From: Cindy
I've only been a subscriber to horse sense for 5 days and I am already fascinated by the never ending archives and questions.
I have found similar questions in your archives, but nothing that answers my question specifically.
At what speed should a horses girth be tightened?
I am fairly new to the horse riding world and I am currently riding two different horses that both use different tack. I am using an English general purpose saddle (my instructors saddle) on a fairly large, extremely well trained, older, gelded Quarter Horse, (also my instructors horse) his name is Adonis. I ride Adonis every Saturday for my lessons and my instructor has taught me how to groom and "tack-up" the horse. On Sundays and another day during the week I ride a horse that I'm "renting" from a friend of a friends. This horse is also an older Quarter Horse (not well trained but definitely a "quiet" sensible mount) his name is Gus and I ride him in the Western tack that is supplied.
I tighten both horses girths in the following way; I slowly pull the girth to a snug fit (I can still slide my hand between the horse and the girth, it is snug to do this but not too difficult) then I lead the horse out to the arena where I re-tighten the girth. I have found that both horses seem to "hold" their breath while the saddle and girth are being attached and then they let their breath out once in the arena. When I re-tighten the girth I pull it up slowly to about the next hole where the saddle is now snug to the horse (I can still slide my hand in between the horse and the girth, but it is snug!). I have never pulled the horses front legs forward, but I will start that immediately since reading so many of your archived letters on similar topics! I am asking this question because I believed that I was taught to do this correctly by my instructor. However, a friend of mine who owns a horse and boards at the same barn where I "rent" Gus, thought that I was making the saddle too tight while in the barn. She had suggested that I keep it even loser until I got into the arena (lose enough to get 2 or 3 hands between the horse and the girth). My friend was worried that there was not a long enough period of time between putting the saddle on and tightening it. I was worried about doing it her way, because I thought the saddle would be too lose when I got into the arena and then when I tightened it (for riding) there would be a greater difference between how lose it was in the barn and how much tighter it had become in the arena. I hope you can help me with this complicated question. My friend also reads your e-mails religiously and she has learned quite a bit about horses through you, good and bad instructors as well as good and bad horse owners. I think both of us have our hearts in the right place (neither one of us want the horse to be uncomfortable), but who is right?
I thank you and Gus and Adonis thank you! Cindy.
P.S. Hope I've used all the right terminology. Learning all the right words is almost as much work as learning to properly ride!
The easy, one-word answer to "How should I tighten a girth?" is "SLOWLY". Imagine yourself being dressed by someone else - like a small child on the way to school. Now imagine that the impatient adult fastens your belt by jerking it hard until it's as tight as it can be without cutting you in half.... what would the result be? You'd be in pain, for one thing. You would probably feel very unhappy the next time that adult came near you, especially if you were getting dressed. And you might even decide that you weren't ever going to wear a belt again.
Tightening the girth should be an easy, gradual process. For some horses, this may mean fastening the girth so that it doesn't quite touch the horse's belly, then tightening it very slightly a few moments later, then walking the horse for a few minutes and tightening it again, then repeating the process several times. There's no need to have a foot of space between the horse's belly and the girth - in fact, if an English girth can be fastened that loose, then it's too long in the first place! Instead, fasten it loosely so that it's just below the horse's belly, walk the horse for a few minutes, tighten the girth a little more, walk a few more minutes, etc. This isn't magic - it actually accomplishes several useful things. One is to make the process less obnoxious to the horse, another is to give the horse a chance to shift the saddle back where it belongs, thus avoiding unecessary pain when the girth is tightened for riding, and still another is to put the rider's focus on the horse and its comfort in the tack!
Many horses resent having their girths tightened, either because they have had bad experiences in the past, or because they are actually experiencing pain because of the girth. You probably know to check for sores, swellings, or wrinkled skin where the girth sits, but did you know that girths can cause pain elsewhere? Tightening the girth on a saddle that fits badly can cause pain in the horse's sensitive withers. This is quite common. Even more common is pain in the area just behind the elbow. This is related to wither pain - it's nerve pain that begins in the withers area and causes a painful reaction to the girth near the elbow, under the ribcage.
If your horse "blows up" to avoid having the girth tightened too quickly or too tightly, there's a very big possibility that he's trying to avoid pain. If he tenses his lower lip and the muscles around his eyes when you begin to tighten the girth, if he lifts his head high into the air, and most of all, if he makes a face and looks as though he would like to bite you, or if he actually attempts to bite you, when you are tightening the girth, you're probably dealing with pain.
A saddle that is too far forward will impinge on the withers and cause the girth to come into painful contact with the back of the horse's elbows. By fastening the girth loosely at first, walking the horse for a few minutes, tightening the girth slightly, walking the horse again, and repeating the process until the girth is tight enough for riding (which, incidentally, should STILL let you slide the flat of your hand between the girth and the horse) you will let the horse's movement shift the saddle back into a better position, and make it less likely that your horse will suffer from pain in the withers. Pulling the front legs forward, in addition to eliminating wrinkles under the girth, will also help shift the saddle into the correct position.
So the short answer is that you're both right. The process should be gradual (your friend is right about that), the horse should be allowed to do some walking between the moments when you make the girth tighter, and there shouldn't ever be a sudden change from very loose to snug. Also, the girth should never be TIGHT (you are right about that).
It sounds to me as though Adonis and Gus are both lucky to have you riding them - and as though you have a good instructor who is teaching you well. And you also have a friend who rides with you and cares as much about horse comfort as you do - how could life be any better?
Jessica
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