# Girth Materials?



## Joe4d

depends on the horse. seems Arabs do better with mohair or fleece, other horses dont seem to care. Long distance girths have different requirements than short distance or arena work. Too much grip can rub a horse raw. 
I would say neoprene as it is what I use, but there are three differnt types of neoprene that I have seen, one is as slick as greased owl poo, the other grips so much it'll rub a horse raw, a third kind works well for me.


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## kait18

i use two types of girths... i have rope girths and neoprene girths that i cover with a fleece lining. i can just take it off and wash it and put it back on the girth soaking wet to help cool the underside of my horse. however when i use to use my leather girth and put the fleece covering over it... it seemed to break down the leather alot faster when i would soak the fleece and put it on. and on hot days my horses really seem to like the extra cool water on them. 

but like joe said it depends on the horse..


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## grayshell38

I am not a long distance rider (yet), but I am a big fan of mohair. I've noticed that my horses come away signifigantly less sweaty with the mohair than even my cotton cinch. I am personally not a fan of neoprene, but it is a matter of opinion.


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## Celeste

I don't know what to say about the girths, but I do have something to say about the heat. There is no heat in Michigan...........


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## SunnyK01

Celeste said:


> I don't know what to say about the girths, but I do have something to say about the heat. There is no heat in Michigan...........


Oh, we have heat - it's just that we have about 2 days of heat sandwiched between 2 weeks of fabulous weather!


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## SorrelHorse

Neoprene for me, on all my horses. I'm not a huge endurance rider but I've fiddled with short things in the summer (An excuse to go horse camping and something my older gelding actually enjoys)


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## Celeste

SunnyK01 said:


> Oh, we have heat - it's just that we have about 2 days of heat sandwiched between 2 weeks of fabulous weather!


Lol. Must be nice. We have about 120 days of heat sandwiched between nice weather mixed with cold...............


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## BlueSpark

I have had terrible experiences with neoprene. I seem to find the super grippy rub-the-skin-right-off-my-horse kind and the super slippery ones. They also seem really hot.

I love mohair but cant find one for my aussie saddle

Fleece often seems to get clumpy really quick and really holds moisture forever. Mind you, I've never used the real stuff, just synthetic.

I'm currently using a endurance specific felt girth. Thin, moisture wicking felt on a durable webbing backing. The felt is velcroed on, so I can wash it in whatever is handy and stick it back on clean. My arab seems to like it, but time will tell...


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## Celeste

BlueSpark said:


> I'm currently using a endurance specific felt girth. Thin, moisture wicking felt on a durable webbing backing. The felt is velcroed on, so I can wash it in whatever is handy and stick it back on clean. My arab seems to like it, but time will tell...


Do you the specific names? Maybe a link?


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## BlueSpark

Flint Saddlery Ltd. - Complete Profile - Canadian Company Capabilities - Industry Canada

I can't find an exact website, but the above is an overveiw of the company. I'd heard good things about them, but never seen one. I have issues with girths wearing out too quickly and being cheaply made. I talked to an awesome lady at cariboo outback ( Cariboo Outback, Australian Saddles & Supplies ) that recomended one. I've bought most of my tack from these guys, they are awesome. She recomended the flint girths. they dont have them on their site yet, but they do carry them. They are more expensive, but I'm really impressed with the quality. Nicer than any other aussie girth I've seen.


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## Shoebox

I was thinking about getting a girth like this one, but I'm not sure. They seem like they would be comfortable, but I don't see many people using them. Has anybody used them before? Are they good? Otherwise, right now I have a Neoprene one with fluffy lining, but it seems to make my horse sweat buckets where the strap lays.


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## Celeste

I have used those type girths plenty of times and they work fine.


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## kait18

i use them they are fine jsut watch that you don't break to many strands


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## Eolith

Action Rider Tack

This is a great place to shop for all things endurance. The majority of their products are designed to allow a horse to perform at its best on the trail.


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## jillybean19

I use a real fleece girth that I can just throw in the wash about once a month. Wash it on cool and delicate with a woolite or leather soap meant for the washer. Then card it to fluff it up again and it'll look like it's brand new - you can use a real wool card, or you can just use one of those wirey dog brushes or something similar.


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## 2SCHorses

I have a Toklat Woolback girth and I LOVE it, or I should say my horse LOVES it. She's really picky picky about her girth, too, and all the others she would 'bend down' in the river crossings to get them wet because she was too hot, I suppose, and this is the only one that she doesn't do the scary bend with (it feels like shes going to lay down in the river!). So I give it a double thumbs up. But it is an English girth and not a cinch. The above picture of the mohair one is a cinch, so I don't know if Toklat makes a cinch. I know some people that use mohair dressage girths for endurance. They are supposed to be very 'sticky' and stay in place well, but I have not tried one.


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## jillybean19

2SCHorses said:


> I have a Toklat Woolback girth and I LOVE it, or I should say my horse LOVES it. She's really picky picky about her girth, too, and all the others she would 'bend down' in the river crossings to get them wet because she was too hot, I suppose, and this is the only one that she doesn't do the scary bend with (it feels like shes going to lay down in the river!). So I give it a double thumbs up. But it is an English girth and not a cinch. The above picture of the mohair one is a cinch, so I don't know if Toklat makes a cinch. I know some people that use mohair dressage girths for endurance. They are supposed to be very 'sticky' and stay in place well, but I have not tried one.


That is what I use as well - you can get them including western cinch version at longridersgear.com and even customize your colors - I'm getting a royal blue one to match my colors! This is the second one I've purchased  make sure to get stainless steel hardware


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## Speed Racer

I use a neoprene girth on my Arabian, and a merino wool one on my TB.

Both girths are Professionals Choice, and have elastic on both ends. I love the double elastic, because you can girth the horse up much more evenly than just having elastic on one side. 

Another good feature is that the wool and neoprene are velcroed to the girth, so can be removed for cleaning.


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## Brighteyes

I use a ******* rigged Professional's Choice dressage girth. It has elastic on both ends, which I LOVE. It use to have neoprene velcroed to it, but I pulled off the velcro part, cut away the stick-y out-y parts on either end, and put a sheep skin cover on it. <3 Best girth ever. Soft, breathable; I never get girth edema. My saddle never slips, even though I ride with my girth super loose.


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## TrojanCowgirl

Honestly I haven't even been to my first race yet, but I have an Arab and I use no-name-brand, almost looks homemade, cloth-like material girth. It's VERY comfortable for my mare and she is extremely picky! I reckon I will put a fleece cover over it if I do anything over 25 miles tho just to be on the safe side.


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## usdivers

After experimenting over the years with different girths, I finally have settled on mohair, ropers type from Professional Choice, all my endurance horses are a lot happier with this. The only drawback I have found, if you are trudging through deep bush....stickers, etc will stick on the underneath side of it....this is not really a problem, just something to watch.


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## usdivers

usdivers said:


> After experimenting over the years with different girths, I finally have settled on mohair, ropers type from Professional Choice, all my endurance horses are a lot happier with this. The only drawback I have found, if you are trudging through deep bush....stickers, etc will stick on the underneath side of it....this is not really a problem, just something to watch.


One extra point, if you go mohair, make sure it is the real deal, and not some cotton copy.


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## usdivers

Speed Racer said:


> I use a neoprene girth on my Arabian, and a merino wool one on my TB.
> 
> Both girths are Professionals Choice, and have elastic on both ends. I love the double elastic, because you can girth the horse up much more evenly than just having elastic on one side.
> 
> Another good feature is that the wool and neoprene are velcroed to the girth, so can be removed for cleaning.


Professonals Choice make great stuff!


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## mls

I have used fleece and hospital felt (depended on the horse).

No matter what you use - make sure the first time you use it is NOT at an actual event. ANYTHING for distance riding should be broke in prior to a ride. Would be a potential disaster to find out 15 miles from camp that your horse or you are reacting to something!


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## Corporal

I REALLY like string girths/cinches (that's a western cinch you pictured) for any long distance riding, trail or endurance. They do not rub and they conform to your horse so they don't rub, either.


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## SunnyK01

mls said:


> No matter what you use - make sure the first time you use it is NOT at an actual event. ANYTHING for distance riding should be broke in prior to a ride. Would be a potential disaster to find out 15 miles from camp that your horse or you are reacting to something!


Don't worry, I totally know this! I have been a runner for a number of years and I'm sure trying out new tack at an event would be equivalent to trying out new shoes in a marathon!

I think I've narrowed down my search to either mohair or a prof. choice neoprene. I may just try to pick up one of each off ebay and then resell whichever one I don't like as much. I really appreciate everyone's advice.


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## Celeste

I just bought a new western cinch. It is a Weaver Air Flex. It looks like it will be nice. Now if it just gets down to under 100 degrees outside, maybe I will try it out.


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## goneriding

I use Classic Equines. Have not had any issues. I do however find myself drawn to Mohair. Just might pick one up and try it. I think some neoprene is made with oil, I hear. I could be wrong.


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## Celeste

I rode in the Air Flex this morning. It worked fine with no issues. I didn't ride long enough to really know how it will do for long rides.


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