# Prolite girth



## xgemmax (7 December 2015)

Looking at getting this for my horse, can anyone tell me is this as good as the fairfax girth? It says it's based on the same design but it's so much cheaper! 

Has anyone noticed a difference in their horses performance when using it? My horse is quite girthy sometimes and I am using an equiport comfort girth at the moment but it causes the saddle to slip sometimes where it's elastic and he's quite round!!

Thanks


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## milliepops (7 December 2015)

I have both Fairfax and Prolite

I bought the Fairfax for Millie on the basis of a videoed trial  I was determined not to be sucked in by the hype but I could see the different on screen so I went for it.

I bought a Prolite version for Kira as she was borrowing Millies but needed the narrow gauge and I wasn't about to spend another £200 on a girth!!  I had been using a professionals choice girth before (excellent if you have problems with slipping) but she wasn't entirely comfortable.

The prolite seem excellent so far - only had it 3 weeks. She can't feel the buckle through the padding, which I think was the problem with the Pro Choice and seems very happy to work nicely in the school.  Girth scrubs up well - IMO nothing is quite as nice as leather but this seems a good second option so far.


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## xgemmax (7 December 2015)

Brilliant thanks, I too can't justify spending £200 on a girth 

Just had a look at the pro choice ones but think I prefer the shape of the prolite ones (he has a bit of a belly which can pull saddle forwards haha!)


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## ktj1891 (7 December 2015)

Im in the same position so look forward to seeing peoples replies. the only difference I can see is the prolite isn't leather but I haven't used one so cant comment on the horses way off going!


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## milliepops (7 December 2015)

Well, the prolite is made under license from Fairfax so the outer materials should be the only difference 
Only thing I don't like about mine is that I didn't want the martingale loop but they all have them on. You get the choice of loop or no loop on the fairfax version.

I don't know whether anyone trials the prolite version though I suspect not. I paid £20 for a week's trial of my fairfax before committing.
If you want to assess any difference in performance that's the only way really - or see if you can borrow from someone?


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## McFluff (7 December 2015)

My saddler says the prolite is the same girth as the Fairfax, just not covered in nice leather (she sells both).
I have the prolite version, bought for a 'compact and round' mare (in the words of my saddler!).  She has a forward girth groove and needs a point strap to stop saddles going forward.  I had been using a professional choice (which is great for stabilising the saddle), but had noticed marks behind her elbows.  The narrow gauge prolite solves that - my ideal would be for the prolite to have the grippy surface too!  
I've not yet noticed a huge difference in how she goes, as I've only used it a few times so far.  Seems a nice girth though.


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## gryff (7 December 2015)

Mine hated both of them. She is a sensitive chestnut arab though. The fairfax actually rubbed her after a half an hour ride. The prolite she wouldn't even let me do up.


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## FfionWinnie (7 December 2015)

I fancied one but they only seem to come in black?


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## Cowpony (7 December 2015)

Love love love mine! My mare was a bit girthy before but now she is completely comfortable and it did improve her way of going. She has much more room for her elbows. As somebody said above, it would be nice to be able to remove the martingale loop when you aren't using one, and I do find the loop a bit fiddly to do up, but that's a small gripe. They clean up nicely too, but yes I think they do only come in black.


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## acorn92x (8 December 2015)

I was literally about to make a thread for this and then found that there was already one! I'm thinking about buying my girl the Prolite. I tried one when she had her saddle checked/adjusted and it made a big difference to her way of going (She's a cob and we do get saddle slipping issues if we don't use the correct girth - we tend to stick with the Stubben string ones). I think the one we tried was a 48 inch but was slightly too big (But not by masses). She is usually a 44' or 46'. Do they come up big or small?


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## Cowpony (8 December 2015)

I was about to say they come up slightly big, but then realised I don't actually know what size the saddler sold me!


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## Deltaflyer (8 December 2015)

I've got the Prolite one and so far so good. My boy's not so much 'girthy' but he does have very pink skin and particularly in the winter he seems to get little rubbed areas behind his elbows with his usual leather girth. I like that the Prolite is shaped the way it is.

Size wise I, I bought a 44" which was a bit snug but he was overweight, also I think that was because they don't have elastic.


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## FfionWinnie (8 December 2015)

Would you get a girth sleeve on them or would you need a specially shaped one or not use one?  

I'm thinking I could stand black to save 130 if I covered it in brown dead sheep...


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## milliepops (8 December 2015)

I use a sleeve on my fairfax, as Millie-precious-knickers decided she couldn't go without, dahhhhling.
I have a lemieux one though Nuumed do them too.
You do need a shaped one.

I don't know whether they make a sleeve for the narrow gauge girths - my fairfax is the standard one, Kira has the narrow gauge prolite and she's not being offered any ponce-fluff


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## FfionWinnie (8 December 2015)

milliepops said:



			I use a sleeve on my fairfax, as Millie-precious-knickers decided she couldn't go without, dahhhhling.
I have a lemieux one though Nuumed do them too.
You do need a shaped one.

I don't know whether they make a sleeve for the narrow gauge girths - my fairfax is the standard one, Kira has the narrow gauge prolite and she's not being offered any ponce-fluff 

Click to expand...

Fairly sure I would need a narrow gauge. What height is the precious one?


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## milliepops (8 December 2015)

*whispers* they are both precious, obvs...

Millie is 15hh.  Kira is about 14.2 on her tiptoes. Both wear a 28" girth  Kira could probably make do with a 26 but they recommend going up a size for the short girths at least - and I'd say a good amount of that is absorbed by the lemieux sleeve, it's super fluffy.


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## FfionWinnie (8 December 2015)

milliepops said:



			*whispers* they are both precious, obvs...

Millie is 15hh.  Kira is about 14.2 on her tiptoes. Both wear a 28" girth  Kira could probably make do with a 26 but they recommend going up a size for the short girths at least - and I'd say a good amount of that is absorbed by the lemieux sleeve, it's super fluffy.
		
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Ah I thought Kira was 15.2. She looks a lot bigger in your pics!  I would be getting a long girth, just seen the price of the appropriate fluff  £75!  Saving is being swallowed up as we speak lol. I'm sure if I buy black brown will become available next week!  I'm sure they didn't have them in the right size for mine the last time I looked.


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## milliepops (8 December 2015)

haha Millie looks bigger in pics too, but they are both little squirts. Photos taken from a position slightly above us (up on a mound etc) are highly amusing as it looks like I ride a team of shetlands. One day I'll have something tall that makes me feel elegant. 

might be worth a phone call to manufacturers to see whether they have brown ones in the pipeline or if it's a no-no?


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## acorn92x (9 December 2015)

Would you say that these have made enough difference to the horses way of going/comfort to fork out for one? I am seriously tempted but my girl is so fussy with girths it's unreal - the only thing aside from the Prolite which she seems to like is a Stubben string girth. I've tried Thorowgood synthetics and leather ones on her and she despised them. I wouldn't want to buy it and then 2 weeks down the line she is hating me putting it on! I think she likes the softness of the string ones as although she is a cob, she's pinked skinned and is quite sensitive.


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## Cowpony (9 December 2015)

Mine took a couple of weeks to get used to it - it was as if she suddenly had so much freedom in her shoulder she had to re-learn how to move. I can't promise that your horse will like it or move better in it, all I can say is mine is visibly more comfortable and seems more consistent in the contact.

She is 14.2 and took the standard version. She's a KWPN x Welsh and has a fair amount of space between her front legs. The website shows you how to measure which one you need.


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## acorn92x (9 December 2015)

I think I might give it a whirl. There is literally nothing I want for Christmas so my Dad and brother can club together on this one!  Mine is a 15hh Irish cob who again, has a fair space between her legs and is very chunky. She did feel noticeably more free in it when I tried one when my saddle was adjusted but still wasn't 100% convinced! Now to decide what size to order...


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## xgemmax (10 December 2015)

Just ordered mine so will update with how i get on


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## acorn92x (11 December 2015)

Same here! Mine was dispatched yesterday so will hopefully be here around Monday-Tuesday


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## FfionWinnie (11 December 2015)

Look forward to hearing your experiences. I need a girth for new saddle but it's not coming til next year so still swithering about another the same as I've got or trying a prolite.


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## acorn92x (14 December 2015)

Mine came on Saturday so nice speedy delivery! I hacked in it on Saturday and was impressed, my girl seemed happy so I was too. Yesterday, a friend and me attended a pole work clinic which involved a 20 minute hack to get there, an hours lesson and a 20 minute hack back home again so nothing too strenuous or out of the ordinary for my girl. She was fab in the clinic and hacking however I noticed a rather large rub right behind her elbow where the girth has obviously rubbed her - this wasn't just a rub either it is a sore that was bleeding and weeping. I felt AWFUL that something I had brought for her had clearly caused her serious discomfort (Which she hadn't let me know about!), especially after such a short period of time. I measured the space between her legs and she was clearly a regular gauge and the girth is her usual size so I don't believe that it is due to being fitted incorrectly. I've emailed the shop I brought it from along with a photo of the rub and have asked for my money back but have also emailed Prolite too as I'll be interested to hear what they have to say about this, especially seeing as the girth is actually marketed at being a comfort product. Although she is pink skinned (She's piebald) in parts and clipped, she is not a particularly sensitive horse so I would dread to think what this could do to a TB or Arab or something which is more sensitive and thin skinned. If I could work out how to post a picture of the rub I would.


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## xgemmax (14 December 2015)

Oh no, that's not good! Mine came but is too small, ordered a 48" which would usually fit but his other one was elasticated so guess he needs the next size up in this one, however i ordered 48" narrow and it doesn't come in a 50" so not sure what to do  he's very narrow in front so the standard would not fit i don't think


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## acorn92x (14 December 2015)

Sorry to hear yours was too small too! It is quite hard to gauge sizing as some people say they come up true to size while others say they are small. I think a lot of it depends on what girth you have used previously as obviously elastic will stretch which would lead people to believe that they come up small if you order your usual size and it doesn't fit. I ordered the standard one and it was quite wide, significantly wider than the narrow gauge one. I'm just so gutted about the rub on my girl, I genuinely feel awful about it. Will be bareback riding and lunging for us this week until the sore heals and then back to our Stubben string girth I think  Just hope I can get a refund and use the money to spoil her at Olympia to say sorry for hurting her.


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## Pippity (14 December 2015)

acorn92x said:



			Sorry to hear yours was too small too! It is quite hard to gauge sizing as some people say they come up true to size while others say they are small. I think a lot of it depends on what girth you have used previously as obviously elastic will stretch which would lead people to believe that they come up small if you order your usual size and it doesn't fit. I ordered the standard one and it was quite wide, significantly wider than the narrow gauge one. I'm just so gutted about the rub on my girl, I genuinely feel awful about it. Will be bareback riding and lunging for us this week until the sore heals and then back to our Stubben string girth I think  Just hope I can get a refund and use the money to spoil her at Olympia to say sorry for hurting her.
		
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Do you have any idea whether it was the shape of the girth or the synthetic covering that caused the rub?

My share horse has a Fairfax girth with his dressage saddle, and it really makes a difference. I'm in the process of buying a GP saddle to use on him, and was planning on getting a Prolite girth (because Fairfax is out of my budget!) but now I'm having second thoughts.


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## ester (14 December 2015)

acorn that is not the first I have heard up. I had similar when using a leather contour one on Frank once, he just struggles with leather I think. some people have said that the prolite seems quite hard?


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## acorn92x (14 December 2015)

I think it was the synthetic covering that had dug into her when her legs were moving forward as it's quite stiff as Ester correctly states. It's quite poorly designed in the sense that there is not masses amounts of Prolite around the edge so depending on the horses shape/movement, it has the potential to rub quite badly as it has done with my girl when their legs move forward. I'm very, very disappointed with it I must admit and had far higher expectations based on the reviews and recommendations I had read - that will teach me to believe the hype!

Pippity, purely based on my experience with the Prolite one alone, I would not bother as I would always worry about the synthetic material rubbing like it has done in my case.


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## Cowpony (14 December 2015)

That's such a shame for you.  I feel bad because I was so pro them on here!  My horse is a mainly white coloured, so she has lots of pink skin and has been clipped, but she has no rubs at all.  Maybe her shape just fits it better.


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## acorn92x (14 December 2015)

Aww that's okay! It's just one of them things! My girl is quite a stocky Irish Cob so it might suit something which is finer better. Cowpony, that's the same as my girl - clipped and pink skinned around her girth area but there is still no way something like this should have rubbed. I'm pleased to say the shop I brought it from were very, very understanding and have said I can send it back for a full refund so I'll be spending the £90 on spoiling her rotten with treats and nice things at Olympia tomorrow I think.


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## Cowpony (14 December 2015)

So pleased you aren't out of pocket. Have fun at Olympia. I'm going on Sunday, can't wait!


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## xgemmax (16 December 2015)

So I tried the girth on again before i sent it back and he must have been breathing out when i first tried it as it did up this time! Ridden in it twice so far (once jumping and once flatwork lesson) and he seems happy in it, no rubs and much less grumpy when doing up the girth, so far so good.


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