The Equestrian Blog

The Top Ten Ways To Becoming A Better Equestrian

A little light horse relief...

Drop a heavy steel weight on your foot. But don't pick it up straight away. Instead Shout, "Get off, Stupid, GET OFF!"

Leap out of a moving vehicle and practice "relaxing into the fall", Simply roll softly into a ball and then spring to your feet..... TA DA!!

Practice pulling your cheque-book out of your pocket or purse and writing out £100 cheques without looking down.

Jog long distances carrying a headcollar and a carrot. Then tell the neighbours what you are doing... they might as well know you've lost it now.

Attach a set of reins to a moving bus and practice pulling it to a stop. Smile... so they think you're having fun.

Finely tune your fibbing skills, repeat: "See Darling, moving hay bales is FUN!" or "No, really, I'm glad your lucky performance and multi-million dollar horse won the red ribbon. I'm just happy that he went well and all my hard work and actual ability won me second place."... BIG SMILE!!

Practice calling your vet from your mobile with both arms paralysed at the shoulder and one foot holding the lead rope of your frisky horse.

Borrow the US Army slogan: Be All You Can Be -- bitten, thrown, kicked, dragged, slimed, trampled, drowned, frozen...

Lie face down in a puddle of mud in your most expensive riding clothes and repeat to yourself, "This is a learning experience, this is a learning experience, this is..."

And the single best way to become a better equestrian.... MARRY MONEY.

Saddle Girth – How tight is too tight?

Are you guilty of doing up your horse’s girth as tight as you can in the belief it gives your saddle and you the best security? Well Australian researchers have found that a girth done up too tightly can have a negative effect on your horse’s performance.

The usual tension applied to a saddle girth to keep a saddle on a Thoroughbred racehorse is around 13kg but researchers found anything over 10kg could alter the horses performance.

Although they still have to work out why, it’s thought that it may force the horse to adopt different breathing patterns involving a greater use of the diaphragm which in turn affects performance. Alternatively, the soft tissue and fluid in the thoracic wall (the part between the neck and abdomen, enclosed by the ribs) could be displaced during exercise.

As yet, no-one knows for sure. Some horses don’t seem particularly affected by girth tightness but others do. Saddle placement also played a part, so more research is needed. Whatever the effects of your saddle girth just make sure you don’t leave your girth too loose.