04/12/2024
Girths: a topic I'm about to do a series on after speaking to some members at my riding club and realising that too many horse owners don't have a good understanding of proper girth fit.
How it affects horse comfort, how it affects your saddle, how it can affect horse performance.
Then this post by Centaur Biomechanics popped up! What a good read for everyone before I delve into my series! I would encourage horse owners to follow Russell's page as he has a wealth of knowledge backed by his extensive scientific research. ๐
**๐ฑ-๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐**
๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐
The girth plays a vital role as part of the equipment used when riding, so when we are considering saddle fit, we need to consider girth fit too.
โRiders spend a reasonable amount of money on a saddle and then donโt always consider the girth shape or design,โ says Russell MacKechnie-Guire. โYou can reduce the performance of the saddle and the horse by having a poorly-designed girth, so the fit and suitability should be considered similar to the saddle and the bridle.โ
๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ต ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐
When we think about where the girth pressures are, previously, we believed it was mostly in the sternum region, but in a study in 2013, it showed that the areas of repeatable high pressure are in the region behind the elbows and not on the sternum.
โWe used an electronic pressure map placed underneath the girth, robustly measuring the pressure of the girth during locomotion,โ says Russell. โThe other intriguing thing is that these pressures are related to the movement and timing of the limb, so every time the hoof is loaded, we get pressure behind the elbow which we found in all gaits; walk, trot, canter and gallop, and when jumping. This means that pressure is repeatable every stride. So, if a girth doesnโt fit, or is a poor design in relation to the horseโs conformation, the horse is subject to those areas of high pressure every stride. We found that this can influence joint range of motion, and create asymmetry in the horse and what we know from other research is that horses will develop strategies to alleviate any discomfort caused.โ
There are various designs of girth on the market which means horse owners have plenty of options.
โHowever, what we must be mindful of is designs that claim to alleviate force or pressure on the sternum when they havenโt looked elsewhere on the girth, for example behind the elbows,โ says Russell. โIf we cut away something, the force has to go somewhere else โ you canโt get rid of the forces. Thatโs something horse owners should consider when interpreting such claims โ specifically the social media โliteratureโ, not the scientific literature - because there are a few companies that have cut away parts of the girth which at first glance appears to have โremovedโ any pressure, which is great, but you still have the total force that has to be distributed somewhere. By removing parts, you are in effect distributing the same โtotal forceโ over a smaller area.โ
๐๐๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Every horse has a different conformation when it comes to the girth area, and assessing it isnโt always easy.
Russell suggests: โStand in front of the horse if safe to do so, with the horse standing square, and look at how the legs come out of the chest. Look at the distance between the two forelimbs, and if at the top it looks narrow (like a โVโ) this would indicate that the base of support is narrow, in which case the horse may need a girth that is of an appropriate design to suit that conformation.
โYou then need to stand on the side of the horse (standing square) and visualise the girth groove. Influenced by anatomy (sternum length), some horses have a forward girth groove which creates quite an angle for the girth to be positioned, and some horses can have a rear girth groove.โ
In these cases, girth fit and design in important, but it is essential that riders speak with their saddle fitter, as a girth alone is unlikely to prevent the saddle from travelling forwards or backwards.
Always have that discussion with your horseโs saddle fitter to see what is most appropriate for that horse.
๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ป๐ผ๐ป-๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ
โWe found no biomechanical differences when using elasticated girths, and found, in some situations, some riders could over-tighten the girth because of the quality of the elastic, so our general comment is that, if you donโt need elastic, donโt use it,โ explains Russell. โHowever, there are a group of horses that do appear to prefer (defined as go better by their owners) in a girth that has short (1/2 โ 2cm) strips of elastic on each side. We donโt know the reason for that โ work is on-going โ but if you need/prefer elastic, have short elastic of good quality strength.โ
If you have a saddle that slips to one side, you could try a non-elasticated girth to see if that adds stability, or if you have a girth with elastic on one side and the girth allows, change the side that the elastic is on, and see if the saddle still slips. In the majority of cases, saddle slip is induced by the horse, but a girth that has an elastic component may contribute, but it is unlikely to be the cause.
๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ต ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐
If using girth covers, Russell suggests using those made from natural fibres/materials where possible.
โWhat we have to remember with a girth sleeve, is that, while they can add an element of comfort (or satisfy the riderโs fashion), they can also add a lot of extra bulk, so as the limb is coming backwards, you need to check that you arenโt creating pressure due to the increased bulk of the girth cover,โ says Russell.
๐ฆ๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ด๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ต
A poorly-fitted or inappropriate girth can cause sores, discomfort, reduce the horseโs performance, and compromise welfare.
โObserve the horseโs behaviour when tacking up, look for reactivity when girthing up such as nipping, ears back, tail swishing and pawing, and any sensitivity after exercise as well as sweat patches under the girth,โ Russell advises. โThis behaviour is likely indicative of clinical issues that need to be investigated โ these subtle indicators when girthing up could be an early indicator that needs looking into, and must not be over looked as โnormal.โ
๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ต
๐๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ
The girth shape and design need to be appropriate for the horse, particularly cut away behind the elbows to allow freedom of movement. We also need to consider the conformation of the horse. Some horses are quite narrow in front and we have to be careful of the degree of the anatomical shaping of the girth that it doesnโt actually cause pressure on the pectoral muscles. That is why itโs important to have a girth fit discussion with your saddle fitter.
๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐๐ต ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ต
The position of the buckles and length of girth is another consideration โ have the buckles up as high as possible. The buckles should be up as high as possible to remove them away from the high-pressure area behind the elbows.
๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐
Girths that have a pressure-reducing/distributing material lining are more advantageous than a girth that doesnโt because that can help distribute and dampen some of the forces. We canโt remove the force but we can distribute it more evenly across the girth and reducing the high areas of pressure.
๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐
Also be mindful that training aids or martingale straps wrapped around the girth will add pressure to the sternum area of the girth, so itโs always better to attach them to a ring on the outside of the girth.
๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ต ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต
Check the condition of your girth. Itโs not acceptable to be riding horses in a girth that has girth cracks on the inside โ that is going to cause discomfort.
Have thoughts, questions or comments, share them in the comments and they will be discussed in next weeks ๐ฑ-๐ ๐๐ก๐จ๐ง๐๐ฆ ๐ช๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ง๐๐จ๐ฅ ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฆ - ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐
๐ญ๐ญ๐๐
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๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ค๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ข๐ป๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฃ๐: https://www.centaurbiomechanics.co.uk/webinars-online-cpd-and-education-/
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