The Girth's purpose and importance

Why the Girth Matters

• The girth secures the saddle and affects the horse’s comfort and movement.
• It lies over important muscles that help the horse move and maintain posture.
• Too much pressure or restriction from the girth can negatively affect movement.

Pressure and Pain Issues relating to standard girths.

• Muscle Impact: The girth sits on muscles responsible for moving the front and back legs. If the girth is too tight or in the wrong position, it can make it harder for the horse to move freely.
• Sore Spots: Horses can develop pressure sores (girth galls) in specific areas due to friction and pressure.
• Back Pain: High pressure under the girth can cause pain, leading to discomfort when tightening the girth or riding.

Effect of standard girths on movement

• A standard girth can affect how much a horse can flex its legs (carpal/tarsal flexion) at trot.
• High girth pressure may limit horses’ movement forwards and back, making movement less efficient.
• This can increase fatigue (tiredness) because the horse has to use more muscle effort to move properly.

How our Girth design can help.

• Unlike standard girths, our well-designed Prolite girth reduces peak pressures, improving comfort and movement.
• It allows for greater limb extension and posture, improving horse’s freedom and comfort and giving riders a technical advantage.
• Our soft, and ergonomically designed girth avoids areas of peak pressure, reducing friction, pain, and avoiding girth sores.
• The Prolite girths design incorporates minimal elastic in the buckles to enhance the horse's comfort during fastening. This approach prevents overstretching, preserving the elasticity for sustained comfort and maintaining the rider's technical advantage.

Below is a diagram of the Prolite® girth compared to standard girths.

Image A. this overlay shows the comparison between three types of standard girths compared to our Prolite® Girth (Dark Grey).

Image B. this overlay shows the comparison between two different shapes of girth compared to our Prolite® girth (Dark Grey) when on a horse. The circle represents areas of maximal peak pressure under girths (Which our girth avoids).

The design of the Prolite girth (Dark Grey) avoids location of peak pressures detected on other frequently used standard girths. (Note: Our research cannot be transferred to any imitations, regardless of how similar they look, they are fundamentally different in design, from shape, to materials used/not used. We encourage you to be cautious of marketing claims about the advantages of girths without openly accessible research. Your horse’s comfort, well-being and freedom should always be the priority, these are the true foundations of optimising a technical advantage.)