Neoprene vs fleece-lined girth/breastcollar

[spotti]

Pros and cons of both please!

Need a new girth to try out the new Cashel Soft Saddle and I need the girth to be as 'grippy' as possible since the saddle is only made out of foam . Fleece/sheepskin stuff looks comfy but hard to keep clean, while neoprene also looks comfy and much easier to clean, but I've heard that the neoprene can get slippy when the horse sweats and also that some horses can be allergic to it...(which it's almost sods law that Faith will be one of those few allergy-prone ponios ).

Looking for a dressage girth ideally as the girth straps on the saddle aren't up under a flap like they would be on a typical englush GP saddle, hence I'd like that bit of padding between buckle and skin, however the straps are not quite as long as your typical dressage straps, hence I'm searching the net for a 40" dressage girth - anyone who knows anything about dressage girths will know that most places only make them up to 38" so a 40" one is blummin' hard to find!
Managed to stumble across a website that makes tack for draft horses though and they've said they can custom make me a girth and a breastcollar if their 'regular' size ones don't suit, which is awfully good of them , but as the title of this thread states, I'm having a dilemma deciding between Neoprene or Fleece-Lined . The company recommended neoprene for the girth as it will be grippier and easier to clean that fleece, and then neoprene or beta (leather-look - same stuff as my Dr Cooks bridle) for the breastcollar. I'm tending towards the neoprene for both tbh but thought I'd ask your opinions before I order anything, just because you're all so clever and wise .

So, any ideas? Neoprene or fleece?

[racaille]

Clever and wise, huh?

Down here in hot and sweaty land I've been pleasantly surprised and how well the neoprene girths perform. R has one. All girths here get sweaty but the neoprene doesn't seem to get slippery and is lovely and easy to clean.

However, on P I use a Cottage Craft bog standard dressage girth on his rando saddle (it buckles below where the flaps would be if it had flaps) with a fleece sleeve. Just bung it in the machine, easy as pie. I have several sleeves so that I can always have a nice clean one. I've never had any problems with this arrangement, and it's dead cheap too!

I'm not sure (if I have understood correctly) that I like the idea of a fleece lining on the girth itself. How would you wash it regularly?

[duckles]

MIne are neoprene and I find them great. I have to say that neither Cori or JB or at all sensitive so they would probably be fine with whatever girth I use. Neoprene is light, easy to clean, hard wearing. Yes, there can be sweat but it has never caused a problem. ANd you can add a girth sleeve if you wish.

I wonder are mares more sensitive in their girth area? Just thinking of folk I know who need girth sleeves for their horses - usually mares?

[haffyfan]

i prefer neoprene girths personally and i don't like elasticated girths one bit (which causes major issues as nearly all are these days) however i bought these last year after a LOT of searching and they are fab and no elasticated inserts to be seen!

hope this works - they are £22 with best seller on pic...Track Right saddlery

modified to add that my dislike of all things elasticated means i use just a bog standard hunting breastplate (they do unelasticated 5 point ones too if you search around) personally i prefer the fit of these to the type you don't see as often now that fit soley to the girth but it's just personal preference. Like everything all the new/trendy ones seem to be elastic or elasticated and although I can see the reasoning I can't get past the bit where they stretch too far/are over tightened ...again personal opinion of course

[spotti]

Thanks for that guys - it's sounding like neoprene is winning in this battle .

This is the girth and breastcollar I'm looking at:
www.mydrafthorse.com/cfwebstore/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=167&CFID=5877900&CFTOKEN=d6fa04bebb62d4bc-F0E91749-C220-A1CC-239B99AA8FE1A9C9 (Girth, obviously in neoprene, not the fleece as shown in the picture)
www.mydrafthorse.com/cfwebstore/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=175 (breastcollar - again, neoprene).

It's on a special website that sells stuff especially sized for draft horses. Ok so I know Faith is only 14.2hh but absolutely NOTHING 'normal' fits her...even FULL SIZE stuff. Also the new saddle has odd straps that aren't under a flap like on a GP saddle, but aren't long enough to use a regular dressage girth (like we did with the freeform), hence I'm having to look into 'draft size' stuff just so that it will fasten . Also mydrafthorse.com have been lovely and have said that if their pre-made sizes don't fit right then they can custom make me on to fit the beastie perfectly .

So yeah, it sounds like I'll be emailing the nice man from the website later and ordering a neoprene girth (which like Duckles says, we can always put a sleeve on if we need to) and a neoprene breastcollar. Horaay! And now to convince my bank account that buying more things is really necessary .

[Jen]

i really like the look of that website, when i have time to properly investigate later it will be nice to be able to find things that actually fit the ginormous beast (7'6"/7'9" rugs anyone )

i am sure your bank account will completely agree with you that it is completely and utterly neccessary spotti