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.

Quote Of The Day – Roy Rogers

Posted by rji | Filed under General Info, Worth Mentioning

When you're young and you fall off a horse, you may break something. When you're my age and you fall off...., you splatter.

Roy Rogers

Leonard Franklin Slye (Nov 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), who became famous as Roy Rogers, was a singer and cowboy actor.

He and his third wife Dale Evans, his golden palomino Trigger, and his German shepherd, Bullet, were featured in over one hundred movies and The Roy Rogers Show.

The show aired on radio for nine years before moving to television from 1951 through 1957.

His productions usually featured two sidekicks, Pat Brady, (who drove a jeep called "Nellybelle"), and the crotchety Gabby Hayes.Roy's nickname was "King of the Cowboys". Dale's nickname was "Queen of the West."

For many Americans (and non-Americans), Roy Rogers was the embodiment of the all-American hero.

Roy and Dale's famous theme song, which Dale wrote and they sang as a duet to sign off their television show, was "Happy trails to you, Until we meet again...".

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Roy Rogers has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1752 Vine Street, a second star at 1733 Vine Street for his contribution to radio, and a third star at 1620 Vine Street for his contribution to the television industry.

Roy and Dale were inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1976 and Roy was inducted again as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers in 1995.

Roy was also twice elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame, first as a member of The Sons of the Pioneers in 1980 and as a soloist in 1988.