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.

Navicular in Horses & Barefoot Riding

Posted by rji | Filed under General Info, Reviews

We've just completed the Navicular in Horses section on the main site and while doing so we had to go back over the treatment and care of our own horse Bramble, who we lost because of navicular and arthritis a few years ago.

One of the things we looked at was unshod or barefoot horses in relation to navicular treatments and we've been so surprised and impressed with some of the things we've found, that we just had to mention it here.

Ghost Barefoot with Navicular One item details the story of a 22 yr old 16.2hh, ID x TB called Ghost, who jumps barefoot despite being formerly diagnosed with navicular...

He had flat feet, a twisted foot, weak digital cushions and prolapsed frogs but Ghost is now back in full work, doing what he loves best - jumping and competing. More about him here.

You'll have to read the full navicular section to appreciate the facts but if barefoot horses can recover and ride over ground like that in their video of the hack on Exmoor, then it's got to be worth considering.

Of course the old adage of 'Horse for Courses' applies here as well as in most other things.

Barefoot may not suit all horses but we're definitely thinking about it for our horses and we'll be looking to include a section on going barefoot within the main site.