Opinion on my girth (pics)!

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roz84

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Hi, I've been having a bit of a problem with my girth (and saddle) slipping back and have attached a pic of my horse post ride (only a short one!) - it doesn't seem too bad in this one but believe me, that saddle thinks it needs to be round his waist!! I think this is also why my horse doesn't like his girth done up (he bit me on my bum, HARD, today when girthing up, even though I do it very gently, in increments) as it became uncomfortable, however I put a big fat girth sleeve on today which should hopefully help.

Does anyone else have a similar problem? I think his girth groove is naturally a bit far back. Does anyone have any ideas regarding curved girths etc, and also to any other causes of his dislike of having his girth done up? In the picture he has a different saddle on to normal as I'm convinced it is related to his saddle too - also a breastplate which doesn't look right either :confused:

IMAG0130_zpse6aa21b7.jpg
 
I would have the saddle checked, it may need re-fitting/flocking. It is rarely the girth's fault more the saddle's! If his saddle is hurting or pinching him, this would make him really unhappy to have the girth done up too and the saddle slipping back could have done some damage to him back while you are riding making him very uncomfortable? Girth wise, i always think leather ones are the best, with elastic on one side, that may make him a bit more comfortable, but get the saddle checked first :)
 
I would suggest that your saddle perhaps isn't the best cut for him - he would benefit from something straighter cut at the front so his shoulders don't push it back (and I see you have a riser on it, indicating that it isn't a great fit anyway).

If he is really objecting to being girthed up, think about WHY this may be. My boy really objected to his aerborn atherstone girth that was elasicated at both ends. It was quite a hard girth and easily overtightened... so I hunted around until I found something he was comfortable with... more recently he objected to being girthed - and that was because he had just been fully clipped - NOTHING else had changed, so he was just objecting to the cold, so only then did I buy him a girth sleve. The trouble with girth sleves is that they only cushion mild discomfort - if the underlying girth is completely wrong for the horse, It will still hurt to a degree. The girth he has now is one of the wintec elasticated jobbies - great girth.

Hope you get it sorted soon!

p.s. I hope you don't mind me saying but his toes are rather desperately long and heels underrun. You'll be in for problems if you don't get those seen to soon.
 
Again - I think the best thing for you do now is get your saddle checked - I'd imagine that it isn't a great fit and if it still isn't fitting with a riser pad then you may well need a new saddle. You will probably be able to part-exchange with your current saddle to bring the cost down a bit. And a reputable saddler will be able to advise you on a girth/saddlecloth etc. when they come to see your horse, whether you buy a new saddle or not.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the replies guys - I know the saddle is wrong, because it isn't his lol! That saddle belongs to my mare and I popped it on with a riser for ten minutes today on my quest to work out what is causing the problems, and I must say that it didn't slip back as far as his 'proper' saddle, which I think I must now think about changing :)

The girth which is under the sleeve is a thorowgood shaped one with elastic each end - also not his. His real saddle is a heather moffett one which demands a dressage girth (and clearly doesn't fit properly methinks)

With regards to his feet, I've only had him a couple of months and my farrier is on the case, believe me they are a bit better than they were.
 
Before you spend a fortune on girths and girth sleeves, get a good physio to check his intercostal muscles for pain. My poor mare suffered for 9 years while I tried every girthing solution possible, only to find it was muscular and could be dramatically helped. Don't use a 'back' person, they need to look at more than just the back and saddle fit.
 
As it's the HM saddle that drifts back there's no point trying to assess that saddle for fit, or saying what I normally do which is that the saddle being out of balance, usually pommel low, can contribute to the saddle moving backwards. With a treed saddle, ideally with four girth straps, choosing the 2nd and 4th should help better align the girth with the (lack of) girth groove, but I presume with the HM you only have two straps.

Try changing the shimming, is there a proper fitter you can work with?
 
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