Ah, the girth. A necessary piece of riding equipment that keeps the saddle and therefore the rider on the horse. That’s right…on the horse. We are after all horseback riders not turf riders. At least not intentionally.
My first loose girth lesson
The summer before I entered second grade we moved to the country. A friend invited me over and after a quick tour of the house we were off to far more exciting things. Like horses. I vaguely remember us wrestling with the saddle and mounting. Then we took off down a paved country road and before long we were trotting. As we trotted I noticed something odd was happening.
bounce slipping to the right
bounce slipping more!
bounce ack!!
In a blink of the eye I was eating dirt.
Did I happen to mention that we were riding double on a shoeless horse? Oh, and helmets? Forget about it. Thankfully, we walked away with only a few scrapes. To this day I can still remember that friend’s name.
Present day lessons
It seems that I’ve gone back to riding with a loose girth. I’m not doing this intentionally. I swear! It’s just that I’ve been riding a sensitive horse for my dressage lessons and she has girthing issues. Or maybe I do?
Anyway, as I start to attach the girth she pins her ears back. Then I move to the other side and as I bring the girth beneath her belly I’m rewarded by a show of teeth. I don’t think she’s smiling at me. I then very slowly attach the girth to the first hole. More teeth. Slowly, I adjust the girth one hole tighter. More teeth.
Now in my opinion showing teeth is fine. I get it. You don’t like it. Maybe someone pinched you in the past but I’m being very slow and gentle here. However, the last time I tacked her the teeth came a little too close for comfort and I slugged her. Not hard. She immediately turned her head around and faced forward. Still as a statue.
Now for the riding part. As I said earlier I’ve been riding with a loose girth. See? She trained me well. We haven’t noticed until the end of the lessons. After trotting and cantering and maybe a buck for good measure. So, either I have awesome balance or it hasn’t been all that loose. Regardless I’m thankful that I’m no longer a turf rider and I always wear a helmet.
Do you have a girth story to share?
4 comments
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October 23, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Melinda
I ride with a very loose girth. My saddle fits well and I haven’t had any issues. I ride with a tighter girth in the arena than I do on the trail because a) it worries my instructor and b) she explained it’s important in dressage that the saddle have consistant contact on the horses back and not slide around.
On the trail, I worry about rubs, and I want her to be able to breathe. so far so good.
I check and tighten from the saddle a LOT. I rarely mount with it tight. I just find it easier and my horse (who also likes to “smile” at me) seems more tolerant if I tighten from the saddle.
My dad once had a girth break underneath of him at a canter. One minute he was on the horse, the next he was on the ground…still in the saddle. As an on looker said – “you rode that saddle all the way to the ground!” (and kept his position!)
October 23, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Melinda
should mention that she has a huge shoulder and wither with a dippy back that seems to hold a saddle really really well.
Melinda
October 23, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Melinda
forgot to subscribe to the comments – I think this is going to be entertaining!
October 23, 2009 at 8:33 pm
dressage rider
Melinda! Your comments alone are entertainment enough! LOL I love what happened to your dad but thank goodness he wasn’t hurt. The sensitive horse I ride also has good high withers.
Keep them coming!