# In Search Of Padded Girth



## Cayuse (Mar 22, 2017)

I am looking for a harness girth that has the leather extending past the end of the buckles so the buckles are kept from rubbing the horses side, or catching their hair in the buckles and pinching. I have seen them before but now that I am hunting for one I can't seem to find any.

Yoni's did have something close but it looked heavier than what I want.

Any ideas?

Peanut is getting pinched and a pinched Peanut is a ? Peanut. Not that I blame him one bit, I wouldn't like my hair pulled either!

The little ? thanks you! Me too.


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## paintponylvr (Mar 23, 2017)

Depending on Peanut's actual size - a Wintec Dressage girth should work - however I believe that it has two buckles (would work for a surcingle, but not necessarily for a driving girth).

In the meantime, you could try clipping the hair in the area where the buckles are. I had to do this the first winter our tiny Shetland filly was ridden western with a roller buckle leather, sheepskin lined girth. It did look a bit funny when not wearing her saddle, but worked wonders in her attitude and movement when saddled!!












Fairly certain the backed ears are not because of pinching, hair pulling girth. There are other ponies and horses coming up behind her - I cropped them out of this photo.


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## Cayuse (Mar 23, 2017)

I really do need to clip! You are right, it would be a fix to the problem. It has been so cold here I have been putting it off because once I start with the clippers I won't be able to control my urge to completely body clip him. I don't know if a wintec girth would work with the harness cause I need the to have wrap straps too. Do you know of a way I could attach wrap straps to it?

Stuffy is cute! Do you still have her?


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## paintponylvr (Mar 23, 2017)

You could give Chimacum Tack a call or an email.

Here is a link to their sliding back band saddle, but it shows a girth like what you are describing. I couldn't find this girth in harness parts so you'd have to talk with them.

Chimacum Tack

I'm looking at a couple of other sites too.

This shows only a complete harness, but you could check to see if they would sell just the girth? Carriage Essentials

I'm not finding it on their site, but you could call Mike at Herron's Tack in Iowa

No picture, but they do offer a girth. Youd have to check to see if it's the right one. Mini Express

Star Lake Tack's pic doesn't show one that has backing, but you could call and see if/what they can get. Great to work with these folks! Star Lake Tack

Have a feeling this one may not work, but you can check. Again, great folks to work with!! Ozark Mtn Mini Tack

Iowa Valley Carraige - looks to be the wrong kind of buckle, but they do have one with the wrap straps. Give her a call, too!

****************

Yes we still own Stuffy, she is out on lease with an 7 yr old girl who will be showing her for the first time this year. Stuffy hasn't been shown since 2001, I think...

Here is a pic of her below - she will be 21 yrs old on 20 May 2017. She had a colt in 2013 - he is ready to start in harness (past due, actually!).


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## Marsha Cassada (Mar 24, 2017)

Is Peanut being ridden? If you are talking about a driving saddle, there is no need to tighten the girth so much. The balance of everything keeps everything centered. I never buckle my girth tightly. I've seen draft animals in parades and the girths frequently have a fist width between leather and body.

Sometimes when I come home from a drive, the girth has a fist width. The breast collar, not the saddle, does the work.

This topic came up a few years ago. Can't search all the topics any more, but the consensus was not to tighten the girth too snugly.


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## jventresca (Mar 24, 2017)

I had this problem while driving a pony and managed to rub her RAW! If your wrapstraps are snug they can work against your girth to pinch the skin between them. I agree with Marsha that the girth AND the wrapstraps don't have to be that tight. The wrapstraps should always be looser than the girth.

I found a girth made for racing that had a leather sleeve over the girth and wrapstrap to prevent this from happening. I added some fleece from a black lamb (Black lambs have more lanolin in their skin than white lambs.) to cushion it and was able to drive my pony without hurting her. You may find a fleece tube will help. For showing I used the original girth and wrapstrap. That was 30 years ago.

Now I would never use a wrapstrap. They're a pain in the neck and just cause problems. A French or gig tug with a strap for the over girth works much better if you need to have your shafts tied to the horse's sides (like for Breed shows).

My equipment of choice is an open tug buckling into the over girth. This is because I do American Driving Society type driving most of the time. If you look at driving photos in the AMHR Journal or AMHA World you'll see horses pulling carriages with their backs instead of pushing on a breastcollar with their chests. The dead giveaway is that the traces are flapping or are wrapped around the shafts several times. This is okay if you're driving in a ring or a flat surface. But if your horse is out on a trail or pulling a load they need to be able to use their chests to "push" the cart forward.


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## Marsha Cassada (Mar 24, 2017)

I ordered Merino sleeves to put on the breast collar of my sulky harness. I had a little mare that was older and her skin seemed sensitive, so I padded the areas that touched her. I got it from www.equinecomfort.com. 877-580-9735 They only have big horse stuff, so I ordered the halter set. Plenty of nice velcro sleeves for my little ones! You can cut them into lengths.


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## Cayuse (Mar 25, 2017)

Thanks to all!

I don't have the girth really tight, not as tight as say you would have it on a riding saddle. Part of the issue is his hair is so long right now it gets int everything, but that's going to get fixed next week .

The other issue is that he is truly a sensitive little beast, he is very particular about how things "fit".

Fleece around the buckle might make him more comfy.

He likes my new harness with the buckle down tugs, I believe that is what they are called, but I have only used it on my "otter sled" with the curved shafts. I have NO idea how this set up will work with my easy entry cart with the straight shafts, I worry that it will not be secure enough without wrap straps and the cart will move. If anyone can help with that, I love to hear advice. I suppose thimbles would help with forward shifting? I hope to get him in the cart soon, as soon as the mud goes.


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## jventresca (Mar 27, 2017)

There are three "forces" to control when driving.

1 - forward motion

2 - backward motion

3 - upward motion

1 - Your collar and traces allow the horse to "pull" the cart forward.

2 - Breeching, tug stops, thimbles or a wrapstrap overgirth will allow the horse to push or hold the cart back.

3 - Any type of overgirth or tie down will keep the shafts from flipping up when you add weight to the cart.

If you are using a breeching you can use open tugs with a buckle down overgirth. In my opinion this is the best option for driving anywhere but in a ring. If you think the cart has too much slack or can move back and forth too much, then check the fit of your breeching. You'll hear that you should be able to put a fist between your horse's butt and the breeching BUT that's for big horses! For minis, being able to slide your hand in is loose enough. The cart shouldn't jerk forward when the horse starts off or starts down a hill.

The photo below shows a mini using a harness with an open tug and buckle down overgirth with straight shafts. This carriage doesn't have tug stops on it.




This photo shows the open tug with the buckle down overgirth.




You can also see a tug stop, a metal pin sticking out behind the tug that helps hold the cart back. If your easy entry has wooden shafts you can add tug stops easily.


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## Cayuse (Mar 27, 2017)

Thank you Jventresca. I always use breeching as my field is uneven and sloping. I never thought of a tug stop! My cart has metal shafts, but the guy I had a wonderful lesson with last year explained to my hubby how to attach them to a metal cart, he had done it before and they had a big discussion about it. I completely "forgot to remember" that. Thanks for the reminder.

My breeching IS on the loose side, not loose enough for a fist like with the big horses, but it could tighten up one hole.

I am waiting for this never ending mud to go away so I can take the cart out and try it with the new harness. It has rained here for three days. I can't even do ground work right now because my boots keep getting sucked off.

I appreciate everyone's advice so much, it is wonderful to have a forum like this. Thank you to those who make it available and oversee it!!!


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## paintponylvr (Mar 31, 2017)

Cayuse said:


> I don't know if a wintec girth would work with the harness cause I need the to have wrap straps too. Do you know of a way I could attach wrap straps to it?


I want to say that in that scenario, I put a flat loop (usually military nylon - as for a long time, I had a lot of it) around the girth and just added the wrap strap set up to the girth. Not that much different than the loops that a girth w/ wrap straps have.

In keeping with the driving theme - here is Stuffy pulling our EZ entry metal cart with a haystring braided harness in 2010. We used the nylon mini training surcingle, a leather girth w/ one buckle (buckled into the first strap on the surcingle) & wrap strap. The girth and wrap strap may have been very tight - that was originally how I was taught to hook using a wrap strap in 1997. We did have issues with the girth/wrap strap rubbing when wrapped tight, I loosened them up on my own in later years (2009 - onward). MCR (lime green) for the driving lines.






Here is Stuffy pulling a jog cart with a completely "jerry rigged" harness. There are no tug stops or footman's loops on the shafts and it could be quite interesting. The girth on this surcingle is using only the front strap, hooked to a girth purchased from A Silver Penny that has a wrap strap. It was a fun set up for testing Stuffy between the shafts of the jog cart (which is also way too large for Stuffy). Edited to add: We have since have this cart refurbished and the wood shafts have both footman's loops and tug stops on it as well as a proper single tree. My only regret is that I didn't have the single tree mounted below the circle brace on the shafts...






Here is a picture of Stuffy pulling the ez entry cart with a nylon harness in June 2010. I can't actually tell if this is an open tug w/ overgirth or if it's a tug w/ a buckled overgirth... Stuffy - 2010 - giving cart rides

and pulling a neighbor's wooden ez entry cart (HEAVY) with the same nylon harness in April 2011. I don't have notes w/ this picture - wondering if the open tug/overgirth was not holding? Not sure why I've got braided haystring as a wrap strap here... Stuffy-Ralph's cart, Paula driving

and a picture from the H/J horse show series on the 25th of March - Stuffy/Hayden


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## paintponylvr (Mar 31, 2017)

and the last pic is wrong - so here it is again, LOL - Stuffy & Hayden 25 March 2017


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## jventresca (Mar 31, 2017)

What a great harness you made! Very cool! Stuffy looks like such a good boy too.


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## paintponylvr (Mar 31, 2017)

Boy?





Stuffy is a "girl", LOL. The one (or 2?) pics where it looks like she has boy parts - that's her udder. In several pics, she has a foal at side, just not showing in the pics. LOL.

Stuffy is pretty awesome.


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## paintponylvr (Mar 31, 2017)

Thanks for the compliment on the harness... To see more you can go here - it is the main page listing braiding posts that I've done in the past year or so...

Braiding


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## PintoPalLover (Mar 31, 2017)

paintponylvr said:


> Thanks for the compliment on the harness... To see more you can go here - it is the main page listing braiding posts that I've done in the past year or so...
> 
> Braiding


Wow paintponylvr ! That looks like a lot of work ... Very neat


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## paintponylvr (Apr 1, 2017)

I won't lie - it sure kept me busy! BUT I had a lot fewer ponies then and for a while I didn't have a truck - so when I went places with friends that did (we often did combined vet/feed runs,equine event runs and several out of state runs), I took braiding with me and would sit in the truck passenger side and braid away. Even took it with me to my one daughter's piano lessons one year and would braid for an hour while waiting (like some women crochet, embroider or quilt, LOL). Still take stuff w/ me to the DR's office, too. Two of my horsey friends (don't see them as much now since I'm 20 miles away) - I would sit and untangle haystring from round bales while we sat outside on their porch visiting, then use some to make a collar, usually.

I often braided while sitting on the couch watching movies and when I knew I needed it and my hands were used to the braiding, i braided a girth and wrap strap overnight before using it the next day when we went to a different farm with a whole trailer load of ponies in 2010... Still using that harness (well really haven't used it since Oct 2014 when everything packed up during our "quick" move). Now that we have wood look, vinyl flooring that's easy to sweep/mop - I've several times already brought hay string in and just untangled it and then swept up the mess (if it wasn't washed first)...

I currently do a variety of things while watching movies - braiding, looming (haystring mostly, starting some yarn projects too), shredding paper by hand (magazines, ads come in mail box, catalogs) that we are now putting under manure that will be going on the sand in areas for planting our fruit trees and going into raised beds around back yard. Generally get to watch a couple of movies a week. I DO also fold laundry while watching movies, too (u kno - normal people things,



).

I will untangle round bale string while waiting for water tanks to fill IF I'm not grooming ponies. I try to swap back and forth so that I do a little of each - every day. If the string is "really messed up" - the ponies seemed to catch it in their teeth/chew on it, it's really frayed or for some reason doesn't look "good" or it's caught up with a lot of weeds - I throw it in the burn pile.

It's amazing what the braided haystring harness has held up to. In 2010 we started a total of 4 ponies in harness - all the way to hitching and driving. In 2011, we worked 3 - 2 yr olds - Kechi, KoKo, Kreature (ground driving) as well as continuing to use the original 2 harness's on the drivers. I did get our first pair of work (collar/hame) biothane harness. Let's see - we started Bell, Bit, Cassie, Cupid, Flower, KoKo, Kechi, Koalah, Kreature & Stuffy in it. We also worked/started several others in it a couple of times, but then went right to other harness (beta or bio - pleasure or work type). I need to make/replace the first set of traces - they have worn out. The new set is started - it's a double layer and buckles with buckles instead of conways - but it's not done yet... With our hurried move in 2014, I'm not sure where I packed the incomplete set of traces... They don't appear to be with any of my other braiding projects.





I have a bunch of youngsters to start again now. Classy, Shamrock (2012 mares), Bunny & Echo (2013 - mare/stallion), Rio & Dandy (2013 geldings - TINY), Wizard (2011 stallion)... Cheri & 'Clipse - an older bay tobiano, larger mother/daughter pair that have already worn the beta harness a bit, but not really had any ongoing or serious work yet. And have 4 babies (late 2015/mid-2016) that are old enough to start wearing bridles/harness and ground driving. They are SOOO tiny, too! Lots of adjusting of harness...

WOW, until I wrote this up, I didn't REALIZE just how many we had here ready to start working - YIKES! Anyone want to come visit for a week??


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## Cayuse (Apr 1, 2017)

I like Stuffy ☺.

You have been to a show already?!? My first show is tentatively 4/30 and I thought that was early! We had a snowstorm today, just after getting all the mud dried up. I have my doubts if we will be ready. It is my newer mini and he came out of the winter hotter than a two dollar pistol ! I am aiming just to get him off the property and into a halter class for the learning experience. I don't know if he will learn anything, but I'm pretty sure its gonna be an experience! He is in a bit of a rebellious phase, something like the equine version of the "terrible twos" combined with Spring Fever. I keep forgetting that although he is 7 his training level is that of a much younger horse.


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## paintponylvr (Apr 1, 2017)

Shows do have a tendency to start earlier here in NC, LOL. Of course, that was also the week that we had below freezing weather, too! And then got a sun/wind burn on lower arms & face/neck the day we went to the show... and I was only out in the full sun at the showgrounds for 2.5 hours - did chores earlier in am/later in pm at home so pretty sure didn't get the burn here.

In several areas of our state, shows are held year around in the indoor arenas. Hunt Horse Complex in Raleigh, one in greenville, NC. The one in Fletcher (Ashville) - tough it's in the mountains and they can/do have/get snow - they are kept cleared and the barns have stalls. Don't know that they are heated though, LOL.

The group I've been involved with since 1999 is having their first show tomorrow. Originally, I'd planned on going, but now, maybe not... My vet has opened up some time - late morn/early afternoon - for me to haul a pony and dogs/cats for vaccinations to her place.


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## Cayuse (Apr 1, 2017)

Paula, I wish I lived where you do! Shows all year ?. And warmer weather. It looks like January here today.


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## paintponylvr (Apr 2, 2017)

Na - you probably don't. The extreme temp changes this winter have about killed us and our ponies. To have it hit 86* one day in January and 3 day later have it down in the teens??? GAH!

And having weather like this confuses the plants and the HAY, too. My close by hay supplier will be out of hay before he has his first cut and now, they aren't sure that the frost we suddenly got after all the warmth didn't kill the first growth of coastal hay (it didn't kill it, but can make it go dormant again and really slows down the growth, making cutting time not guaranteed). I lost plants that should have been OK




, but plan on purchasing replacements. Once established they should do ok next winter (Goji Berry & Butterfly bushes). The Honey Berry bushes seemed to make it fine up against the house (not planted yet) and I haven't checked the blackberries lately... Nothing else started or planted yet, and I'm very glad of that now.

I thought we'd gotten snow the 12th of March - and now not finding my pics at all... AH, found them - they aren't "done" yet. Sorry not doing them right now, going to bed, LOL! The last snow and freeze was in between the births of two of our foals (1 on the 1st & 1 on the 17th). And the temps are dropping fast towards freezing again tonight (tho not supposed to go that low!). Some ponies are shedding, others are just itching. Lice are out/about - treating most of the ponies this next week, I HATE lice. Seem to burrow into the pine trees or the sand here...





This is the 3rd year in a row - and a lot more ponies seem to be infested this time around - though it's funny - not all get them. I have not figured that out.


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## jventresca (Apr 7, 2017)

I had one mini that got lice every winter. He was a no spot appaloosa, read all white! Any horse with white legs seemed to get lice with their long winter hair. When we clipped and bathed in the spring we got rid of them, only to have them return the next winter.

Do you notice lice more on horses with white hair?


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## paintponylvr (Apr 8, 2017)

Seems to vary. So far the one who doesn't have the lice is the cremello mare - but she's not been around any trees at all - all winter. Most of our almost solid pintos have white legs and the one who we think brought lice home in 2011 (after going on a led excursion in a wooded area and along a river bed) had no white at all except for a very small head marking. One of the most heavily infested last year was a solid colored silver black mare that was almost overweight, not quite...

A lot of the info I've found on equine lice say it's only found on horses that are in poor health and poor weight, but I haven't found that to be true either, though if left untreated and a horse becomes heavily infested, they will start to do poorly and can then start losing weight.


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## jventresca (Apr 10, 2017)

Our vet told us there weren't specific lice that infest horses. Then I showed her the lice that showed up as soon as we clipped. I had the same experience with one horse bringing the lice into our herd, then others getting them. Maybe they just show up better on white horses. We seem to be able to get rid of most of them during the warm months when hair is short and horses get bathed often. Thanks for your insights!


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## KLJcowgirl (Apr 24, 2017)

OP... Do you mind if I hijack this thread for a second??? How do you measure to order a new girth? My girl got a bit pudgy this year and I can't do up her girth (well I CAN but it's TIGHT) and I was thinking about keeping an extra one on hand for situations like this. Would measuring the one I have buckle to buckle and adding a couple inches be correct?


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## jventresca (Apr 25, 2017)

That sounds like it would work just fine. You could also ask about putting an elastic insert in for pudgy days.


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