Nowadays, one is quickly overwhelmed with the range of different saddle girths.
Leather girths, saddle girths with lambskin, neoprene, cord girth? Narrow, anatomical, straight or wide bearing surface? Narrow, anatomical, straight or wide support surface?lateral elastic – yes or no? And if so, one or two? Do you still see through?
The right girth for your horse
To be honest, I’m very grateful that these many options exist. It’s just a matter of finding the right girth for your horse. However, we are not talking about the appropriate belt length, which is quickly found.
The feel-good belt must be found. The one with which your horse breathes relaxed under the saddle, the shoulder can move freely and also the saddle finds suitable support.
Develop a feeling for horses
I grew up in a training farm for sport horses. There were horses of all ages and stages of training. “The Gymnasium for Show Jumpers” as my mother likes to call it. Since my father learned together with Herbert Rehbein and at that time the training path of a dressage horse takes longer than that of a jumper, he made a virtue out of necessity and concentrated on the jumpers, since money was tight and there was a young family to support.
The dressage work and training and the incredible feeling for horses made the work with the horses so special.
The right girth is determined by the occasion
At that time, a saddle girth was often made of leather or cotton. These are the same harnesses that are still used today and with which Ingrid Klimke still rides every day in dressage and also in her work at home.
For jumping and also in eventing, Ingrid then uses different cleated or jumping harnesses. So it is important not only to find the feel-good girth, but also always the girth appropriate to the sporting task. To protect not only his horse, but also himself.
Self-protection while riding?
I’ve been paying close attention to this since I once rode a horse with a wide-loop cleated girth. The horse got caught in the girth with the horseshoe while bending the front legs and we landed upside down in the sand.
The shock was great and has taught me to pay meticulous attention in all future to the correct cleated girth and the appropriate buckling, as well as to the horse’s jumping manner. So the movement of the horse also always plays an important role! Even in dressage there are horses that are very sensitive to girths that interfere with the elbow.
Summary: What should I look for in a girth?
- Which harness material is best for me/my horse?
- What fit should the belt have?
- What do I want to ride with my horse: Distance, dressage, jumping, …?
- What anatomical or health points are important for my horse?
- What is my horse’s movement pattern?
In the next blog I would like to explain different girths and their functions.
Do you have questions about girths in general or specifically about the equigetic Jump or equigetic Pad? Then they write more gladly about the contact.
Until then stay healthy and with the horses
Tina Schäfer