the buckles would be against his skin).

Only issue I had with the Stubben is that it needs washing regularly and I found that if you stick it in the washing machine it shrinks :( I had to wash in a bucket of lukewarm water and it takes ages to dry, so I had to have two - one to wear and one to wash.
 
Bodshi said:
I had the Stubben string girth for my very sensitive skinned boy on my previous saddle. I thought he'd hate it (thought his hair would get trapped between the cords and he'd object) but actually he was happy with it (which is unusually as he's very girthy) and it did stop the saddle from moving. Sadly my current saddle takes a dressage girth so I can't use a cord girth (the buckles would be against his skin).

Only issue I had with the Stubben is that it needs washing regularly and I found that if you stick it in the washing machine it shrinks :( I had to wash in a bucket of lukewarm water and it takes ages to dry, so I had to have two - one to wear and one to wash.
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I'm sure I've seen cord dressage girths for sale, could be USA sites though.
 
No_Angel said:
I'm sure I've seen cord dressage girths for sale, could be USA sites though.
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Stubben claim they make them, but in reality they're just short girths with nothing between the buckles & the horse - I've seen them. It's a shame because the GP ones are a good product.
 
 
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