Page 562 - The Veterinary Care of the Horse

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Figure 12.18 The long straps of dressage girths, which buckle low down on the horse’s side, can cause discomfort to the
horse because the buckles can come into contact with the horse’s elbow

The following steps may help.

• Tack the horse up at least 10 minutes before mounting.

• Take care that the girth is sitting in the correct position. Many people position the saddle
and girth too far forwards. The girth should sit a short distance back from the elbow. Do
the girth up loosely to start with.

• The girth straps on the saddle should be perpendicular to the ground when the girth is

done up. If the front strap is pulled in a forward direction, this is likely to pull the saddle
forward into the shoulder and restrict the horse’s freedom of movement. An ergonomic or

anatomical girth that curves forward over the sternum and then back around the elbows
will improve the comfort and movement of the horse (Figure 12.19a).

• Pulling the forelimbs forwards one at a time will help the girth to sit in the correct
position. It also checks that the soft skin in this region is not being pinched underneath

the girth. However, some horse’s find this extremely uncomfortable. An alternative is to
slide one’s fingers under the girth down the horses side on each side of the horse each

time the girth is tightened a hole (Figure 12.19b).
• The girth buckles should be level on each side.