The Equestrian Blog

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.

Jordan (aka Katie Price) Equestrian Range ?

Posted by idex7 | Filed under General Info

Love her or hate, rate her or loathe her, as an equestrian it seems young riders want what Katie Price is selling.... providing it's pink.

She recently launched her new KP Equestrian range at a store in Olney.

Florence Wood, an 11-year-old from Raunds, was one of the first in the queue to buy a set of pink bandages for her pony Carlton. She said:

"I love the clothes because they're pink, and I only wear pink when I'm riding Carlton. I wanted to get Katie to sign a picture of me on my pony."

An amazing turn around for a boobs out glamour model, a brilliant piece of marketing or just something exciting in an otherwise dull market. Whatever it is, Katie Price is brightening up the equestrian community this Christmas...

Derby House commercial director Mark Reeves said:

"Katie's range of clothes has been the most successful we have ever stocked.

Personally, I think she's rather obnoxious, doesn't ride well and pink should be banned within a mile of any horse, but when figures show 70% of 14 year old British girls aspire to be a topless glamour model, what chance do you have of persuading them they need to put more work into their riding rather than their bust size.

Full Story....