I witnessed a near tragedy that I can’t seem to get out of my mind. An acquaintance at the barn was heading off on a trail ride in a saddle she was testing. Before she left she was concerned the girth wasn’t getting tight enough and swapped it out for one that seemed better. To get to the trails she walked out the entrance of the ranch and headed down a dirt road for about a mile. At some point her horse did a spook and spin which sent the saddle and rider to the side. The rider hit the ground hard and fracture her L4 and the horse took off at a dead gallop with the saddle under his belly. The part I witnessed was seeing the frenzied horse galloping down the dirt road past our ranch and heading for and crossing a major paved road. He crossed the road and galloped for another 2 miles before finally being caught. Amazingly he had only rope-type burns from the saddle rubbing his armpits. It could have been much worse, and it could have been avoided.
How awful for the horse and rider.
That sounds like the girth may have been “tight” enough but the saddle fit was not right for the horse so it was able to roll anyway.
Hope the rider and horse are okay.
Yes, thankfully both the horse and rider are okay. The horse fared much better with only a few scrapes, the rider has a fractured L4 vertebrae and is in pain, but in good spirits.
How scary, and what a good reminder to us all to check and double check our girths and other equipment before each ride. Jingles for the horse and especially for the human.
Duh?
Seriously, not to sound harsh, but this is very basic horsemanship.
I always, always, ALWAYS: tighten girth. Walk horse around. Tighten girth. Stretch horse’s front legs out (to prevent girth galls); walk around. Check girth one more time before mounting.
It’s basic… and it’s scary that people have to be reminded of this…
I used to have a gel panel saddle. Was great except for the dismount after 10 minutes to retighten the now loose girth once the gel warmed and conformed to the horses shape. Actually was thrown when the saddle slipped before we figured out what it was doing.
Ouch! Hope both horse and rider are doing okay.
Besides tightening the girth, I also always use a breastplate so the saddle can’t ever get all the way around under the barrel
Just curious; What kind of saddle and girth was she using?
I tighten mine in the barn, again before mounting, and about 1/2 hr. into the ride. It’s amazing how loose they can become in a short period of time.
I don’t need a lesson in basic horsemanship - but it happened to me the other day. My frail hands did not get the girth quite tight enough and I had to do a very athletic dismount in a hurry. No harm done, but stuff happens and I’m
no greenhorn.
[QUOTE=Foxtrot’s;7280425]
I don’t need a lesson in basic horsemanship - but it happened to me the other day. My frail hands did not get the girth quite tight enough and I had to do a very athletic dismount in a hurry. No harm done, but stuff happens and I’m
no greenhorn.[/QUOTE]
Horses are large, fast, powerful animals. You wouldn’t fly a plane without doing a pre-flight safety check would you?
This is part of it. If you know you have “frail hands” and you still want to keep riding, you need to adapt to that.
Sorry, but if you want to improve your chances of not getting hurt riding there ARE basic safety issues that become part of your routine EVERY TIME. Because the one time you neglect that, you can bet sure as sh!t that is when something will happen.
A breastplate is a really great thing to use!
I just started a 3 year old Connemara and she was so very round that I used one at first. Had to jerry rig it because mine were all too big. Once she built some muscle it was better. Her owner, who breeds them, often has a problem with saddles slipping. I suggested she use a breast plate just to be on the safe side!!
Besides the routine described above (walk/tighten/walk/stretch forelegs/tighten/ mount) I always take up another hole in my girth after I’ve mounted. My weight in the saddle changes the fit of the saddle and pads enough that I can always get another hole after mounting and walking a little. And I usually check my girth at least once more before I move on.
So while I am very sorry for the person and horse who had this scary experience and injury, I do think there was a horsemanship failure or two in this story.
One of the skills a student has to be able to master before I will let them ride out is the ability to check their girth and tighten it from the saddle. There was a time when I would dismount and check everyone’s girth before we moved on, but now I am old, cranky and creaky and do not want to dismount and remount on the trail - riders need to be able to do it for themselves
However, I guess this story makes more sense if the rider was in a saddle rigged with a western cinch and tightening from the saddle was impossible.
^^^^This!
I was going to mention tightening the girth from the saddle (if you are riding in an English-style saddle). I learned to do this when I started galloping horses on the track.
Obviously, if you are riding western, you just need to get off and tighten it again (unless they’ve changed the design of western saddles since the last time I rode in one).
I’m glad no one got hurt badly, and I’m guessing the rider will never forget to check her girth again, but even so…if you want to up your chances of staying safe w/horses AND keeping your horse safe…well, this is a complete basic “always do.”
People who cut corners in terms of safety up their risks considerably.
And I DO practice what I preach…I’ve never had a saddle slip like this in over 50 yrs of riding…and my current mount is a mutton-withered, round-as-a-barrel Polish Arab.
There are enough wrecks waiting to happen as it is, without stacking the odds against yourself…
Ok I have a silly question 
How tight do you guys tighten your girth or cinch? I have a friend that is obsessed with how tight the girth should be. I tighten it enough so if I mount the saddle isn’t slipping but I do not tighten it as tight as I can possibly get it. My friend will tighten as tight as possible, almost to the point that you have to wonder if the horse is uncomfortable.
[QUOTE=Kyzteke;7280687]
^^^^This!
I was going to mention tightening the girth from the saddle (if you are riding in an English-style saddle). I learned to do this when I started galloping horses on the track.
Obviously, if you are riding western, you just need to get off and tighten it again (unless they’ve changed the design of western saddles since the last time I rode in one).
[QUOTE]
As stated, English saddles are easy to tighten while mounted even if the horse is being a little silly.
With a western saddle, it is possible to tighten from the saddle on a well behaved horse. I loosen the knot a little and pull the latigo tighter and work it through, then pull the knot tight again to finish. Try it sometime in a controlled situation. BTW, I did this originally because both my knees were hurting and I was not in a position to dismount and then remount.
I also tend to ride TBs with classic big withers making it harder for the saddle to slip :lol:.
The girth may have been really tight. If it is a new stiff saddle and one that is the wrong shape for the horse it might have still gone. Or wrong pads for that saddle can make it unstable even if the girth is tight.
We had one large pony/hony at the barn I worked at that was a mutt. She had pony legs, pony neck, horse length and horse head and she was just barrel shaped. There was not one western saddle on that property that would not slip sideways on her. We had 30 of them. We had to use a breastcollar or it was going all the way around under her belly. Thankfully she would just keep on trotting even with the saddle under her belly. Nothing rattled her.
I will admit that I would not have put a new piece of equipment on and headed right out on the trail, especially on a horse with a spook. Even if there is no ring then just do a couple of laps in the horse pasture where it is more controlled and familiar to the horse. I would do this with any change in saddle, girth, breastplate/collar, new style pad, horse boots or bit. I probably would not do a test flight for a new headstall on a bridle if the bit was the same I normally use.
And yes, with an English saddle you can tighten a girth too tight. Especially with a girth that has elastic ends.
[QUOTE=Cashela;7288733]
Ok I have a silly question How tight do you guys tighten your girth or cinch? I have a friend that is obsessed with how tight the girth should be. I tighten it enough so if I mount the saddle isn’t slipping but I do not tighten it as tight as I can possibly get it. My friend will tighten as tight as possible, almost to the point that you have to wonder if the horse is uncomfortable.[/QUOTE]
Laugh, your horse(s) must have withers. I do not think it is physically possible to tighten a girth tight enough that the saddle will not move if you mount on my wide flat backed pony.
[QUOTE=Huntertwo;7280358]
Just curious; What kind of saddle and girth was she using?
I tighten mine in the barn, again before mounting, and about 1/2 hr. into the ride. It’s amazing how loose they can become in a short period of time.[/QUOTE]
She was test riding a Tucker endurance saddle…I think it was the Equitation model with English rigging. Thankfully the rider was extremely lucky as far as falls go and will not need surgery and can begin rehab when the giant hematoma where she landed goes away. The horse is enjoying a little time off while his scrapes heal.
I did tighten a girth so snugly, after the 50-mile ride, the horse had a welt where the ring of the cinch sat on her side/belly. I’ve never tightened a girth that tight again! A good saddle fit will help to not have to pull a girth so very tight.
One of my riding buddies has the Tucker Endurance with English rigging. It is harder to tighten the girth from the saddle on these as they are long billeted, similar to a dressage saddle; you have to bend pretty far over and put yourself in a precarious position to take it up a hole. If you weren’t in a very controlled situation, it would probably be better to get off to tighten it.
This disappointed me when I saw her new saddle, I get that the idea is to not have the bulk of the buckles under your leg, but I rely on being able to take the girth up a hole or two after I’m mounted.
FWIW, one of my horses is a mutton withered square backed QH that it is simply impossible to mount from the ground without the saddle rolling. He is usually ridden in a wide tree English saddle with a double elastic end Professional’s choice girth, and I do the walk/tighten/walk/stretch forelegs/tighten/mount/walk/tighten thing. I also mount from a tall block :-). I have never given a horse a girth gall. Ever. In 40+ years of riding.
