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.

Help Beaufort Polo Club Help The Brooke

Posted by debbie | Filed under Equestrian News

Beaufort Polo Club is gearing up for an amazing day of polo, auctions, live music and divot-treading on Saturday 4 July. All to raise vital funds for the Brooke - The UK’s leading charity for working horses and donkeys overseas.

All money raised will help the Brooke fund a new mobile veterinary clinic in Lahore.

The beautiful Cotswold polo club is offering the quintessential polo experience including traditional games and superb prizes ...

find-a-cork-win-a-bottle-of-wine
7 days and 6 nights at sea for 5 adults on a private yacht in the Carribbean
1 week’s stay for 4 people at a 5* golf villa in Spain
2 night deluxe stay at the Goring Hotel in London, including dinners and breakfasts
and divot-treading.

All to to raise £25,000 for the Brooke.

Sharon Schofield, Interim Director of Fundraising at the Brooke says,

“Beaufort’s fundraising polo day is a special event to celebrate Brooke’s 75th anniversary and we want lots of people to join us. It will be a great day out where friends will experience something really unique at a relaxed and friendly club set in beautiful countryside. You don’t even need to be a polo expert as there is a demonstration before the match begins."

“Everyone who comes will be helping the Brooke to buy a brand new vehicle for its mobile vet team in Lahore. Our team of experts will able to reach poor communities equipped with everything they need to stop the suffering of thousands of hardworking horses and donkeys in Lahore, Pakistan for a whole year.”

This year the Brooke celebrates its 75th anniversary. From its humble beginnings in Cairo in 1934, the Brooke has gone from strength to strength. Last year they helped 700,000 working horses and donkeys and it’s now their goal to increase the number of working animals they can help to 2 million a year by 2016.

The Brooke’s lifesaving work includes various networks of mobile veterinary teams and field clinics that provide care and treatment together with with education and training, to help teach communities how they can care for the animals their lives depend on.

How, by ensuring their animals are healthy, happy and fit for work, the people who rely on them can earn a living and put food on their meagre tables.

So, join the Brooke and Beaufort Polo Club for a fantastic day out and help keep horses healthy.