Dont shoot me down, but...

The problem as I see it is that these days 3/4 of the riders I see can't actually ride, mount, adjust the girth whilst mounted or tack up properly. They crank their girths too tight to compensate for their lack of skill or ill fitting saddle. I think its unacceptable and if a pony is so round that *any* saddle slips, then get on from a high enough mounting block that you don't put a foot in the stirrup just put your leg over and sit down. The stirrup is not a step for climbing on to get into the saddle, you're supposed to spring up into the saddle without weight in the stirrup. It makes me mad when I see people with a knee on the horses belly, heaving on the girth straps to get it up one hole tighter. Hardly anybody checks the girth once mounted, after a few mins walking and again after the first trot any more, prefering to crank it up before they get on. Poor horses.
 
I seem to have such weak arms I don't think I could over girth if I tried, I'm always having to do it up just one more hole and its still loose, broke my arm so its even worse now!

I just like to be able to put a hand in flat comfortably underneath. I like elastic (both sides) as the whole point is they have give in them, I think a bit of common sense that the elastic isn't supposed to be stretched out to the maximum prevents overgirthing.

I think some horses are so flat and round it'd be hard to keep it in place with a loose girth, especially slipping back and forward more than to the side... I am more relaxed about it on a high withered type.
 
Anyone can be balanced on a horse moving in a smooth fashion but if your horse spooks, spins and/or drops a shoulder and jerks you the your weight will pull the saddle sideways and your toast.

Having had this happed and end up with a trashed saddle, sore in about five places and a frightened horse with a saddle round her tummy then I ride with a snug girth.

Why court disaster when you don't have to. Even my 22yr old been there done it still has enough life in him to get a fright and if your not expecting it then bang and that happening on the road would be a nightmare and very sore!
 
Totally agree with sugarandspice, after coming back into horses after 20 odd years, but being very old school I am amazed at the lack of riding skills and how people compensate.

I also was always taught to allow for two fingers under the girth, and to be able to pull it away fom the horses sides. I have seen numerous riders struggle to get the girth up to the tightest hole, regardless of wether it needs it or not, before they mount. I think it gives them a false security :o
 
I agree actually. I can always fit two fingers under my girth and I actually remember someone posting a study in CR ( I think ) about loss of athletic ability from other girthing.

As far as I'm aware the correct way to fasten a girth is still with space for two fingers so anyone going tighter than this on a regular basis is over girthing. End of.

I don't use elasticated girths because I find myself tempted to overtighten them.

I have come a cropper once to be fair. Fat, round pony spooked and saddle slipped round his side and I got dragged up a field. Was funny really and certainly hasn't changed my attitude to girthing. The only time I do mine tight is if jumping and then I try and loosen it off again pretty quick :)
 
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I was always taught the same and hate to see over tightened girths. I ride a very round highland with no withers whatsoever. As long as the saddle fits and rider is balanced never had a problem, I do admit though if I have to dismount out on a ride I tighten it right up and then loosen off whilst I'm on, use a mounting block at home.
People who come trekking are always overtightening girths even after the horse has been birthed up for them they'll force it up an extra whole, although I do admit when some riders get on I'll put it up another hole, sadly the ponies have to suffer a bit because of the risk of being sued, sadly not all riders are well balanced.
 
S&s makes a good point re checking the girth once mounted. Even when doing something or riding other peoples horses where I don't leave it stupidly loose, I've always mounted before doing final check of girth, & often will do it after a few minutes of being on board.
 
Just to share personal experience rather than saying anyone should do things differently or that my way is the "only way" :-))

I'm old school and was also taught not to over-tighten girths. I suppose there is a slight risk of slippage, but I feel I have to live with that because I'm not comfortable with winching up a girth as tight as I can, it's got to feel pretty sh *t to the horse. I agree with people who said that stirrups aren't for balance, and as I ride long I don't think mine help me much if there is a spook or spin. Maybe if stirrups were shorter the saddle would be more likely to slip as the rider's weight would have more impact through the weight moving into one stirrup?
Horses not standing still to be mounted and so there being danger of the saddle slipping... Just fix it. Love 'em or hate them, the NH-style trainers beat people over the head about never getting on a horse that is moving, or looks likely to move. :-)
 
I've done a 4 hr hack without tightening the girth, OP. I get on using a wall, so literally swing my leg over and I'm on. Had a lovely ride, with gallops, a little log jump, mucky terrain...was most surprised to get off and find the girth sitting on the bottom holes. I also felt a little smug that the saddle didn't slip once. Have to say, with his first saddle that he had (it came with him), it slipped all the time. He also didn't like it being tightened. I think with a nicely fitting saddle you can 'get away with' a lot more!
 
Horsesforever1 said:
With a slack girth what happens if the horse does a sudden sharp shy or spins round quickly or bucks?
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Well, if you're me on my horse absolutely nothing. Because she has withers, my saddle fits and I'm not so unbalanced that I fall violently to one side.

I don't think most people are saying a slack girth. Most people are arguing against over girthing :confused:
 
Spring Feather said:
You put your foot in the stirrup and very lightly spring up and over. It's really not difficult :confused:

A little kid or someone who can't ride should use a mounting block.
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Argh, this moves on to one of my pet hates "I never mount from the ground as its unkind to the horse/bad for the saddle" said by people who you then see stepping off the mounting block and putting their whole weight firmly into the stirrup as they get on to the horse! What ever happened to the Pony Club Manual advice "spring lightly"?

FWIW I was taught by an old school instructress who wouldn't allow the ponies' girths to be done up to two fingers tight until they had been ridden in, girths were done up just tightly enough to allow you to mount and woe betide you if you didn't "spring lightly" and your saddle slipped. Her other trick was for those who would or could not sit level and relied on their stirrups for balance. She'd call us all into the centre of the arena and tell us all to remove the girth whilst still mounted. Then she'd carry on with the lesson. If you fell off you had to get back on without the girth!

Nowadays I'm frequently told by others "Do your girth up" yet I never have a saddle slip.
 
:confused::o
Spring Feather said:
You put your foot in the stirrup and very lightly spring up and over. It's really not difficult :confused:

A little kid or someone who can't ride should use a mounting block.
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:confused: Really? Obviously, I cannot ride if choosing to use a mounting block is the criterium of that. I always use one. I do so because my horse is tall and I have arthritis. There is a chance that I will not be able to"very lightly spring up and over" even though I only weigh 8 stone at 5'9". I was also taught that unless you were legged up, mounting from the ground could damage the hore's back, by pulling the saddle over. I have mounted from the ground a few times in the recent past (when whip dropped, or opening a sticky gate etc) and got back on using log or bank.
And if you think I shouldn't ride with arthritis, that would count quite a few of us out!
 
windand rain said:
Sorry but the simple act of putting your foot in the stirrup is unbalancing the saddle your weight has to be in the stirrup whether you like it or not. That weight is therefore pulling the saddle over to that side unless of course you are so light you can fly. There isnt always someone to leg up or hold the other stirrup. I dont agree with over tightening the girth either and quite often loosen it once I am on but now way could I get on without the saddle ending up under the ponies belly no matter how lightly I mounted her if it wasnt done up fairly tight.
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If you put your foot in the left stirrup, left hand on horses neck and hold on the the skirt of the saddle on the right side then your saddle will not slip provided you hop on lightly and don't try to drag yourself onto the saddle. If when you are getting on, tight girth or not, your saddle is slipping you are not mounting correctly and can cause problems for your horse. IMO if for whatever reason you can't mount without moving your saddle about them you should use a block or get a leg up.
 
I measure it that you can fit your hand in flat and wiggle it a bit then that's fine - but I used to use an double elastic girth.
I f I was doing schooling as well, start of with it looser for walk then see how it goes. And for jumping I would always check it after canter warm up to see if it was too tight when he was puffing. I did definitely notice a difference in how he would be if the girth was just 1 hole too tight - horse would be tight and fidgety. He was flat backed though so couldn't have it too lose or saddle slipped back.
 
I see the damage all the time from overgirthing, usually on wide horses and ponies. Snug not tight is my rule - anywhere between a couple of fingers and the whole hand flat under the girth, and CHECK the girth before and after you tighten it, and do use elastic at both ends, much kinder for the horse and actually, with a correctly fitted saddle, the most stable option.

I think mounting is a tricky one - no-one has mentioned holding onto the offside stirrup leather which can help to counter balance the rider's weight in the stirrup. I am also regularly astonished at how much weight even a tiny person can exert on a saddle when mounting (as a fitter I always hold the offside stirrup for them) and how some much larger people can mount up with me barely feeling it in the other stirrup.

I also am astonished by the number of people that watch me putting a saddle on, girth it up, then they walk the horse to a mounting block and don't check the girth before getting on - they assume I must have heaved the girth up straight away but they know their horse and how it likes to be girthed, and I feel it is very unkind to do the girth up all in one go.

Wide flat horses WILL be trickier to girth than those with a wither and a more "roof shaped" back and who to blame when there is slippage is tricky. When I've fitted a saddle I work through all the options to get a saddle that works in terms of the fundamentals - tree and panel shape - and this reduces slippage hugely. Too many saddles on this shape are perched or out of balance, the wrong shape in the bars (even trees designed for wide flat horses can be nipped in at the bars causing instability) or lacking panel contact which means there is a lack of grip.

So if you have a wide horse and the saddle is slipping look first to the saddle, then the type of girth and which straps you use (a saddle that sits slightly to the same side all the time can be corrected with asymmetric girthing) and then to symmetry of horse and rider.
 
Spring Feather said:
You put your foot in the stirrup and very lightly spring up and over. It's really not difficult :confused:

A little kid or someone who can't ride should use a mounting block.
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Although not everyone who can ride can get on from the ground.........I couldn't because A) Left ankle cant take it and B) even at 12st I felt that was too heavy to get on from the ground and should use a mounting block to save the horses back. It has to be big enough though that you can just sit down, so to speak.
 
My springing days are long gone LOL! I used to spring lightly from the nearside and the offside, treeless and treed saddles - no problem. Not any more. If I get off on a hack I have to wander about until I find a bank or fence that I can use to help me mount. Luckily my pones are not tall, and they all stand like rocks to let me scrabble on. They kindly stand by blocks etc to help me get off as well.
 
I went round my first ever jump off with my girth on 1 and 1 on each side (it's usually on holes 3 and 3 where it is snug but not overnight) I was so amazed at jumping clear for the first time ever, loosened his girth to walk him off. Got legged up to go in for the jump off so flustered at trying to remember the course I completely forgot to tighten my girth. There is something to say for horses with withers like a sharks fin..... Otherwise I'd have been out the side door at the first turn!
 
Scrooge said:
If you put your foot in the left stirrup, left hand on horses neck and hold on the the skirt of the saddle on the right side then your saddle will not slip provided you hop on lightly and don't try to drag yourself onto the saddle.
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Exactly so, ideally by the time your right foot has left the block your shoulders and weight are over the horse so there should be no drag to the mounting side.
It drives me potty when people rush over and cling on to the opposite stirrup as if an elephant is getting on the other side :eek::cool:
 
You've all made me feel so much better! I was genuinely concerned that you would all tell me that I was stupid and dangerous... Touch wood I havent fallen off from a slipped saddle since I was a child. I do spend a lot of time riding without stirrups as when I was a teen I had a tendency to 'tip' forward when I was nervous or excited. 10 hours of lunge lessons with no stirrups or reins sorted that out but I often feel that riding without stirrups regularly helps to keep it in check. I now ride with longer stirrups than most and rely on my position in the saddle to balance and not the stirrups. Also notice I fall off a lot less, although that may be because I'm not pushing my boundaries like I was when I was younger. I am just glad to hear that not everybody on here (unlike most people I meet!) thinks im a bit of a pillock for riding with a bit of slack :D
 
Just back from riding the ponies and will add that at no time can I NOT get my hand between the pony and the girth. the girth is firmly done up but just how tight are we talking about by over tightened. the girths are elasticated and done up to hold the saddle in place but I can still get a flat hand in. So maybe I am not sure what over tightened means.
 
I think it means when you couldn't get a fag paper between the horse and the girth.
I've watched men hauling up on the girth straps with all their might, the horses are obviously used to it but it can't be great for them. Certainly can't force even a finger between the horse and the girth in that case.
 
Sure there's a happy medium?!

I don't think seeing daylight is a good thing- why even bother using the girth? My sister is awful at checking her girth, so often sets off with it loose enogh to fit a few fists in. She successfully steered her small barrel of a pony round a 1.10m XC track with the girth so loose you could see daylight in the photos... No one was tremendously impressed ;)

However, doing the girth up doesn't mean you have it tight. It means you have it so it sits against the skin snugly, without causing any bulging either side of it and so you can slip a flat hand in. No more than that though. We use plain leather (slightly padded) girths, with no elastic so there's no danger of accidental overtightening.
 
I am reasured by this post - I am always being told off for having a loose girth, but also never have problems with the saddle slipping. I use a wintec fully elasticated girth, and don't like it to feel 'stretched' at all. I mount from a high wall (I am small and horse is huge), with girth done very loosely, then tighten slightly at walk thereafter (when I remember!).
 
sbloom said:
I think mounting is a tricky one - no-one has mentioned holding onto the offside stirrup leather which can help to counter balance the rider's weight in the stirrup. I am also regularly astonished at how much weight even a tiny person can exert on a saddle when mounting (as a fitter I always hold the offside stirrup for them) and how some much larger people can mount up with me barely feeling it in the other stirrup.

I also am astonished by the number of people that watch me putting a saddle on, girth it up, then they walk the horse to a mounting block and don't check the girth before getting on - they assume I must have heaved the girth up straight away but they know their horse and how it likes to be girthed, and I feel it is very unkind to do the girth up all in one go.
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I hold the off side stirrup leather when mounting to counter balance the weight, it also enables me to find the stirrup quickly when my horse is feeling fresh.
Also do the girth up gradually hole by hole after knowing of a horse that collapsed when the girth was done up suddenly and tightly.
The roundy cob has a well fitting saddle and I can always tell how balanced a rider is because the saddle only slips with unbalanced riders. Tightening his girth with a winch wouldn't make any difference, if the rider can ride him correctly, the girth could be swinging at his kneed and the saddle would remain in place.
 
Lolo said:
Sure there's a happy medium?!

I don't think seeing daylight is a good thing- why even bother using the girth? My sister is awful at checking her girth, so often sets off with it loose enogh to fit a few fists in. She successfully steered her small barrel of a pony round a 1.10m XC track with the girth so loose you could see daylight in the photos... No one was tremendously impressed ;)

However, doing the girth up doesn't mean you have it tight. It means you have it so it sits against the skin snugly, without causing any bulging either side of it and so you can slip a flat hand in. No more than that though. We use plain leather (slightly padded) girths, with no elastic so there's no danger of accidental overtightening.
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This ...
 
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