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Total Saddle Fit - StretchTec Girth - 1 year Update Review

1. Absolutely Love this girth. I was still skeptical when I made my first review video on it a year ago, but now, I'm totally in love with it and will not use another girth.
2. First time having to deal with the company and it was a very great experience! The person I spoke with was super nice, he told me they will replace the girth, and then I got the new girth the very next day!! I guess it helps that they are in El Cajon, CA - quite near my home - but still…that's excellent customer service!
3. Here are the issues I've encountered with the girth:
a. The Hook and Loop Fastening system is coming apart.
b. I want a center ring to attach my English style breast collar to.
c. The hook portion on one half of the girth is eating away at the fabric on the other side of the girth (in the center of the girth).
4. They would fix 2 of the 3 issues just by getting rid of the whole removable liner system.
5. I have an easy mod to add a center ring. I'll attach a photo of that mod on my FB post.

I love this girth because it's a great quality girth that doesn't restrict his breathing when we really need to move out. I think too many people underestimate the importance of breathing room. Think of a corset. Restricting breathing is a bad thing. Think of a super tight fitting bra/vest/body armour - now imagine if that had no elastic or give. Now think of needing to take deep breaths and having to fight to breath…plus it was digging/rubbing under your arms, etc. . This is how horses get "cinchy". Believe me, I'd get cinchy too. Lasair used to be cinchy…he actually got to the point that he'd turn around and try to bite me when I'd walk up to him with a girth. I finally figured out it was because he needed his girth to be on loose…and not just any old loose, it has to be loose enough to freak people out (you can put a fist between his girth and his body). One time (many, many years ago before I grew bigger balls to tell people "No"), a very opinionated Dressage instructor whom I had just met, chastised me greatly for having the girth on too loose. This was even before I knew Lasair liked it loose. It was actually as tight as I could get it - but not as tight as this super tall and strong woman could get it. She got under there and tightened it up to her liking. On the way home, I could feel Lasair moving funny. He was taking weird little baby steps. Then he started tossing his head and letting out a few random bucks. Then he finally started squealing and rearing. Not the baby rears he does now, but these were full blown, oh-my-gosh-I'm-gonna-die rears. I had to yell at him, "Okay, okay! Stop it, let me get off and I'll fix it!!". He let me off. I loosened his girth back to the regular setting, then rode the rest of the way home without incidence. This was one of the first times I realized that Lasair had very, very specific way he liked things. Over the years, he's learned that he doesn't have to overreact so much to get me to hear him. As I got better at understanding him, he's gotten better at just telling me what he wants.

Anyways, back to the topic at hand. Yes, a loose girth is extremely important to him. It should be just tight enough to do its job (not have the saddle slip or fall off), but as loose as possible so they can move out and breathe. There is a video on YouTube called "Inside nature's giants: Racehorse", at about 26 minutes in, they inflate the lungs of a racehorse and you see how massive the lungs are and them moving the ribcage. This is what I imagine is going on with Lasair and why he's very offended by tight girths that would restrict his breathing. Now, maybe TB's are different than other horses…and Lasair is definitely different…so I'm not saying all horses are the same. Just sharing my thoughts on this in case your horse is cinchy as well.

Now, if I could design my perfect girth, I would take the StretchTec girth, eliminate the velcro, add a center ring, and have it made out of a synthetic material. The same synthetic material in the Wintec Chafeless Dressage Girth. I don’t know what that material is called, but it's awesome and holds up well to wear. They do make a synthetic girth, but not a StretchTec one. As it is, I'll test out their new design and see how it holds up to all our craziness.