Shows you that girthiness isn’t always an ulcer issue. I think people would be surprised at how many riders ( of all experience levels) cause their horses to be girthy / irritable when saddled by just over tightening the cinch and doing it up too quickly.
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My first horse, my angel from heaven, was sort of picky about this as I found out the day I was tired and in a hurry and did the girth up fully immediately instead of alternating holes, going slow.
He reached over and nipped me. Yes, I slapped him hard, then I got my horse’s message, went back to alternating one hole at a time and he never threatened to nip me again.
He was a super sweet horse but even he had limits. Girths were to be tightened one hole at a time, alternating sides, even if I was tired and in a hurry. Anything quicker was just not acceptable at all.
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Totally agree. People seem shocked that I don’t tighten to the “riding tight” hole in one fell swoop. It typically takes 3-4 tightenings. We start out snug enough so saddle doesn’t roll off. Put bridle on. Go back and tighten up a few more holes. Stretch front legs. Check girth. Walk to riding area. Tighten last time then go to mounting block.
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My mind just blew…doesn’t Everyone do this? It is rude to not to! I always have… But, now that I think about it, I guess people don’t. To be honest, I don’t stretch front legs, but the girth always, always goes up by multiple holes with walking in between!
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Lucky you to have had someone to teach you this from obviously day one, Some had to learn this later into our riding careers.
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I suppose so. My grandmother, for what it is worth, who came from a long line of carriage driving/fox hunting women. Had a strong expectation of proper behaviour at all times from all parties involved, including those in charge. But, still it just seems like basic decency: warm the bit up on a cold day, don’t throw the harness or saddle on, don’t yank up the girth in one go.
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Start enough under saddle and you learn in a hurry why polite cinching is advisable. 
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lol: “I’m an animal too!” is my motto. I honor my instinctive reactions.
Now that i’m raising two foals, one of which (the colt, Hazel) turns his butt when he doesn’t like something i’m doing. And me, rather than smack him… i move forward and embrace him, rub that scrunchy butt and woo him into being nice. And then try again. I am averse to punishing a baby and my NATURAL instinct is tolerance. (which i was very happy to discover in me!)
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Absolutely. It is such a pet peeve of mine to see people do this – including professionals and otherwise reasonably knowledgable, educated folk. They just throw the saddle on their backs and then do up the girth right away and act surprised when the horse hates it.
My routine is to gently put the saddle on with my hand under the panels. I can’t stand watching people swing and throw the saddle on their backs. Attach one side of the girth, and depending on how broke the horse is, either let the girth hang while I pick their feet or brush their mane, or go over to the other side and buckle the girth up on the first hole only - leaving so much room between girth and belly I could fit a smart car in it. Then I do other things like flyspray, then put up the girth one hole at a time. I do not make the girth riding tight until I have walked around on their back for a minute or two. Girths are such a fundamentally uncomfortable piece of tack, we owe it to them to try to make their presence as comfortable as possible.
I don’t have a single girthy horse in my program, and I do think the above is why. They don’t have a reason to resent being girthed.
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Of course you are teaching him that presenting his butt is a cue for scratches and hugs. One day you will have a giant 16 hand stock horse pinning you against a paddock fence for butt scratch. Ask me how I know (no one was harmed in the process)
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This is where harnessing is easier than saddling. I always did the girth when harnessing so I could fit my hand inside. But when I saddled for my daughter, I took the cinch up in small increments, and pulled the front legs toward me to get rid of skin wrinkles under the cinch.
Rebecca
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I girth up in increments. But I learned early to have the girth a little snug with the first increment.
Fellow rider used to leave her girth really, really loose when she first put the saddle on. Then she would finish getting ready, putting on her helmet, maybe flyspraying, chatting etc. Until the day that the horse spooked. The saddle slipped under his belly and the horse became frantic. Both horse and saddle bore the scars ever after!
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i seriously doubt this will be the case.
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A foal turning his bum because he’s not sure he wants to play your game is not the same as a horse kicking. I did the same as you and never had the issues Scribbler described.
The day he kicked at me in a play invitation I kicked back as his dam would. Shocked, he ran around the paddock once before coming back to me and asking for reassurance. Which he got.
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Perhaps. I also know two adult horses that were taught butt scratches that would immediately butt swing towards anyone who entered a stall for a scratch. One would actually back someone up against a wall if ignored. Both were sweet horses but it was an unsafe habit that the owners indulged and caused more than a few scares for a vet tech or barn worker who wasn’t given a heads up.
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yes, i know. I woo him back with the butt scratches. There is no need to evade me, that’s what i wish to convey. That’s the goal here. What i want to do with you is fun, is good.
I don’t think i’ve whacked upon either of my babies yet. They’re pretty big now, and neither has shown inclination to aggress or play rough even. They don’t grab either and i’m a big time treat dispenser. I’ll bump and rub and move them with my body. I make a lot of physical contact with more than just my hands. My head my torso my shoulder etc. And of course, i handle them all over their bodies too.
I find that kindness works the best in almost all situations. Being sympathetic has gained my more progress toward my goal with a horse than being dominant. In my mustangs particularly. In fact they’ve taught me a lot. a lot a lot. Butt scratches and placing myself directly behind them, up close, scratching their butt, caressing the back of their hind legs gently, lightly scratching itchy lower legs…when i trust them enough to do those things, the world with them seems to change. It’s sort of one of those pivotal places in training.
The natural state …where i go automatically, is to deescalation. They go UP, i slow waaaay down. The goal is to bring them back asap and resume, ignoring the bump in the road and easing over whatever it is, so that next time, it is less. Then less…to extinction. Through kindness.
I have a lot of domestic horses from rescue. Some came-with quite a bit of baggage. Not one is bitey or kickey…and i don’t think it’s luck. Not with 10 of them, odds are at least one would be prickly. But they’re not. I think gentle respectful handling and kindness begets the same in return. (eventually! it takes a while for it to sink in with the wild ones lol)
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I was trying to share it, but now I can’t find it. The one I first saw was a smack. I would like to make it clear that I am not saying you should smack them on the face. When I was looking for the first video, I came across another one, and they were very well pummelling the horse. Which makes me very angry because their face is very fragile. Someone complained that their horse was head shy, and when I asked them if they ever hit the horse’s face, they said that it got nippy, and they didn’t seem to understand that if you feed a horse an abundance of treats and never teach them how to take them politely, then yes, they will eat your hands.
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With my horses I have a rule that they don’t get treats from the hand until they can take it nicely otherwise if I give them a treat it’s from a bucket
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I have had 2 be a bit “girthy” on occasion and when I went even more slowly with tightening it went away almost immediately. Some can be just that sensitive.
I hate tight waisted pants so I can relate!
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I’ve got one with this irritating habit. He came with it.
I personally hate being smooshed against the wall. And I don’t love a butt coming at me.
Thankfully I know he is just looking for scratches but it is alarming.
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