Product Review: Horze Dallas All Purpose Girth

Leslie Wylie takes this soft, webbed all purpose girth for a test drive.

If you ever bought into the skinny-belt-over-a-shirt trend (guilty as charged) you understand the importance of a comfortable girth.

Cute and trendy, right? Photo by Leslie Wylie.

But sometimes “cute and trendy” can feel like “Help, this is cutting off circulation to the lower half of my body.” Photo by Leslie Wylie.

I get why some clever horses hold their breath when we’re tightening their girths — the sensation of having your ribcage strangled by a narrow band of leather isn’t pleasant. That’s why I’m a fan of the Horze Dallas All Purpose Girth.

It’s made of a hibiscus webbing that’s soft on sensitive skin, and it passed muster on my thin-skinned mare who sometimes requires a sheepskin girth cover. It’s super flexible and has a bit of cushion to it.

Photo by Leslie Wylie.

And equine athletes will appreciate its single-end elastic and ergonomic shape that widens beneath the belly to distribute pressure over a broader area, giving them the freedom to run, jump and do their thing.

Photo courtesy of Horze.

Unlike my little leather belt, which limits my ability to move, eat and breathe.

That’s more like it! Photo by Leslie Wylie.

Exercising in the girth, my very discerning mare felt uninhibited and unimpinged. Yet while it’s as comfy as your favorite pair of sweatpants, it’s also a hardworking piece of tack. The stainless steel roller buckles are plenty sturdy, and as someone who lunges her horse in a neck stretcher before almost every ride I appreciate the convenience of the center D-ring.

Photo by Leslie Wylie.

Photo by Leslie Wylie.

Speaking of convenience, here’s something you should know about me: Taking care of stuff isn’t my forte. I am low maintenance to the max — see two-day old ponytail in selfie above — and I require my tack to follow suit.

This girth fits the bill, big-time. You can just hose it off after every ride, wipe it off or let it air dry, and boom: it’s good to go.

And the price! Oh, the price. You’d be hard pressed to find a schooling girth of this quality anywhere else for $39.95. The Horze Dallas All Purpose Girth is available in brown and black, and there’s a dressage version as well.

All things considered, I’d give the Horze Dallas All Purpose Girth two thumbs up. You can check it out online here, along with Horze’s full line of gear for horse and rider.