Girths and stud guard girths

Horse girths: long or short, straight or anatomic

Length depends first of all on the saddle. A jumping or general-purpose saddle has short girth straps: it takes a long girth, whose buckles fasten under the saddle flap. A dressage saddle has long girth straps that extend below the flap; it needs a short girth, such as the HKM dressage girth. Long models are grouped together in our standard girths.

Shape matters just as much. An anatomic girth is cut away at the front, level with the elbows: the forelegs stay free and the girth settles into place in the girth groove. If your horse has marks behind the elbows, it is the first thing to try.

Stud guard girths: protecting the belly over fences

Over a fence, the horse folds his forelegs underneath him and the studs can touch his belly. A stud guard girth has a wide padded guard in that area. T de T, HFI, Privilège and Flags & Cup all make them, including a leather version from HFI. Short stud guard girths give the same protection to saddles with long girth straps. Compare the models on the page stud guard girths.

Measuring and girthing up

The simplest way is to measure your current girth, from the end of one buckle to the other, if it does up around the middle holes. Without a reference girth, saddle the horse and measure under the belly the distance between the middle holes of the girth straps, from one side to the other: that is the length to order.

Girth up in stages: loosely to begin with, one more hole after a few steps, and the last before mounting or after warming up. A horse girthed up all at once soon gets into the habit of blowing himself out or objecting. The synthetic fur sleeve, the BR extender and the T de T crupper are in the girth accessories and spare parts.