Do you leave your girth buckled onto your saddle?

Girth off, saddle cover on, girth over cover, saddle cloth with inner side facing upwards over the whole lot.

It's my bugbear when people leave the saddle cloth attached to the billets/d-rings :P
 
Casey76 said:
It's my bugbear when people leave the saddle cloth attached to the billets/d-rings :P
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Yeurgh, my saddlepads are always completely soaked through with sweat and get washed after every use, I couldn't leave a wet pad on.

...and bits, I always dunk them after use, and warm them beforehand.
 
I clean every time I use a saddle, just a wipe with a sponge sprayed with stuff, so the saddle is inspected every day, and is clean every day. Ask mum to do this or make a saddle cover with pockets and bling for his xmas.
My leather saddles are both over 40 years old.
I had to decamp from one horse when the leather broke, the same day the new leathers arrived, I was just to lazy to bother changing them over.!
 
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Always take it off, it's always hanging with mud, cow **** and sweat so it needs a swill off and to be hung up to dry, and I don't want all that muck transferred to the seat.

I leave my stirrups hanging down too, if they're muddy, and won't leave a wet numnah/pad attached.
 
With me its always Girth totally off, both sides and saddle cloth off too. Fleece saddle cover on saddle, then girth over the top then cotton saddle cover over the whole thing as the stable cat likes sleeping on top of my saddle on the rack and the hairs stick to the fleece one and she scratches the leather girth if its left exposed...

Saddlecloth is hung up separately on my rug rack or taken home for washing
 
Kezzabell2 said:
hahah ponyclubmumz that's so funny!!

I'm the same I always leave it on! I have a curved gift now, and if I took it off I know I'd forget which way it was supposed to go on!

I put the saddle cover on then lay the girth on that, rather than on the leather!
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In my defence I do clean the saddle pad pretty much every time I use it. I was always taught, in the pony club way back then, to leave the girth on. We have normal GP saddles and fairly long girth so it never causes the saddle flap to crease up. I do turn it so the inside is on the top of the saddle to save any grit/sand from scratching the top though.
 
girth always off - numnah sometimes off when in the tac room but always take it off the saddle before putting it back on the horse next time. I cannot bare anyone else putting a saddle on a horse i'm about to ride! ridiculous i know but it gives me a chance to check the saddle isn't going to give way part way through the ride and that its in the right place, to the extent that WFP could tack up for me and i'd still take the saddle off and put it all back on again!
 
Using a GP saddle and long girth, it stays attached on the off side. Doesn't touch the saddle though as I put the saddle cover on.

If I'm using a stud girth or dressage saddle with short girth, I take the girth off.

Certainly don't change numnah every time though. Am I a dirty slovenly so and so :(

Fiona
 
I loosen the off side and undo on the near side but leave it attached. Not had an issue in years. My stirrups are also under the skirt and the saddle has an acavello gel pad on it so no crud goes on the saddle.
 
Girth always off here, saddlecloth taken off and hung separately to air / take home to wash. Bit always washed as he is very slobbery and it ends up minging - have to wash his grackle too as it's always covered in dribble too!
 
Our entire yard and the yard before me only undo one side, as do any riding centre I've been to. Saves having to do it up again on both sides. Unless your horse is prone to huge weight fluctuation, I cant quite understand why you would undo both sides?
 
Undo both sides, put girth over my shoulder, saddle and polypad off - girth is hung separately with the other girths. my OH and I tend to have our own saddles, but use the appropriate length girth for horse/saddle combination.

Never put the girth on the saddle - it leaves a damp/dirty strip - not even to carry it across the yard.

My OH does the worst of both worlds - he takes the saddle off, with the girth still attached, and then takes the girth off the saddle while he's holding it. THE most fiddly, annoying method in the world!!

Use polypads rather than saddle cloths as I can't bear all the fiddly straps !
 
I have a dressage girth so it sorta has to come off. When I had a normal one though I did what your mum does cos I is v v lazy!
 
I undo it. Years ago left it on but on my precious several grand saddle there's no way I would be leaving it on. And as for not changing the height of the off side well I put it on the second hole, do the other side up to the second hole then put both sides up to the forth hole. I wouldn't whack it up tight straight away or make it uneven while doing it up gradually.

I do leave it on daughter's saddle because she's 6 and tacking up by herself takes long enough as it is, and it's just a synthetic saddle anyway.
 
I'm so lazy! Girth left on. No cover. I do use a fairly well used Wintec though so its not like I'm abusing a lovely saddle!
Daughters gets undone. She has a monoflap saddle with a short girth and it just wont stay over done up!
 
orionstar said:
Our entire yard and the yard before me only undo one side, as do any riding centre I've been to. Saves having to do it up again on both sides. Unless your horse is prone to huge weight fluctuation, I cant quite understand why you would undo both sides?
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This is a very understandable question but with my horse, I usually have the girth done up on 2nd and 3rd or 3rd and 3rd holes, when I ride, but when I tack up I can barely get it on first hole each side.

Interesting, that when I learned to ride 40 years ago, you left the girth done up on one side, but when I have re-learned in the last 10 years, you undo it both sides.

I also warm the bit btw, if it is particularly cold. :)
 
I'm a bad mum!
With Pro choice long girth I loosen to bottom hole on offside when finish riding, then leave attached to offside when I take saddle off (do put cover on saddle though). When I use my prolite girth (long one) I take that off completely as it doesnt bend so well.
Leave saddle cloth attached unless it is wet.
Quick rinse of bit if it needs, but often not.
 
my girths never come off apart from to be cleaned, i'd lose them! I consider the girth part of the saddle so it sticks with it ! stirrups come off every time though as they are usually a bit mucky or sandy
 
No - cause I do the girth up on opposite sides each time its used otherwise the nearside girth straps become stretched. I use a different strap each time to do the first real tighten so I don't stretch the girth straps unevenly.
 
Woolly Hat n Wellies said:
My mum shares my horse, which works really well as we tend to do things the same way. Apart from one thing. My mum takes the saddle off by undoing the girth at one side, taking the saddle off, and folding the girth back over the top. I undo both sides, put the girth over the saddle, and then remove the whole lot. I don't like the saddle sitting with the girth buckled on one side and then folded back. My mum doesn't like having to buckle the girth on at both sides every time. I'm not going to argue about it because it's of no real importance, I just roll my eyes when I find it isn't the way I like it. But, I have a little niggle at the back of my mind that it's my horse and my saddle, bought with my money, so if I would like it stored on a silk cushion, softly lit with fairy lights and fanned with a gentle coconut-scented breeze, then that would be up to me... but it's my mum so I don't say so!

So I was just wondering... how do you keep yours?
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Yes most often leave buckled one side, I do and always done, also been known to tuck the girth into the stirrup on the same side it is buckled up. Done it 35+ years with no problem.
 
I'm amazed by this! I have never, or seen anyone else completely remove the girth! I always use a clean numnah though, can't stand to see dirty numnahs used repeatedly
 
teddypops said:
I'm amazed by this! I have never, or seen anyone else completely remove the girth! I always use a clean numnah though, can't stand to see dirty numnahs used repeatedly
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But if you don't remove the girth how do you remove the numnah?

I do take mine off but my dressage and XC saddles have short girths so you can't easily leave it on
 
I take girth and pad off every time, I undo it all before I take if off the horse, saddle goes straight into a bag for carrying, pad and girth get chucked in the car to come home for washing.
 
Girth and numnah off. I don't want a dirty girth marking my saddle. Bit always washed as well and numnah is placed on top of the (covered ) saddle with the under part facing up so it can air.
 
My girth has to come off - I have a dressage saddle and found it just doesn't work keeping the girth on. But I often take the saddlecloth/shimmy pad off as well (and store the saddle resting on top). I like to put everything on one at a time (excluding stirrups, those are fine) to make sure it sits correctly.
 
Girth and numnah off for me too.

One of mine has a leather girth and that needs a wipe down after each use. The other has a fabric girth and sleeve and she has a clean sleeve each ride. Also I put covers on my saddles and they wouldn't fit if you left the girth on.

I do leave the stirrups on but they go in their own little bag to keep the saddle and leathers clean.
 
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