How tight is your girth?

S

Silverspring

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 March 2008
Messages
2,895
Location
Scotland
Visit site
So after reading the post about how you tack up I was wondering how tight people make their girth. I regularly get people telling me to tighten my girth but I have never had my saddle slip, move or rub in the 4 years I've been riding with horse, saddle and girth!

When I got my saddle fitted the fitter said to make sure the girth had a central elastic insert (not at either end) and it had to be full elastic so it wasn't stitched onto a pad to restricted the stretch. When I girth up to hack I can put my hand under the straps (my saddle has long girth leathers like a dresage saddle only not cos it's an endruance saddle) and pull them away from the horse by about 2 inches with ease.

Now other people on the yard I see putting a hell of a lot of effort into getting the girth tightened then whe they check the girth they have to shimmy their hand under the girth as it doesn't fit easily...surely that is too tight?! Or am I just weird with my overly loose girth?
 
I use either a plain cotton girth or a leather one with elastic on both ends (never on one end), and when in the saddle I can slide one hand flat between horse and girth with some slight resistance. She is a tabletop cob with no withers so I have to have it reasonably tight else I end up around her neck, despite the best efforts of my saddler and his many point straps!
tongue.gif
 
My horse (I found out by accident!) much preferes to have a loose girth and relaxes much better when doing dressage if I haven't squeezed every bit of air out of her lungs doing the girth up! My saddle doesn't go anywhere. I however put my own safety over comfort when it comes to xc and girth get tightened lol!
 
I do mine so I can get my hand (flat to the horses belly) under it without it feeling tight. I dont think it needs to be any tighter then than. If I am going XC (drops, steps etc) I would do it tigher though.

I was once having a group lesson with a dressage trainer when one of the other pupils pointed out that someones girth was to loose...the trainer told the girl to hope of her horse, removed the girth completly and got on. He walked, troted and canter round with no girth to prove it doesnt need to be there at all (pn the flat) if the rider rides correctly
 
well on my TB not that tight otherwise I get bucked off!! and on my fat round cob.. as tight as possible to avoid the inevitable saddle slipping due to no wither problem!
smile.gif
 
Ah the table top cob girthing issues, yeah not much you can do about that you do just have to put it on tight and hope you don't hit any corners at speed!

I Love duns - interesting what you say, I do wonder how many people would experiment with different girths and differnet girth tension to see if they get a better tune out their horse. My girl is tense if the girth is too tight but it because she's never had a tight girth in her life, always done endurance and had stretchy loose girth to help with her heart rate etc.
 
depends on what I am doing, as he is prone to rubs, at least one hands width prob more if hacking/schooling,

have girth with elastic both ends- I looked but didn't find it easy to find an all elastic/central elastic girth of standard length. Apart from the wintecs which don't fit my boy (too wide and catch his elbows) and are restricted in their stretch by the outer casing.

He is a welsh with withers and have been surprised at how little it slips when quite loose.

I use a breastplate when hunting/xc as I find this helps with and side slippage and means I don't need it too tight.

Up a bit tighter if jumping
 
i never do my girth up than tight and i use a leather girth with elastic on one end (saw a horrific accident with a horse that elastic at both ends, resulting it the rider on the floor and the saddle round the horses neck) and my gelding has a leather balding girth never to tight.
 
i have one of those sort of leather ones- but not leather, i can fit my hand in easily and can pull it away a bit.... i think it depends how tight you do your girth on how round your horse is! my brother had a barrel of a pony- no saddle would fit him and we had to do it really tight otherwise he would slip round and off the pony!
you see a lot of people really tightening up girths, but if theyre on the ground its ok as once your on you push the saddle down a bit so the girth loosens a bit...
 
Interesting post. I'm always been told to tighten my girth but my saddle has never slipped.

My pony hates his girth done up too tight so I do it up just enough to get on without the saddle slipping (I walk him around before getting on too). When on I usually walk up the farm driveway (about 5 mins) and then do it up again - usually goes up a couple of holes. I use a wintec with the elastic in the middle atm but have also used a stubben string one too. I sometimes put it up another hole if going for an exciting blast or if I have to get off to do a gate - to make sure saddle doesn't slip when getting on from the floor.

Just out of interest, do you do your girth up again when on and by how many holes?
 
My 'old school' friend (hunting farming family, used to run a riding school) always says that the saddle should stay in place without a girth and would never let any rider do up girths tightly. My Clydex had to have a breastplate to stop her saddle slipping back on our steep hills but that was better than a too-tight girth. I know I've done mine too tight, when on top, if the IDx puts her ears back. If I ignore her, we go on a very spooky hack
laugh.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Just out of interest, do you do your girth up again when on and by how many holes?

[/ QUOTE ]

No I don't BUT i don't ride in a traditional saddle. I have a free'n'easy panel sadle so there saddle does not sink with my weigh, the only extra space that my weight creates is through squishing my horse which I hope I don't do much of
smile.gif
I know in a flocked saddle you can girth a little tighter as when you get on the flcoking gives a bit.
 
Before I get on I do the girth up as high as I can and then again when I get on.

But this is only because my pony is as rouns as a barrel with the least wither the saddler had ever seen and does his best to "puff" out whilest I'm doing up his girth.
The cheeky pony!!
 
I have an elasticated one, and I actually winced once when I saw someone who was riding my horse actually use TWO hands ot tighten it! It was obviously too tight as they then could not get their hand in! How the hell did they expect my horse to breathe!

I also worry about folk using a normal cotton girth on him as I have noticed that there were sometimes saddle marks left when it was used. You would think that given that there were wear marks on the girth straps that was where it should be done up to.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Before I get on I do the girth up as high as I can and then again when I get on.

But this is only because my pony is as rouns as a barrel with the least wither the saddler had ever seen and does his best to "puff" out whilest I'm doing up his girth.
The cheeky pony!!

[/ QUOTE ]

I doubt he's being cheeky---he's possibly just tensing up in anticipation of the unpleasant tightness of the girth! I'd suggest doing it up very loosely when you tack up, tightening it just enough to mount before you get on, and then walking for several minutes before tightening it again. Hopefully, he'll stop the "puffing out" soon once he realises you're not going to crank the girth so tight!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top