Girth

[maria9657]

The horse that I have been riding at my weekly lessons (a beautiful thoroughbred cross was sold Iwill miss him he was amazing and everything (I have tried to post a picture below but i dont know if it will work)). Ok so on to my question and away from my moping:

The horse I am riding now doesn't like having his girth tightened and will bite and get grumpy when you try to tighten it. He also has a habit of puffing out his chest when you are tacking him up so it seems as if the girth were tight enough but when you get on the girth is way too loose. I need help with either telling when he is puffing out his chest or tightening the girth while mounted.

Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated

[Drummers mum]

I used to ride a pony who did the same, I developed a neat way to dodge his teeth whilst trying to be gentle in doing up his girth.

As for blowing up, my poy does this now, so I just do it loose and then get on with something else, then when he least expects its I dart back and tighten it up!! You gotta be quick though!!

Tightening when you are on top is easy. Keep your feet in the stirrups, put your leg forward over the knee roll and then reach down and lift the saddle flap, you should be able to pull up each strap in turn and use a finger to guide the buckle into place, then just leave go slightly to slot it into place. You might find it easier with your better hand at first so leave more holes that side.

Does that make sense, its hard to describe!

Goodluck!

[T-bred]

This is what I do, I put the girth on loosely while the horse is in the aisleway, then after I get into the arena and before I mount I tighten the girth. That usually works!!

Anna

[Bay Mare]

Hi

I used to ride a horse like this at my riding school. He once took a huge bite out of my a@@ when I was kindly straightening out his saddle cloth ...... I've still got the scar to prove it!

What I had to do with him was put the girth up a hole before I took him out of the stable, another hole when we got into the school and another when I'd pulled the stirrups down ...... and another quick check before I got on board (he once 'got' me by puffing right out and the saddle slipped as I went to get on even though it was tightened up a nanosecond before I got on. Doing it gently like this, a bit at a time seemed to work. With regards to the biting I just developed quick reflexes and kept my elbow up to nudge him in the neck when he tried it. I never let him get away with biting, a tap on the nose or a slap on the neck and an authoratative 'no' was enough to make him back off. He seems to be a bit better now but the girl next door to him (who's old enough to know better) has started doing it now ........ :mad:

[WhiteIceGem]

One of the mares i ride at my riding school can take a chunk out of your bum if you're not careful!
What i do whe i'm tacking up tash:
Put her bridle on, she's ok with this
then i put her headcollar on over her bridle and tie her up in the stable.
She can be a bit funny when you put the saddle on her back, she is a cold-backed horse anyway, so i run my hands over the area that her saddle covers and then slide it on over her withers, but i lower it slowly onto her back to she knows whats coming.
The ears still go back but she doesn't raise her head or turn it to try to bite.
Next i make sure the girth is on the bottom hole on the other side of the saddle.
To do the girth up, i 'wrap' it around her, insted of just picking it up from underneath and doing it up, and doing it this way stops her from going for me. Then i tighten it hole by hole , a couple of holes from each side.

[CatherineJP]

I was taught when tightening the girth from the ground to hold the rein firmly so there is tension on the horses head to pull it away from you so they can't bite you.

If you are standing on the horse's left side you can do this by holding the rein in your left hand and pulling the girth strap up with your right hand. Then you just use a spare finger on your left hand to push the buckle into the hole.

I hope this makes sense - I don't really know how well it works as the horses I ride don't bite. I'm sure if they really went for you they could probably still manage it!

[k8schmutz]

Originally posted by CatherineJP
I was taught when tightening the girth from the ground to hold the rein firmly so there is tension on the horses head to pull it away from you so they can't bite you.

If you are standing on the horse's left side you can do this by holding the rein in your left hand and pulling the girth strap up with your right hand. Then you just use a spare finger on your left hand to push the buckle into the hole.

I hope this makes sense - I don't really know how well it works as the horses I ride don't bite. I'm sure if they really went for you they could probably still manage it!

Yeah thats teh way I was taught, but you ahve to make sure that the rein is taught on teh side your not standing on so that they can't turn thei'r head around. If they do turn at you swinging round and putting your hand up quickly as if to say no seems to work just as well

[MiamiSuzanne]

This girth question made me think of something that you should all order.....the best part is...it's free. www.weaverleather.com. Clinton Anderson and weaver leather will send you either a DVD or VHS on "Riding Safely". I recieved it 2 months ago & it is an excellent 40 minute DVD. Those of you in the UK will have to see if it can be sent to you. Those in the US like me, the answer is yes. Enjoy!

[western]

my horse used to turn around and bite when i was doing up his girth too so you are not alone. What i did was i would but out my left elbow stuck it out right by his neck and when he would turn to bite he would get bumped. It did work after awhile he figured that everytime he would turn his head he would hurt himself. Otherwise i avoid slapping because it wouldnt do no good. I also tryed tieing him up closer. That worked too.

[Demson]

You should not try to do the girth up tight immediatley anyway. All horses will bloat their stomachs when a girth is being done up.
It is an instinct to push against pressure and that is what they are doing, it is not out of stubborness or naughtiness. Then walk your horse to were you intend to ride and then adjust the girth enough to mount (from a mounting block or similar) again walk the horse to warm up and then before trotting do a final check on the girth.

As for the biting, this is usually caused from an ill fitting saddle or previous rough handling. I have seen plenty of people just bang a saddle down onto a horse with no care or consideration and if I was that horse I'd try to bite the offender as well. In a riding school you just have to put up with it as not all riders wil consider the horse. However if it is your horse, start by gently placing the saddle on the horse and leave the girth for a few moments. Reward the horse with a stroke then do the girth up a few holes. If the horse goes to bite stick your elbow out and ignore the horse, when he stops reward him again. Staying consistant in this approach will teach your horse that the saddle won't hurt him and he/she will stop biting.

Of course it takes time and each horse learns at a different rate. It all depends on how much patience you have to teach your horse.

Cheers

[Scarlett 001]

Many horses will puff up when you put on the girth and one often has to tighten it right before mounting. Sometimes one might have to tighten it after walking around a bit. (if you struggle to do it yourself while on the horse, just ask your instructor to come over and tighten it for you while you are on the horse until you can do it yourself)

The biting seems a bit much for a school horse being used by novice or beginner riders. As someone said, there may be reasons why he developed this behaviour. What does your instructor say about this and what does she suggest herself? I assume she is aware of this? The school might also want to work on this issue, as it is in their interests to do so. One horse I used to ride was sensitive to the girth in general and we used a fleecy kind of sleeve that fit over the girth that seemed to make him more happy with things. In my case, this helped.